A.J. Allmendinger was on top of the leaderboard after final Sprint Cup Series practice at Watkins Glen Friday. Allmendinger posted a time of 66.538 seconds (128.668 mph)
The top four drivers in final practice beat last year’s track qualifying record speed which is 128.241 mph.
Marcos Ambrose was one of the four drivers to break his own track record. Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were the two others to go over the mark.
Ambrose’s Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) teammate, Aric Almirola, put up a sporty lap of 68.788 seconds to slot into the fifth position in practice.
It appears that the track record will be broken in qualifying Saturday morning as the Cup drivers will find out where they’ll start for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at the Glen. Kyle Busch won last year’s race from the fifth starting spot, so track position is key at a road course.
Allmendinger ran third in last year’s running at Watkins Glen until a speeding penalty forced him to start at a rear on a restart, but fought his way back to 10th at the end of the race. Ambrose led 51 of the first 61 laps until being caught on track before making his final pit stop. He never recovered and was caught up in a wreck with five laps to go.
A win for either Allmendinger or Ambrose would practically guarantee a Chase berth and be huge for either team.
The Sprint Cup Series teams will take to the track next for qualifying at 11:40 a.m. ET Saturday morning and will be shown live on ESPN2.
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