Brickyard 400 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Brickyard 400 Qualifying
Date: July 24, 2010
Event: Brickyard 400 Qualifying (Round 20 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (49.375 seconds at 182.278 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (5th, 49.521 seconds at 181.741 mph)
Tony Stewart (15th, 49.894 seconds at 180.382 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 Indianapolis Motor Speedway by qualifying fifth for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman went out 26th and turned a lap of 49.521 seconds at 181.741 mph on the 2.5-mile oval.
“It was a good lap for our Haas Automation Chevy, especially with the late qualifying draw, so I’m pretty happy with our time,” said Newman, who grew up in South Bend, Ind., located about three hours north of Indianapolis. “It backs up where we were in practice yesterday. I told Tony Gibson (crew chief) I couldn’t complain about the car at all balance-wise in my qualifying lap. I’m really looking forward to our practices today to see what we have in race trim.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 15th after turning a lap of 49.894 seconds at 180.382 mph. Stewart was the first driver to make a qualifying lap.
“We got the perfect draw, but I’m not sure we were able to capitalize on it,” said Stewart, who won the Brickyard 400 in 2005 and 2007 and hails from nearby Columbus, Ind. “It was a lot slicker out there than I thought it was going to be. It’s been a hot week here in Indy.”
Juan Pablo Montoya captured his fourth career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his first at Indianapolis by posting a lap of 49.375 seconds at 182.278 mph. His car owner, Chip Ganassi, won this year’s Indianapolis 500 with driver Dario Franchitti. Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 while also driving for Ganassi.
Jimmie Johnson will start alongside Montoya on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 49.412 seconds at 182.142 mph. Mark Martin was third (49.504 seconds at 181.803 mph), while Montoya’s teammate Jamie McMurray (49.519 seconds at 181.748 mph) and Newman rounded out the top-five.
Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the Brickyard 400. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were David Gilliland, Casey Mears, David Stremme and J.J. Yeley.
As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet swept the first three rows, as Clint Bowyer qualified sixth (49.582 seconds at 181.517 mph). Ford broke up the Chevy juggernaut thanks to seventh-quick Greg Biffle (49.627 seconds at 181.353 mph), as Chevrolet also took the eighth, ninth and 10th spots, respectively, via Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton. Dodge was the third-fastest make with Brad Keselowski’s 11th-place run (49.756 seconds at 180.883 mph). Martin Truex Jr., who qualified 12th, was the top Toyota (49.798 seconds at 180.730 mph).
The Brickyard 400 gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 25 with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at noon.
-SHR-
