Coke Zero 400 Qualifying
Coke Zero 400 Qualifying
Date: July 3, 2009
Event: Coke Zero 400 Qualifying (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Pole Winner: None, qualifying canceled due to rain (field set via current car owner point standings)
SHR Lineup: Tony Stewart (1st)
Ryan Newman (7th)
Rain canceled today’s qualifying session for the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. As a result, the 43-car field for Saturday night’s 160-lap race was set by current car owner points per the NASCAR rulebook.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Burger King Chevrolet Impala SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will start on the pole as his car is first in owner points. It marks the third time in the past four races and the second consecutive race that Stewart has been awarded the pole after rain washed out qualifying.
“You have to have a good, balanced car to get to the front and stay up front, said Stewart, who won back-to-back Coke Zero 400s at Daytona in July 2005 and July 2006. “Handling is always a big issue here at Daytona. It’s not just necessarily strategy of being in the right place at the right time as much as having a good handling racecar.”
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for SHR, will start seventh.
“I really enjoy the racetrack,” said Newman, who won the 50th running of the Daytona 500 in 2008. “I look forward to coming back here for more than just the 500, but it’s still neat to come back and drive through the tunnel and know that on a given day here you beat everybody in the 50th running of the greatest race.”
Jeff Gordon will start on the outside of row one, while Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards comprise the remainder of the top-five. Denny Hamlin, Newman, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth round out the top-10.
Forty-five drivers were slated to qualify for the Coke Zero 400. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Max Papis and Mike Wallace.
The Coke Zero 400 gets underway at 8 p.m. EDT on Saturday, July 4 with live coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at 7:30 p.m.
