Ross Chastain secured his first pole position of the 2024 NASCAR season and the second of his career on Saturday at Watkins Glen International. Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet achieved a top lap speed of 122.279 mph on the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course, narrowly beating Martin Truex Jr. by just 0.134 seconds. This result was significant for Truex as he is ranked 15th out of the 16 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
The two drivers will lead the field in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen, marking the second of the ten Playoff races and the first road course event on the Playoff schedule. Chastain, reflecting on his achievement, described it as a culmination of years of effort and a major milestone for Trackhouse Racing. The qualifying session saw Chastain among five non-Playoff drivers advancing to the final round, with Kaulig Racing's Shane van Gisbergen, AJ Allmendinger, Stewart-Haas Racing's Noah Gragson, and Front Row Motorsports' Michael McDowell joining him.
Playoff drivers who advanced to the final qualifying round include Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano from Team Penske, and Chastain’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez. The upcoming race at Watkins Glen is critical as it is the second of the first round of the Playoffs. After next week's race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the lowest-ranked four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention.
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