It feels like we witnessed the first of what will be many NASCAR National Series pole positions for Brent Crews, Friday at Watkins Glen International. The 18-year-old driver turned a blistering lap time behind the wheel of the No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, which allowed him to take the top qualifying spot for Friday afternoon’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen.
Officially, Crews clocked in with a lap time of 1 minute, 10.222 seconds, which equated to a 125.602 mph average speed, which was more than three-tenths-of-a-second faster than the next closest competitor, Ty Majeski.
Starting Lineup: Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen
Crews’ first career pole position comes in his 11th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start, and the race marks his 19th career NASCAR National Series event.
Majeski, typically known as a short track ace, will start Friday’s road course event from the outside of the front row in the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford.
Daniel Hemric was able to snag the third starting spot for the event, as he narrowly defeated Connor Mosack, who will start fourth in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
Connor Zilisch, Gio Ruggiero, Kaden Honeycutt, Shane van Gisbergen, Ben Rhodes, and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top-10 qualifiers in what is a stacked field for the Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen.
With 38 trucks battling for only 36 available starting positions, two drivers unfortunately had to pack up and head home early after the qualifying session.
Toni Breidinger, driving the No. 20 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver development entry in the first attempt for the truck, was bumped from the starting field in the closing minutes of the session. Without owner points to fall back on, Breidinger missed the show.
Dystany Spurlock, who was looking to become the first black woman to compete in a NASCAR National Series event, also missed the field in the No. 69 MBM Motorsports Ford F-150.