Like it was previously stated, the session used the group qualifying format. There were 5 groups with 8 cars in each group. Landon Cassill was the first driver out on the track. He ran the second quickest lap of the first group behind Elliott Sadler. Group 1 had the most trouble in the session. Dexter Stacey spun around in one of the turns, but he was able to get back going. Elliott Sadler, who had problems in practice on Friday, ran his fast lap and he lost the engine and transmission. He still had the provisional pole, but he will have to start in the back since the engine has to be changed. Group 2 went out and everything stayed the same with Elliott on top of the board. This would change in group 3 as Brian Scott and Brian Vickers took the pole with Vickers taking the provisional pole when the group was finished. Travis Pastrana had a little trouble in group 3. He went off track in one of the corners, but he was able to continue on and run another lap. Justin Allgaier and Parker Kligerman went out in group 4 and took the pole with Kligerman grabbing the provisional pole when the group was finished. Now, it was time for the fifth and final group with the fastest drivers in practice going out. Owen Kelly, the fastest driver in practice, jumped out to the provisional pole with most drivers only doing one lap. A.J. Allmendinger decided to run two laps and the second overtook Kelly's lap. This gave Allmendinger the pole as the session came to a close. This is the first time Allmendinger has been in the Nationwide Series this year and he made sure he did not disappoint.
Allmendinger hasn't been in these Nationwide cars this year, but he competed in the Indianapolis 500 and has run a few races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was an impressive show for Allmendinger and others. Many of the road course ringers, like Owen Kelly and Billy Johnson, had successful qualifying runs while championship contenders, like Regan Smith and Elliott Sadler, had slower laps and need to make up a lot of ground during the race. It should be a good show later in the day with a lot of strategy calls and plenty of tough road course racing. Make sure you tune in because it could be one of the best of the year.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Groups:
1st Group: Landon Cassill, Eric McClure, Kevin O'Connell, Dexter Stacey, Jeff Green, Tony Raines, Derek White, and Elliott Sadler
2nd Group: Stanton Barrett, Mike Bliss, John Young, Brendan Gaughan, Reed Sorenson, James Buescher, Jeffrey Earnhardt, and Kenny Habul
3rd Group: Brian Scott, Brian Vickers, Kyle Kelley, Mike Wallace, Alex Bowman, Cole Whitt, Jeremy Clements, and Travis Pastrana
4th Group: Austin Dillon, Max Papis, Justin Allgaier, Parker Kligerman, Michael Annett, Regan Smith, Andrew Ranger, and Trevor Bayne
5th Group: Owen Kelly, Billy Johnson, A.J. Allmendinger, Michael McDowell, Sam Hornish Jr., Johnny O'Connell, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Kyle Larson
Fastest in Each Group (With Times):
1st Group: Elliott Sadler 2:17.03 (106.348 mph)
2nd Group: Mike Bliss 2:17.14 (106.261 mph)
3rd Group: Brian Vickers 2:14.35 (108.471 mph)
4th Group: Parker Kligerman 2:13.76 (108.947 mph)
5th Group: A.J. Allmendinger 2:13.41 (109.233 mph)
Top 5 Qualifiers (With Times):
1st: A.J. Allmendinger 2:13.41 (109.233 mph)
2nd: Owen Kelly 2:13.64 (109.044 mph)
3rd: Parker Kligerman 2:13.76 (108.947 mph)
4th: Justin Allgaier 2:13.91 (108.825 mph)
5th: Michael McDowell 2:14.01 (108.747 mph)
Notables Not in Top 5 (With Times):
8th: Sam Hornish Jr. 2:14.35 (108.471 mph)
9th: Brian Vickers 2:14.35 (108.471 mph)
11th: Trevor Bayne 2:14.81 (108.101 mph)
14th: Austin Dillon 2:15.05 (107.904 mph)
16th: Regan Smith 2:15.59 (107.479 mph)
22nd: Elliott Sadler 2:17.03 (106.348 mph)
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-qualification.html
-Image:
https://twitter.com/NASCAR_NNS/status/348521262617853952/photo/1
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