Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying
Date: May 27, 2010
Event: Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying (Round 13 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Ryan Newman of Stewart-Haas Racing (28.793 seconds at 187.546 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (1st, 28.793 seconds at 187.546 mph)
Tony Stewart (26th, 29.296 seconds at 184.326 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 Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway by winning the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman, who will make his 309th career Sprint Cup start on Sunday, turned a lap of 28.793 seconds at 187.546 mph on the 1.5-mile oval.
It was the 46th Sprint Cup pole of Newman’s career, but his first of 2010. The quick time placed Newman in a tie with inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Junior Johnson for 10th on the all-time Sprint Cup pole list.
“It was a great run for the U.S. Army Chevrolet,” said Newman, who now has nine poles in 19 career Sprint Cup races at Charlotte. “That was the most courageous lap I probably could’ve ever had around here. I told the guys I was going to stick to what I ran in practice and that was the top. I watched what Juan (Pablo Montoya) did. He was up pretty good up off of (turn) two all the way down into (turn) three and just didn’t get (turns) three and four quite right, and he was the best car, by far, in practice. It was a good run for us and we’ll see what we can do in the Coca-Cola 600.
“It was a great effort for everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. It’s Memorial Day weekend and there is no better place for the U.S. Army Chevy to start.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 26th after turning a lap of 29.296 seconds at 184.326 mph.
“We were a little loose,” said Stewart, who scored SHR’s last pole five races ago at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. “We have all day Saturday to work on it some more, but you still have to build in a lot of adjustability since you start in the heat of the afternoon and then end at night. Six hundred miles is a long race.”
Kurt Busch will start alongside Newman on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 28.832 seconds at 187.292 mph. Martin Truex Jr., was third (28.848 seconds at 187.188 mph), while Kasey Kahne (28.851 seconds at 187.169 mph) and Jimmie Johnson (28.881 seconds at 186.974 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Reed Sorenson, Max Papis, David Stremme and Mike Bliss
As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet took the top spot thanks to Newman’s pole-winning mark, which was the fourth pole for SHR. Dodge was next best at the hands of Busch, while Toyota was the third-fastest make via Truex. Kahne carried the flag for Ford.
The Coca-Cola 600 gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 30 with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 5 p.m.
-SHR-
