Ryan Blaney rides wind to Pennzoil 400 pole position
In the old Broadway musicals, they called the wind Maria.
On pole day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, they called it something else.
“It’s tough and it’s hard to pin it down,” young NASCAR lion Ryan Blaney said Friday after steering through 25 mph winds to set the fastest qualifying time for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400.
“You can get a 20, 25 mph gust one lap and then 5 (mph) the next. It just messes you all up.”
The 24-year-old Blaney, who joined Roger Penske’s high-profile team during the offseason, won the pole spot with a speed of 191.489 mph. Kevin Harvick, last week’s winner at Atlanta, was second at 190.248 followed by Stewart-Haas teammate Kurt Busch of Las Vegas at 190.067. All three were in Fords.
Last year’s Las Vegas and Cup Series champion Martin Truex will start fourth in a Toyota. Chevrolet drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will begin from Row 3.
Las Vegan Kyle Busch, who will be trying to win his hometown race for the second time, will line up 13th after posting a qualifying speed of 188.838.
The wind is supposed to subside by Sunday, which will come as good news to outside pole starter Harvick.
“You had to be really careful just to get into Turn 3 and not get off the racetrack with the wind blowing in that direction,” Harvick said.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.
Weekend schedule
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Saturday
8 a.m. — Ticket gates, Neon Garage and VIP suites open
9-9:50 a.m. — Cup Series second practice
10:05 a.m. — Xfinity Series qualifying (multivehicle, three rounds)
11:35 a.m.-12:20 p.m. — Cup Series final practice
12:30 p.m. — Xfinity Series driver introductions
1 p.m. — Boyd Gaming 300 Xfinity Series race (200 laps, 300 miles) (TV: Fox Sports 1)
4:30 p.m. — Neon Garage closes
5:30 p.m. — Speedway Children’s Charities rides
Sunday
7 a.m. — Ticket gates, Neon Garage and VIP suites open
9-10 a.m. — Speedway Children’s Charities Track Walk
10:30 a.m. — Flag stand gate opens for prerace pass on front stretch
10:30 a.m. — Cup Series driver and crew chief meeting (Neon Garage)
11:50 a.m. — Cup Series driver introductions
12:30 p.m. — Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube Cup Series race (267 laps, 400 miles) (TV: Fox)
5:30 p.m.—Neon Garage closes
Monster Energy Cup Series
Pennzoil 400
Friday’s qualifying; race at 12:30 p.m. Sunday
Car number in parentheses
1. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 191.489 mph.
2. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 190.248.
3. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, 190.067.
4. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 189.980.
5. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 189.447.
6. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 189.175.
7. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 189.148.
8. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 189.102.
9. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 188.719.
10. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 188.640.
11. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 188.469.
12. (21) Paul Menard, Ford, 188.442.
13. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 188.838.
14. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 188.712.
15. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 188.607.
16. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 188.442.
17. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 188.363.
18. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 187.865.
19. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 187.846.
20. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 187.441.
21. (95) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 187.305.
22. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 187.246.
23. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 187.162.
24. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 186.413.
25. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 187.650.
26. (43) Darrell Wallace Jr., Chevrolet, 187.546.
27. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 186.916.
28. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 186.335.
29. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 186.123.
30. (51) Cole Custer, Ford, 185.982.
31. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 185.312.
32. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 185.027.
33. (15) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 183.418.
34. (72) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 182.272.
35. (23) Gray Gaulding, Toyota, 179.241.
36. (00) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 176.292.
37. (55) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 173.628.
