bigbadbrother
06-21-2014, 08:47 PM
Tom Jensen
Sonoma, Calif. —
Northern California clearly agrees with Jamie McMurray. So does road-course racing, apparently.
For the second year in a row, McMurray won the pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway in the heat of scenic wine country.
Under crisp, clear California skies on Saturday morning, McMurray put down a track-record lap of 96.350 miles per hour in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet, which was enough to top the 96.088 mph lap AJ Allmendinger posted in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet.
"I always look forward to coming out here," said McMurray, who has a best finish of second at the 1.99-mile road course. "First off, it's a really pretty environment to be at and it's also maybe one of the more comfortable tracks for me on the circuit. I came here and tested in 2003 and it’s just been a great place for me. I've qualified exceptionally well here."
Fast times: Clint Bowyer a breath of fresh, breezy air at Sonoma Raceway
The pole was McMurray's first of the season and 10th in 418 career Sprint Cup starts. Three of those poles have come on road courses.
In the first round of qualifying, McMurray put down a qualifying lap, then got bumped out of the top 12 and had to make a second run in the first round. But McMurray was able to advance into the second round and then on to take the pole.
"This knockout qualifying is just an emotional roller-coaster, from not making it into the top 12 and having to go back out and bump your way in and then being on the pole," McMurray. "There are a lot of highs and lows that go with it. It’s real cool for us to kind of get bumped out and then come back and win the pole."
"Jamie put in a hell of a good lap, so congrats to him," said second-qualifier Allmendinger.
Staying put: Jeff Gordon says he's not ready to retire from racing anytime soon
Neither McMurray nor Allmendinger has won a race yet this season and qualifying on the front row gives them a huge leg up at possibly winning a race and getting into the Chase for the Sprint Cup as a result.
Starting on Row 2 will be McMurray's teammate, rookie Kyle Larson, flanked by Carl Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Row 3 will be Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. Completing the top 10 were Ryan Newman, Brian Vickers, Paul Menard and Joey Logano. Danica Patrick qualified 11th.
There were two rounds of qualifying today, a 30-minute session for the full field, followed by a 10-minute round for the fastest 12 cars from the opening stanza.
What was most surprising, perhaps, about the qualifying round was the number of good drivers in fast cars that didn’t make it to the second round.
Among the drivers failing to advance to the second round were Brad Keselowski (13th), Jeff Gordon (15), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (17th), Kyle Busch (20th), Tony Stewart (21st), Jimmie Johnson (22nd), Marcos Ambrose (23rd) and Clint Bowyer (25th).
Hendrick Motorsports, which has won the last five races in a row, failed to advance a single driver to the final round.
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 96.350
2 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 96.088
3 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 95.942
4 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 95.857
5 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 95.704
6 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 95.655
7 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 95.616
8 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 95.574
9 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 95.528
10 Joey Logano 22 Ford 95.417
11 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 95.414
12 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 95.327
13 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 95.617
14 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 95.605
15 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 95.552
16 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 95.479
17 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 95.461
18 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 95.451
19 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 95.432
20 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 95.378
21 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 95.308
22 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 95.296
23 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 95.247
24 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 95.136
25 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 95.044
26 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 95.028
27 David Gilliland 38 Ford 94.992
28 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 94.972
29 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 94.897
30 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 94.865
31 David Ragan 34 Ford 94.793
32 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 94.734
33 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 94.568
34 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 94.562
35 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 94.491
36 Alex Kennedy 33 Chevrolet 94.147
37 Timmy Hill 40 Chevrolet 94.012
38 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 93.867
39 David Mayhew 144 Chevrolet 93.741
40 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 93.498
41 Boris Said 32 Ford 93.377
42 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 92.282
43 Tomy Drissi 66 Toyota 91.115
Sonoma, Calif. —
Northern California clearly agrees with Jamie McMurray. So does road-course racing, apparently.
For the second year in a row, McMurray won the pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway in the heat of scenic wine country.
Under crisp, clear California skies on Saturday morning, McMurray put down a track-record lap of 96.350 miles per hour in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet, which was enough to top the 96.088 mph lap AJ Allmendinger posted in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet.
"I always look forward to coming out here," said McMurray, who has a best finish of second at the 1.99-mile road course. "First off, it's a really pretty environment to be at and it's also maybe one of the more comfortable tracks for me on the circuit. I came here and tested in 2003 and it’s just been a great place for me. I've qualified exceptionally well here."
Fast times: Clint Bowyer a breath of fresh, breezy air at Sonoma Raceway
The pole was McMurray's first of the season and 10th in 418 career Sprint Cup starts. Three of those poles have come on road courses.
In the first round of qualifying, McMurray put down a qualifying lap, then got bumped out of the top 12 and had to make a second run in the first round. But McMurray was able to advance into the second round and then on to take the pole.
"This knockout qualifying is just an emotional roller-coaster, from not making it into the top 12 and having to go back out and bump your way in and then being on the pole," McMurray. "There are a lot of highs and lows that go with it. It’s real cool for us to kind of get bumped out and then come back and win the pole."
"Jamie put in a hell of a good lap, so congrats to him," said second-qualifier Allmendinger.
Staying put: Jeff Gordon says he's not ready to retire from racing anytime soon
Neither McMurray nor Allmendinger has won a race yet this season and qualifying on the front row gives them a huge leg up at possibly winning a race and getting into the Chase for the Sprint Cup as a result.
Starting on Row 2 will be McMurray's teammate, rookie Kyle Larson, flanked by Carl Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Row 3 will be Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. Completing the top 10 were Ryan Newman, Brian Vickers, Paul Menard and Joey Logano. Danica Patrick qualified 11th.
There were two rounds of qualifying today, a 30-minute session for the full field, followed by a 10-minute round for the fastest 12 cars from the opening stanza.
What was most surprising, perhaps, about the qualifying round was the number of good drivers in fast cars that didn’t make it to the second round.
Among the drivers failing to advance to the second round were Brad Keselowski (13th), Jeff Gordon (15), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (17th), Kyle Busch (20th), Tony Stewart (21st), Jimmie Johnson (22nd), Marcos Ambrose (23rd) and Clint Bowyer (25th).
Hendrick Motorsports, which has won the last five races in a row, failed to advance a single driver to the final round.
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 96.350
2 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 96.088
3 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 95.942
4 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 95.857
5 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 95.704
6 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 95.655
7 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 95.616
8 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 95.574
9 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 95.528
10 Joey Logano 22 Ford 95.417
11 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 95.414
12 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 95.327
13 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 95.617
14 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 95.605
15 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 95.552
16 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 95.479
17 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 95.461
18 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 95.451
19 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 95.432
20 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 95.378
21 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 95.308
22 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 95.296
23 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 95.247
24 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 95.136
25 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 95.044
26 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 95.028
27 David Gilliland 38 Ford 94.992
28 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 94.972
29 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 94.897
30 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 94.865
31 David Ragan 34 Ford 94.793
32 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 94.734
33 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 94.568
34 Ryan Truex 83 Toyota 94.562
35 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 94.491
36 Alex Kennedy 33 Chevrolet 94.147
37 Timmy Hill 40 Chevrolet 94.012
38 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 93.867
39 David Mayhew 144 Chevrolet 93.741
40 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 93.498
41 Boris Said 32 Ford 93.377
42 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 92.282
43 Tomy Drissi 66 Toyota 91.115