Pruett, Ganassi win pole at The Glen
Pruett ran a lap of 1:40.562 (121.716 mph) in the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley, and will join Jon Fogarty on the front row when the green flag waves at 2 p.m. (SPEED live 2-4 and 6-8:30 p.m.)
Fogarty ran a lap of 1:41.242 (120.898 mph) in the No. 99 GAINSCO Chevrolet/Riley that he will co-drive with Alex Gurney and four-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. Fogarty and Memo Rojas – Pruett's co-driver – were involved in an incident in the first turn of the first lap in Monday's Memorial Day Classic at Lime Rock Park. The Chip Ganassi-owned team finished last in that event, seeing their Daytona Prototype championship point lead shrink from 21 to seven points over Ryan Dalziel.
"We were very disappointed with the race at Lime Rock, and we wanted to shake it off," said Pruett, who joined Rojas in winning the 2008 and 2009 Watkins Glen events. "Starting next to Fogarty is no big deal. We've been racing together for a long time. That's all in our rear-view mirrors. Now we're focused on the race."
Johnson participated in Friday morning's practice session, running five laps in his first experience on WGI's 3.4-mile "long" circuit. Johnson improved on each lap and was running fifth overall in the session after his final lap – 1:45.683 (115.818 mph). He then rushed to a waiting helicopter for a 50-minute ride to Long Pond, Pa., to practice and qualify for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.
The Glen's 3.4-mile course contrasts to the 2.45-mile layout used when NASCAR comes to the track. The reason for the difference: a one-mile, four-turn segment known as "the boot."
"It's a whole different challenge," Johnson said of running the Glen's long course. "I feel like I've actually finally experienced this track right for the first time."
Burt Frisselle qualified third in the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford/Riley, 1:41.317 (120.809 mph), and will be joined on the second row by Buddy Rice, 1:41.678 (120.380 mph) in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Porsche/Coyote.
Ozz Negri was fifth in the No. 60 Crown Royal XR Ford/Riley, 1:41.763 (120.279), followed by Max Angelelli – who joined Ricky Taylor in winning Monday's race at Lime Rock -in the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Ford/Dallara, 1:41.771 (120.270 mph).