AdvoCare 500 Qualifying Report
STEWART-HAAS RACING
AdvoCare 500 Qualifying Report
Date: Sept. 3, 2011
Event: Advocare 500 (Round 25 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Kasey Kahne of Red Bull Racing (29.775 seconds at 186.196 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (9th, 29.889 seconds at 185.486 mph)
Tony Stewart (20th, 30.147 seconds at 183.899 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Army Reserve Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Atlanta Motor Speedway by qualifying ninth for Sunday night’s AdvoCare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman turned a lap of 29.889 seconds at 185.486 mph on the 1.54-mile oval.
“We’re having a pretty good weekend so far,” said Newman, who has six top-10 finishes in 18 career Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta. “We didn’t get everything out of the qualifying lap, but overall it wasn’t a bad effort for our Army Reserve Chevrolet. We’ll have a top-10 starting position and a good racecar to work with tomorrow night.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 20th after turning a lap of 30.147 seconds at 183.899 mph.
“I’m happy with our racecar,” said Stewart, who won at Atlanta in March 2002, October 2006 and September 2010. “We didn’t put up the best qualifying lap, but I think our car is really good in race trim. The guys have worked really hard on the Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet and we’re ready for tomorrow night.”
Kasey Kahne captured his 22nd career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his second at Atlanta by posting a lap of 29.775 seconds at 186.196 mph.
Clint Bowyer will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 29.819 seconds at 185.922 mph. Kyle Busch (29.832 seconds at 185.841 mph) was third, while Brian Vickers (29.843 seconds at 185.772 mph) and Jeff Gordon (29.849 seconds at 185.735 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the Advocare 500. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Tony Raines, David Stremme, Geoffrey Bodine and T.J. Bell.
As far as manufacturers went, Toyota took the top spot via Kahne’s pole run. Chevrolet was next best at the hands of Bowyer. Ford was the third-fastest make thanks to sixth-quick Matt Kenseth (29.853 seconds at 185.710 mph), while 10th-quick Kurt Busch (29.915 seconds at 185.325 mph) carried the flag for Dodge.
The Advocare 500 gets underway at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 6:30 p.m.
-SHR-
