Dillon wins pole at Fontana after nobody finishes very last lap

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — Austin Dillon gained the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race in Auto Club Speedway on Friday after no drivers completed a lap in the very last spherical of qualifying. Dillon was given his fourth profession pole basically via default after a bizarre scene that left fans booing the drivers. “I actually have visible it in different sports, however by no means visible it in ours,” Clint Bowyer stated. “We simply got booed, and it is disappointing.”

With all 12 very last-round drivers determined to exist as late as viable in a drafting group, every vehicle idled close to the front of the pit avenue from the start of the session till more or less 44 seconds remained. The vehicles had slightly exited Turn four when time ran out, which intended none of the final laps counted. Dillon got the pole for turning the fastest lap within the previous consultation in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. He received each of the two rounds of qualifying in which drivers really drove, and he thought his pole changed into deserved. “I’m satisfied for our group to get the pole that nobody ever ran a lap for in qualifying,” Dillon stated with fun. “I assume it is pretty cool. It might be the remaining time you ever see that type of qualifying.” Kevin Harvick will start 2d Sunday, accompanied by Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano. The group’s decision to play a complex recreation of the bird on pit road in qualifying changed into caused by the importance of drafting, which basically is the only manner to submit the quickest lap on longer tracks this season. NASCAR’s new racing policies bundle minimizes the variations between the groups,

which makes drafting almost the best advantage available in unmarried laps. “We all knew it was coming,” Jimmie Johnson said. “It was just a rely on time ea upon lier than this example befell. NASCAR, regrettably, is in a hard container with this regulations bundle and the way we qualify. I understand we are sensitive to not having unmarried-automobile qualifying because at quite a few tracks, it might be actually dull, and maybe @ this music we need to reconsider it. Perhaps unmarried-automobile is the manner to head approximately it so, the lovers get to see each car race for the pole.” But the superb sight of race automobiles no longer racing, followed by using fans booing a lap that didn’t rely on, changed into a profound disappointment to Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice chairman of opposition. “I noticed what our fanatics don’t need,” Miller said.

“Having the remaining 12 automobiles wait until they couldn’t get a time published at the board and making a mockery out of the qualifying is not what we expect for our enthusiasts. It’s a touch bit on us in that we were hoping matters would pass better than that. … We have a little bit of work to on our element to get a touch bit better format so such things as that can not take place.” Miller said adjustments to the qualifying rules are likely to be made before the circuit visits Texas Motor Speedway in weeks. Miller is “no longer quite sure what” NASCAR will do. However, a exchange likely might not be vital for the fast tune at Martinsville next week for the reason that drafting isn’t always as essential there. “We don’t need to head back to single-automobile qualifying, but there won’t be any other manner,” Miller said. “We need to try and exhaust every possibility before we do this because it’s now not as a laugh, not as fascinating of a show as the group scenario.”