The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Russian Aleshin gets 1st IndyCar pole
Dillon wins Xfinity race as Keselowski, Kyle Busch stumble.
After the last car sped past the finish line at Pocono Raceway, Mikhail Aleshin raised his arms in triumph.
Fastest in morning practice Saturday on the tricky 2.5-mile triangular track in Long Pond, Pa., Aleshin was fastest in qualifying to win the IndyCar pole. He turned a fast lap of 220.454 mph in his No. 7 Honda to edge Josef Newgarden for the top spot.
It’s the first career pole for the Russian, who drives for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
“I had two good laps. I knew I couldn’t do better,” Aleshin said. “I just kept it flat . ... From the first lap, the car was just at the edge of what we needed.”
It’s the third time this season Newgarden has qualified second. He was on the front row at the Indy 500 and at Iowa, just missing the top spot Saturday with a lap of 220.195 mph.
“He’s pretty daring. Not a lot spooks him,” Newgarden said of Aleshin. “He gets better and better the more seat time he has. I think you’re seeing that.”
Takuma Sato qualified third, followed by Helio Castroneves, Carlos Munoz, Aleshin’s teammate James Hinchcliffe, Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Tony Kanaan and Ed Carpenter.
Points leader Simon Pagenaud qualified 14th in windy conditions. Defending race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed in morning practice and did not qualify.
NASCAR Xfinity: Austin Dillon took off on a final restart in overtime to win the Xfinity race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night after leaders Kyle Busch crashed and Brad Keselowski ran out of gas four laps from the scheduled end.
For the last 50 laps, the race looked like a classic faceoff between Sprint Cup champions Busch and Keselowski, who no one would consider friends. Busch swept past Keselowski five laps from the end, but the Penske driver clipped Xfinity’s career victory leader, cutting down a tire and sending Busch into the wall for a final caution.
Just when it seemed a clear run for Keselowski, he slowed on the pace laps and limped to pit road as his tank ran dry.
That left Dillon out front for a green-white-checkered finish. He broke clear of the field and finished ahead of Justin Allgaier. Kyle Larson was third.