From the start of practice until the end of qualifying, the Fords showed tremendous speed for the inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Austin Cindric was one of the fastest through practice and the early part of qualifying, but he would come up short and start on the outside of row one alongside Ford Teammate Chase Briscoe. Cindric said after the session, “The one thing that really pisses me off is the fact he (Briscoe) didn’t even run a clean lap and he was still a tenth faster than the rest of us.”
Photo: Steve Conley | The Podium Finish
Briscoe was asked about the excitement of winning his first career pole and said, “You know, it’s really cool to win my first pole, but to do it in an inaugural event is really special.”
Briscoe is one of a handful of drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series race that has recent experience at World Wide Technology Raceway. He said, “When I ran the truck race 5 years ago before it was repaved, I was really fast then. In fact, I sat on the pole and led over 100 laps before getting beat on strategy. I just feel really comfortable here.” Briscoe added that in his mind, Gateway races “a lot like Phoenix.”
Phoenix is where Briscoe won his first career race earlier this season, so the speed certainly translates. But, he also said that with this Next Gen car, “If you go to one race track and are fast, then go to one that’s similar, you end up pretty close rolling off the truck.”
Will the inaugural pole sink in tonight? According to Briscoe, “It will really hit me tomorrow as the pace car pulls off the track and I take the green flag. It’s really special, but it won’t hit me for a while.”
Briscoe said he “never expected to run a Cup Series race, or a Truck Series race for that matter, let alone to say I would be a cup winner. It’s really hard to believe that I can say that, and now say I’m a pole winner in the Cup Series.”
For the Stewart-Haas Racing driver, he shared, “It’s certainly special, but it doesn’t really mean much if we don’t run well on Sunday.”
If the words from his competitors are any indication, the No. 14 Ford should be a staple at the front of the field.
