Ryan Blaney has a plan.
“Manage the tires and don’t hit any concrete,” he said.
Oh, and “figure out the best ways to attack” Shane van Gisbergen.
Because the man who everyone figured would be the driver to beat in NASCAR’s inaugural Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado is, indeed, the driver to beat.
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Van Gisbergen won the pole for Sunday’s 75-lap Anduril 250 — the NASCAR Cup Series finale to San Diego Weekend at Naval Base Coronado.
It marked the sixth time that van Gisbergen won the pole for a NASCAR Cup race on a road or street course. He has won four of his first five starts from the pole.
Saturday, the driver they call “SVG” toured the 3.4-mile, 16-turn road course with a fast lap of 2 minutes, 14.788 seconds at an average speed of 90.809 mph. That is 1.66 mph faster than van Gisbergen toured the circuit during Friday’s practice session.
But it still didn’t come off 100% smooth. During his final qualifying lap, the masterful road racer exited the course into a run-off area.
“This is going to be a very difficult race,” said van Gisbergen. “It’s amazing to win the first pole here just because it is so difficult. My longer runs Friday in practice weren’t that good. The car was better today. But we still don’t have a complete book for the race.
“There has been less grip than expected. The speeds haven’t been as fast as expected. It’s still going to be a gamble with the tires. Who knows?”
Said Blaney: “We’re hoping we’re going to hit the setup right. Honestly, I think it’s going to be a heck of a race.”
“What you are hearing is that everyone thinks they could have done better in practice and qualifying,” said Carson Hocevar, who qualified second at 90.704 mph to give Chevrolet Camaros both front row spots.
Van Gisbergen was among the first group of drivers turning a qualifying lap Saturday. After he posted his pole-winning time, six other drivers — Blaney, Hocevar, Mike McDowell, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Todd Gilliland — were turning laps that were quicker than van Gisbergen … before falling off near the end.
Blaney’s Ford Mustang was the No. 3 qualifier at 90.634 mph, followed by Zane Smith (Ford, 90.405), Gilliland (Ford, 90.402), Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet, 90.377), Ryan Preece (Ford, 90.343), van Gisbergen’s 19-year-old Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch (90.077) and McDowell (Chevrolet, 90.048).
Some other key contenders didn’t fare as well in qualifying on a track where there could be few passing opportunities.
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Points leader Tyler Reddick qualified 17th (89.562) and spun out at the end of his run. Denny Hamlin, who comes to Coronado riding a three-race winning streak that has carried him into second in the standings, qualified 26th (88.777).
“I’m not where I want to be,” said Hamlin. “But road courses can be tough. If you stay out of trouble on a course like this, you never know. The race could come to you. There is going to be attrition.”
Van Gisbergen hopes the race starts on a cautious note as drivers sort out their cars and the track.
“There’s still a lot that we don’t know about this race,” he said. “I’m hoping it will start slowly and everyone will ramp up the aggressiveness. The problem is not just one corner on its own. It’s the combination of one turn leading into the next and there a lot of them.”
Coronado has a NASCAR-course-record 16 turns, not counting the left-right combination added late to slow the field heading into Turn 12.
But van Gisbergen will also be leading the field to the start alongside one of the most aggressive drivers in NASCAR — Hocevar, who is coming off his best qualifying run ever on a road course.
“Hopefully, there won’t be a problem,” said van Gisbergen. “We need a clean first lap.”
“Right now, most of us still feel challenged by the track,” said Austin Cindric. “No one has done a perfect lap. I haven’t learned enough yet. But we’re all figuring it out. I’m certainly stronger than I was yesterday.”
But many drivers are viewing this as an event that is bigger than the race itself.
“I loved this race to come back,” said Ricky Stenhouse. “I told NASCAR officials that before I ever got on the racetrack. Just the excitement and atmosphere here on the base. And San Diego offers so many great things to do for our fans and families.”
Concluded Cindric: “We’ve never had an event of this significance. It’s 250 for a reason. We’re racing past an aircraft carrier. Our fan zones have military helicopters parked in the middle. Where else has this ever happened?”
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Anduril 250
What: NASCAR Cup Series race
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Naval Base Coronado
Distance: 255 miles (75 laps; stages 20, 20, 35 laps)
TV: Prime Video