AAA 400 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
AAA 400 Qualifying
Date: Sept. 24, 2010
Event: AAA 400 Qualifying (Round 28 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Dover (Del.) International Speedway (1-mile, concrete oval)
Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (23.116 seconds at 155.736 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (14th, 23.287 seconds at 154.593 mph)
Tony Stewart (26th, 23.416 seconds at 153.741 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Dover (Del.) International Speedway by qualifying 14th for Sunday’s AAA 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman turned a lap of 23.287 seconds at 154.593 mph on the 1-mile, concrete oval.
“It didn’t get the first lap I wanted,” said Newman, who has three Sprint Cup wins at Dover (June 2003, September 2004 and September 2005). “I clipped the apron in turn two. It was my fault. We’ve got a good Haas Automation Chevrolet for Sunday and we’ll work on it tomorrow.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 26th after turning a lap of 23.416 seconds at 153.741 mph.
“We’ve got some work to do,” said Stewart, who has two Sprint Cup wins at Dover (June 2000 and September 2000). “But we’ve been here before where we worked hard on Saturday and made a lot of gains that put us in a good place on Sunday. That’s what we’ll have to do again this weekend with the Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet.”
Jimmie Johnson captured his 25th career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his third at Dover by posting a lap of 23.116 seconds at 155.736 mph.
A.J. Allmendinger will start alongside Johnson on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 23.130 seconds at 155.642 mph. Martin Truex Jr., was third (23.173 seconds at 155.353 mph), while Denny Hamlin (23.178 seconds at 155.320 mph) and Juan Pablo Montoya (23.218 seconds at 155.052 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-six drivers attempted to qualify for the AAA 400. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Jeff Green, Josh Wise and Ted Musgrave.
As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet took the top spot thanks to Johnson’s pole-winning mark. Ford was next best at the hands of Allmendinger, while Toyota was the third-fastest make thanks to Truex. Kurt Busch, who qualified eighth, was the top Dodge at 23.252 seconds at 154.825 mph.
The AAA 400 gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 26 with live coverage provided by ESPN. A pre-race show beginning at noon will air on ESPN2.
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