Newman wins second consecutive Loudon pole
Newman won the first race in Loudon from pole, can he also win the 2nd from pole? |
Rain or no rain — it didn't matter to Ryan Newman, who won the pole for Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the second race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
After a rain delay halted Friday's qualifying session, Newman, the last driver to make an attempt, posted a lap at 135.002 mph (28.213 seconds) to knock Kasey Kahne (134.763 mph), who had preceded him on the track, out of the top spot.
The pole was Newman's third of the season and the 49th of his career. The driver of the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet won the July race at New Hampshire from the pole.
As the fastest driver in Friday's practice, Newman would have started from the top spot whether or not rain had washed out the session. Had he started first based on practice speed, however, he wouldn't have gotten credit for a pole.
Kahne's Red Bull Racing teammate, Brian Vickers, qualified before the rain delay, and his speed of 134.648 mph stood up for the third starting position. Greg Biffle (134.587 mph) will start fourth. Kurt Busch qualified fifth at 134.382 mph.
Newman made his pole-winning run on his only lap and then shut the car down, whereas many drivers had improved their speeds on a second of two laps.
"It took a little bit more [time] for my tires to fire up, as far as stick[ing], and that kind of scared me a little bit, but I ran the first lap just as I expected to, as I did in practice, and it was enough to win the pole," said Newman, who paced qualifying for the sixth time at the Magic Mile.
"Our car was typically quicker on the first lap and not the second in practice. I was glad I got him on the first lap, and [crew chief Tony] Gibson said, 'Shut her down,' and that was a good sign for me."
Lineup
POS | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
1 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 135.002 | 28.213 | Leader |
2 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | Red Bull | 134.763 | 28.263 | -0.050 |
3 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 134.648 | 28.287 | -0.074 |
4 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Ford40MPG.com | 134.587 | 28.300 | -0.087 |
5 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 134.382 | 28.343 | -0.130 |
6 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 134.354 | 28.349 | -0.136 |
7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 134.160 | 28.390 | -0.177 |
8 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's | 134.146 | 28.393 | -0.180 |
9 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 134.146 | 28.393 | -0.180 |
10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 134.075 | 28.408 | -0.195 |
11 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | 134.056 | 28.412 | -0.199 |
12 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Diet Mountain Dew / National Guard | 133.981 | 28.428 | -0.215 |
13 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | Best Buy | 133.820 | 28.462 | -0.249 |
14 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Sylvania / Menards | 133.816 | 28.463 | -0.250 |
15 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Bush's Best Baked Beans / Kingsford | 133.792 | 28.468 | -0.255 |
16 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 133.769 | 28.473 | -0.260 |
17 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | 133.755 | 28.476 | -0.263 |
18 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 133.595 | 28.510 | -0.297 |
19 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | 133.572 | 28.515 | -0.302 |
20 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Mobil 1 / Office Depot | 133.445 | 28.542 | -0.329 |
21 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 133.357 | 28.561 | -0.348 |
22 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Golden Corral / Richie Evans NASCAR Hall of Fame | 133.245 | 28.585 | -0.372 |
23 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Scotts WinterGuard Fertilizer | 133.203 | 28.594 | -0.381 |
24 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 133.114 | 28.613 | -0.400 |
25 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Axe Cool Metal | 132.905 | 28.658 | -0.445 |
26 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | UPS "We Love Logistics" | 132.896 | 28.660 | -0.447 |
27 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Affliction Clothing: Live Fast | 132.665 | 28.710 | -0.497 |
28 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 132.591 | 28.726 | -0.513 |
29 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Dewalt | 132.572 | 28.730 | -0.517 |
30 | 51 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | Thank A Teacher Today / Security Benefit | 132.429 | 28.761 | -0.548 |
31 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Degree Men | 132.232 | 28.804 | -0.591 |
32 | 38 | J.J. Yeley | Ford | Long John Silver's | 132.213 | 28.808 | -0.595 |
33 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 132.048 | 28.844 | -0.631 |
34 | 30 | David Stremme | Chevrolet | Inception Motorsports | 131.856 | 28.886 | -0.673 |
35 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | HP Racing LLC | 131.797 | 28.899 | -0.686 |
36 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Speed Energy | 131.352 | 28.997 | -0.784 |
37 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | GEICO | 131.293 | 29.010 | -0.797 |
38 | 55 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 131.058 | 29.062 | -0.849 |
39 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | NEMCO Motorsports | 130.833 | 29.112 | -0.899 |
40 | 32 | Mike Bliss | Ford | Street King | 130.613 | 29.161 | -0.948 |
41 | 37 | Josh Wise | Ford | Max Q Motorsports | 130.550 | 29.175 | -0.962 |
42 | 71 | Andy Lally+* | Ford | Interstate Moving Services | 128.784 | 29.575 | -1.362 |
43 | 46 | Scott Speed | Ford | Red Line Oil | 130.305 | 29.230 | -1.017 |
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie