The Fords in the Cup Series finally appear to be entering the ring to go against the Toyotas and the Chevrolets. The blue oval brigade swept up the front row in qualifying for the upcoming race in the World Wide Technology Raceway, courtesy of Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric, and defending champion Ryan Blaney. The question is, can they execute the raw speed during the main race?
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For McDowell, it’s his third pole in the 2024 season. He catapulted his Mustang forward at a speed of 138.598 miles per hour to secure the position and will be hoping that his result fares better than in races past. When he started pole in Atlanta and Talladega earlier this year he ended up finishing in eighth and 31st places, respectively.
However, he believes that he has figured the trick out this time around. He said, “The thing that I’ve learned with this car, and maybe it’s with experience, but I feel like in particular with this car, when it comes to qualifying, you just have to execute your plan. And I planned all week to do that.” He hopes to continue executing the learning throughout the weekend.
Teams experienced parts failure and heavy brake duress during the past two races at the Gateway owing to the extremely different corners in the oval track. Put together with the short-track-like features that it has, starting on the front row will prove to be a huge advantage for drivers. Joining McDowell up front will be fellow Ford driver Cindric.
Team Penske drivers showcase immense promise in qualifying and practice
Ford helped Cindric to start in second place after a final round lap at a speed of 138.134 miles per hour. The 25-year-old driver has posted just one top-10 result this season behind the #2 Team Penske Mustang and stands a great chance to get his second on Sunday. He is followed by his teammate Blaney on Row 2. The champion posted a final round lap speed of 137.982 miles per hour.
Interestingly, Team Penske’s final name, Joey Logano, was extremely quick in practice on Saturday with a speed of 138.024 miles per hour. The 2X Cup Series champion won at Gateway in 2022 and will be starting this year’s race from 12th place. Ford will be hoping that one of its own finds victory lane and gives it a second race win in 2024.
