Ferrari locks up front row for inaugural Miami GP
MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. » Ferrari stormed to the front of the grid for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix as Formula One championship leader Charles Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. locked up the front row in Saturday qualifying.
It’s the first time Ferrari will lead the field to green in the United States since Michael Schumacher won the pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2006. It’s the first front row this season for Sainz, who has been outqualified by Leclerc in all five sessions.
Leclerc has won three poles this year headed into Sunday, the first F1 race at the purpose-built circuit around Hard Rock Stadium. The race marks the first of two this year in the U.S. — which has not hosted two F1 races in the same year since 1984.
Leclerc turned to the roaring crowd and waved while being interviewed by Danica Patrick, the retired IndyCar and NASCAR driver.
“The fans are crazy. It’s incredible to be here in the U.S. and see how much the support has grown over the last few years,” Leclerc said. “I’ve seen so many people in the grandstands. It definitely motivates us.”
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen led the final qualifying segment until the Dutchman made a rare error and both Ferraris surged ahead of him in the final seconds. He’ll start third on Sunday; Leclerc and Verstappen have split the first four races, two wins apiece.
Logano takes NASCAR pole
DARLINGTON, S.C. » Former NASCAR Cup Series champions Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick will start at the rear of the field on Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
Denny Hamlin will be back there, too. Elliott and Harvick had Saturday in practice. Hamlin had problems in qualifying later in the day.
All three will have lots of ground to make up on pole-sitter Joey Logano. Logano reached 170.720 mph and turned a fast lap of 28.805 seconds to clinch the top spot in qualifying, edging Kyle Larson.
Larson will start second, one row ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. Brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch will share the third row, assuming Kyle makes the race. The younger Busch is awaiting the birth of his second child through a surrogate mother.
Trevor Bayne is on standby in case Busch has to leave Darlington for the birth. Busch shared tips with Bayne following his qualifying run.
“I think it’s always a hard decision, but I think you can live down missing a race but you’ll never live down not being there for the birth of your kid,” Busch said.
Allgaier ends skid, gives JRM its 3rd straight Xfinity win
DARLINGTON, S.C. » Justin Allgaier put JR Motorsports in victory lane for the third consecutive week in the Xfinity Series by winning at Darlington Raceway.
Allgaier ended a 34-race winless streak when he passed AJ Allmendinger to start a two-lap sprint following a caution and cruised the final 2.7 miles to give team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. another victory in NASCAR’s second-tier feeder series.
This was a minor breakthrough, even though it was Allgaier’s 17th career victory in the Xfinity Series. It was his first one in a year, with the last one also coming at Darlington.