AMP Energy Juice 500 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
AMP Energy Juice 500 Qualifying
Date: Oct. 30, 2010
Event: AMP Energy Juice 500 Qualifying (Round 33 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (51.863 seconds at 184.640 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (8th, 52.111 seconds at 183.762 mph)
Tony Stewart (26th, 52.389 seconds at 182.786 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Talladega (Ala.) Speedway by qualifying eighth for Sunday’s AMP Energy Juice 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.
Newman turned a lap of 52.111 seconds at 183.762 mph on the 2.66-mile oval.
“Well it was good for a while,” said Newman, whose best finish in 17 career Sprint Cup starts at Talladega was a third-place effort in April 2009. “I didn’t know what to expect. I just go out there and do my thing and hit all my marks and do what the crew chief tells me and see how fast the car is. This is really his play place up to the point of race day as far as getting the car fast and making sure it’s drivable and all that stuff, and getting the vibrations out of it and getting it right on the splitter and drag-wise and horsepower. That’s 99 percent of everything that goes on before the race itself in Sunday.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for SHR, qualified 26th with a time of 52.389 seconds at 182.786 mph.
“This is a day that is not about the drivers,” said Stewart, who scored his only victory in 23 starts at Talladega in October 2008. “It is about the crew guys and the hard work those guys do at the shop. I’m proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and proud of the Hendrick Engine Department. They have all have been working hard to make us better here.”
Juan Pablo Montoya captured his fifth career Sprint Cup pole, his third of the season and his second at Talladega by posting a lap of 51.863 seconds at 184.640 mph.
Clint Bowyer will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 51.903 seconds at 184.498 mph. Kurt Busch was third (51.934 seconds at 184.388 mph), while Joe Nemechek (51.972 seconds at 184.253 mph) and Jeff Burton (51.998 seconds at 184.161 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-six drivers attempted to qualify for the AMP Energy Juice 500. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Landon Cassill, Travis Kvapil and Johnny Sauter.
As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet took the top spot thanks to Montoya’s pole. Dodge was next-best at the hands of third-quick Kurt Busch, while Toyota was the third-fastest make thanks to Nemechek’s fourth-place effort. Carl Edwards who qualified 23rd, was the top Ford at 52.379 seconds at 182.821 mph.
The AMP Energy Juice 500 gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN. A pre-race show beginning at noon will air on ESPN2.
-SHR-
