Matt Tifft wins the pole for Xfinity Series race at Road America
Matt Tifft got some redemption at Road America but is looking for more.
Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
Tifft won the pole for Saturday’s Johnsonville 180 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America with an average lap speed of 109.307 mph.
"It felt really good. It's kind of cool, it's back-to-back poles. I got the pole for the Trans-Am race and then I got this," said Tifft, who finished second to Ty Majeski in Saturday morning's Trans-Am race. "Just a great job all weekend from our Richard Childress Racing team.
"I had a really good run last year in both the ARCA and Xfinity races. We've been close here so many times and this car has just been great all weekend. The Xfinity Series has such a great schedule and I love these road course races."
In last year’s race, Tifft was two laps from winning when he spun out racing for the lead with eventual winner Jeremy Clements and went off track. He ended up third.
The pole is the second of Tifft’s career and first of the 2018 season. His previous pole came in 2016 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Cole Custer qualified second (109.294 mph) and James Davison third (109.262 mph). Justin Marks and series points leader Christopher Bell completed the top-five.
Rounding out the Top 12 starters are Brendan Gaughan, Ryan Truex, Austin Cindric, Brandon Jones, Ryan Reed, Justin Allgaier and Daniel Hemric.
Round 1
Marks, who was fastest in Friday’s final practice session, led the way in the first round with an average lap speed of 109.672 mph.
Marks was able to edge Davison (109.666 mph) while Cindric ended up third (109.620 mph). Custer and Tifft completed the top-five.
Also advancing to the final round were Allgaier, Gaughan, Bell, Reed, Jones, Hemric and Truex.
Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, making his first NASCAR national series start since 2012, ended up 23rd-fastest.
Sports car veteran Katherine Legge, making his second series start, will line up 26th and IndyCar driver Conor Daly qualified 15th.
Take a virtual lap in a NASCAR Xfinity Series car around the Road America circuit, courtesy of NASCAR Heat 3:
Cla | # | Driver | 4506 | Time | Gap | Mph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Chevrolet | 133.320 | 109.307 | |
2 | 00 | Cole Custer | Ford | 133.336 | 0.016 | 109.294 |
3 | 18 | James Davison | Toyota | 133.375 | 0.055 | 109.262 |
4 | 42 | Justin Marks | Chevrolet | 133.581 | 0.261 | 109.093 |
5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Toyota | 133.729 | 0.409 | 108.973 |
6 | 3 | Brendan Gaughan | Chevrolet | 133.895 | 0.575 | 108.838 |
7 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Chevrolet | 134.510 | 1.190 | 108.340 |
8 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Ford | 134.626 | 1.306 | 108.247 |
9 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Toyota | 134.865 | 1.545 | 108.055 |
10 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Ford | 135.684 | 2.364 | 107.402 |
11 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 136.718 | 3.398 | 106.590 |
12 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | Chevrolet | 134.309 | 0.989 | 108.502 |
13 | 90 | Andy Lally | Chevrolet | 134.468 | 1.148 | 108.374 |
14 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 134.621 | 1.301 | 108.251 |
15 | 6 | Conor Daly | Ford | 134.682 | 1.362 | 108.202 |
16 | 4 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 134.737 | 1.417 | 108.157 |
17 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet | 135.050 | 1.730 | 107.907 |
18 | 61 | Kaz Grala | Ford | 135.156 | 1.836 | 107.822 |
19 | 5 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 135.748 | 2.428 | 107.352 |
20 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Chevrolet | 135.909 | 2.589 | 107.225 |
21 | 60 | Ty Majeski | Ford | 135.965 | 2.645 | 107.181 |
22 | 38 | Brian Henderson | Chevrolet | 136.043 | 2.723 | 107.119 |
23 | 23 | Bill Elliott | Chevrolet | 136.139 | 2.819 | 107.044 |
24 | 8 | Scott Heckert | Chevrolet | 136.176 | 2.856 | 107.014 |
25 | 45 | Josh Bilicki | Toyota | 136.423 | 3.103 | 106.821 |
26 | 15 | Katherine Legge | Chevrolet | 136.539 | 3.219 | 106.730 |
27 | 36 | Alex Labbé | Chevrolet | 136.813 | 3.493 | 106.516 |
28 | 78 | Ryan Ellis | Chevrolet | 137.361 | 4.041 | 106.091 |
29 | 9 | Tyler Reddick | Chevrolet | 137.546 | 4.226 | 105.949 |
30 | 35 | Joey Gase | Chevrolet | 137.982 | 4.662 | 105.614 |
31 | Garrett Smithley | Chevrolet | 138.108 | 4.788 | 105.517 | |
32 | 52 | David Starr | Chevrolet | 139.016 | 5.696 | 104.828 |
33 | 13 | Timmy Hill | Dodge | 139.067 | 5.747 | 104.790 |
34 | 55 | James French | Toyota | 139.507 | 6.187 | 104.459 |
35 | 93 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | 140.715 | 7.395 | 103.563 |
36 | 40 | Chad Finchum | Toyota | 142.311 | 8.991 | 102.401 |
37 | 76 | Spencer Boyd | Chevrolet | 143.216 | 9.896 | 101.754 |
38 | 01 | Vinnie Miller | Chevrolet | 146.577 | 13.257 | 99.421 |
39 | 74 | Stephen Leicht | Dodge | 147.215 | 13.895 | 98.990 |
40 | 66 | Carl Long | Dodge | 147.397 | 14.077 | 98.868 |
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