After full-time Cup Series driver A.J. Allmendinger raised eyebrows in the NASCAR world for electing to skip practice and qualifying at Richmond (Va.) Raceway to contest Saturday’s Xfinity Series race Road America, the Kaulig Racing driver proved he made the right call during Friday’s qualifying session.
Allmendinger wheeled the No. 10 Chevrolet to a fast lap of 130.574 seconds (111.606 mph), setting an Xfinity Series track record in the process. He is also a past series winner at Road America (Team Penske, 2013).
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer will start alongside Allmendinger on the front row during Saturday’s Road America 180 after finishing runner-up in his No. 00 Ford. Custer’s fastest lap was 130.872 seconds (111.352 mph).
JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, SHR’s Riley Herbst and JRM’s Sam Mayer completed the top five.
Sage Karam, Connor Mosack, John Hunter Nemechek, Kaz Grala and Sammy Smith all qualified inside the top 10. Notable guest driver Katherine Legge, who is piloting the No. 07 for SS GreenLight Racing, qualified 24th with a best lap of 135.673 seconds (107.411 mph).
The Xfinity Series will take the green flag at 3 p.m. (ET) on Saturday.