AJ makes it six in a row at Pocono

POCONO, PA- AJ and the 84 crew made it six in a row for qualifying attempts today for Sunday’s Pocono 500. AJ went out and on his first lap picked up an impressive .8-second from his fastest practice time to turn in a time of 54.194 (166.07-mph). Crew chief Ricky Viers called him in and we waited for the rest of the 21 cars of the 49 here.

When it was all in, AJ clinched the 28th starting spot and joined three other Toyotas making the grid.

“I’m really proud of my guys,” said Allmendinger. “We had started the day way off and they pulled it around to lock us in. Considering we only had twelve or thirteen hot laps, I’m pretty happy with the day. This has also been one of the two or three toughest tracks we’ve been at in my opinion. With some of the guys that are going home, Sunday is going to be a really important points day for us.”

The Cup cars have two practice sessions tomorrow, the first at 10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m. The final practice is 11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m. The Pocono 500 is Sunday, with coverage switching to TNT and starting at 1:00 p.m. (ET).