Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski was very fast in the final round of XFINITY Series Qualifying Saturday (Aug. 4). Late in the session, teammate Joey Logano knocked Keselowski off the top to win the pole for Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International with a lap at an average of 122.995 mph. Keselowski had a pole run going late in the session, but stumbled late in the run and could not knock off his teammate. He will start second.
Kyle Larson will start in the third position with AJ Allmendinger starting in the fourth spot. Richard Childress Racing’s Daniel Hemric will start fifth, the best of the XFINITY Series regulars.
Austin Dillon starts in sixth with Ryan Truex, Ryan Preece, Aric Almirola and Justin Allgaier rounding out the top 10. Christopher Bell and Cole Custer also advanced to the final round.
The session saw a number of drivers have trouble. Roush Fenway Racing’s Austin Cindric qualified 14th but spun early in Round No. 1 in Turn 9. The No. 60 Ford had significant damage and the team will go to a backup car. As a result, Cindric will have to start in the rear.
Tyler Reddick also spun in the first round but didn’t hit anything. He’ll start 27th.
XFINITY Qualifying a bit earlier was an adventure for some. @TylerReddick found that out the hard way. Luckily, Reddick didn't hit anything and will start 27th. pic.twitter.com/rwv1miz6Jc
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) August 4, 2018
JD Motorsports’ Mike Skeen also spun exiting Turn 9 in an incident that was not caught by NBC Sports’ cameras. He managed to not hit anything and continue on. Skeen will make his XFINITY Series debut from the 24th starting spot.
XFINITY SERIES ZIPPO 200 STARTING LINEUP
Coverage of the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International begins with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. The green flag is scheduled for 3:18 p.m. ET on NBC.