Newman rockets to pole at Bristol
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| Ryan Newman |
| Getty Images for NASCAR |
Ryan Newman sped around 0.533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway, billed as the world's fastest half mile, at 122.811 mph (15.624 seconds) to win the pole for Saturday's Irwin Tools Night Race, the 24th NASCAR Sprint Cup event of the season.
Newman edged Roush Fenway Racing drivers Carl Edwards (122.670 mph) and Matt Kenseth (122.662 mph) Friday to claim his second Coors Light pole award of the season and the 48th of his career. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon (122.576 mph) and Mark Martin (122.544 mph) will start from positions four and five, respectively.
Remarkably, Newman and Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Tony Stewart were at opposite ends of the spectrum, with Stewart posting the slowest qualifying lap in the session (116.397 mph). Stewart, winless this season, is fighting to keep the 10th position in the Sprint Cup standings.
J.J. Yeley, T.J. Bell and Jeff Green failed to qualify for the 43-car field.
Results
|
POS |
CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Realtree Outfitters | 122.811 | 15.624 | Leader |
| 2 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Aflac Dental | 122.670 | 15.642 | -0.018 |
| 3 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Crown Royal | 122.662 | 15.643 | -0.019 |
| 4 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 122.576 | 15.654 | -0.030 |
| 5 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance / GoDaddy.com | 122.544 | 15.658 | -0.034 |
| 6 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Realtree Outfitters | 122.537 | 15.659 | -0.035 |
| 7 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Sylvania / Menards | 122.404 | 15.676 | -0.052 |
| 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 122.349 | 15.683 | -0.059 |
| 9 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 122.310 | 15.688 | -0.064 |
| 10 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 122.224 | 15.699 | -0.075 |
| 11 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 122.100 | 15.715 | -0.091 |
| 12 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 122.053 | 15.721 | -0.097 |
| 13 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's / Kobalt Tools | 122.022 | 15.725 | -0.101 |
| 14 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 122.022 | 15.725 | -0.101 |
| 15 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Realtree / Bad Boy Buggies | 122.007 | 15.727 | -0.103 |
| 16 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Hamburger Helper | 122.007 | 15.727 | -0.103 |
| 17 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | Thanks Bristol Fans | 121.937 | 15.736 | -0.112 |
| 18 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Best Buy | 121.922 | 15.738 | -0.114 |
| 19 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 121.790 | 15.755 | -0.131 |
| 20 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Express | 121.751 | 15.760 | -0.136 |
| 21 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 121.713 | 15.765 | -0.141 |
| 22 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Amp Energy / Bristol 50th Anniversary / National Guard | 121.635 | 15.775 | -0.151 |
| 23 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Wrigley's Doublemint | 121.558 | 15.785 | -0.161 |
| 24 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS "We Love Logistics" | 121.543 | 15.787 | -0.163 |
| 25 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 121.497 | 15.793 | -0.169 |
| 26 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 121.289 | 15.820 | -0.196 |
| 27 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 121.274 | 15.822 | -0.198 |
| 28 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AMFMEnergy.com / Pellet & Wood Stoves | 121.175 | 15.835 | -0.211 |
| 29 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 121.144 | 15.839 | -0.215 |
| 30 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Bush's Baked Beans | 121.113 | 15.843 | -0.219 |
| 31 | 30 | David Stremme | Chevrolet | EchoStar Technologies / Inception Motorsports | 120.869 | 15.875 | -0.251 |
| 32 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | HP Racing LLC | 120.839 | 15.879 | -0.255 |
| 33 | 38 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Long John Silver's | 120.725 | 15.894 | -0.270 |
| 34 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron's Freedom Ride Dream Machine | 120.672 | 15.901 | -0.277 |
| 35 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Golden Corral | 120.452 | 15.930 | -0.306 |
| 36 | 46 | Scott Speed | Ford | RetakeOurGov.com | 120.309 | 15.949 | -0.325 |
| 37 | 195 | David Starr | Ford | AdvoCare | 120.150 | 15.970 | -0.346 |
| 38 | 71 | Andy Lally* | Ford | Interstate Moving Services | 119.835 | 16.012 | -0.388 |
| 39 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy | 119.835 | 16.012 | -0.388 |
| 40 | 51 | Mike Bliss | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction / Thank A Teacher Today-Securit-y Benefit | 119.559 | 16.049 | -0.425 |
| 41 | 32 | Terry Labonte+ | Ford | C&J Energy | 117.674 | 16.306 | -0.682 |
| 42 | 14 | Tony Stewart+ | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Office Depot | 116.397 | 16.485 | -0.861 |
| 43 | 60 | Mike Skinner | Toyota | Big Red | 119.262 | 16.089 | -0.465 |
| – | – | Did Not Qualify | – | – | – | – | – |
| 44 | 150 | T.J. Bell* | Chevrolet | Green Smoke | 119.158 | 16.103 | -0.479 |
| 45 | 55 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 119.062 | 16.116 | -0.492 |
| 46 | 37 | Jeff Green | Ford | Koma Unwind | 117.703 | 16.302 | -0.678 |