Qualifying for the Save Mart 350k
Date: June 25, 2016
Event: Qualifying for the Save Mart 350k (Round 16 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (10-turn, 1.99-mile road course)
Pole Winner: Carl Edwards (74.799 seconds at 95.777 mph)
SHR Lineup:
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet SS, led the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Saturday at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway by setting the fourth-fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday’s Save Mart 350k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Busch turned a lap of 74.895 seconds at 95.654 mph on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in the final qualifying round.
Qualifying consisted of two rounds. The first was 25 minutes, with every driver on the track vying to set the fastest lap. The fastest 12 drivers from that session advanced to the final, 10-minute round of qualifying where they battled for the pole. Positions 1-12 were set by speeds in the final round. The remaining 43-car field was set by speeds posted by those who did not advance past the first round.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS for SHR, qualified 10th with a time 75.378 seconds at 95.041 mph.
Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 Nature’s Bakery Chevrolet SS for SHR, qualified 11th with a time of 75.383 seconds at 95.035 mph.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS, qualified 25th with a time of 75.854 seconds at 94.445 mph.
Carl Edwards led the final round of knockout qualifying by taking the pole with a lap of 74.799 seconds at 95.777 mph. It was his 19th career Sprint Cup pole, his first at Sonoma and his third of the season.
AJ Allmendinger will start on the outside of row one after clocking in at 74.878 seconds at 95.676 mph.
The 10 other drivers who made it to the final round of qualifying were Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard, Stewart, Patrick and Brad Keselowski. All are listed in the order they’ll start the race.
The Save Mart 350k gets underway at 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday with live coverage provided by FOX Sports 1.
-SHR-