Emory Healthcare 500 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Emory Healthcare 500 Qualifying
Date: Sept. 4, 2010
Event: Emory Healthcare 500 Qualifying (Round 25 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. (1.54-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (29.587 seconds at 187.380 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (2nd, 29.636 seconds at 187.070 mph)
Tony Stewart (5th, 29.666 seconds at 186.881 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Reserve Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., by qualifying second for Saturday’s Emory Healthcare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. Newman turned a lap of 29.636 seconds at 187.070 mph on the 1.54-mile oval.
“It was a good lap for the Army Reserve Chevrolet. Trying to break that jinx (in trying to break Buddy Baker’s record for number of poles at Atlanta) that you have given me,” said Newman, who has seven career poles at Atlanta, tied with Buddy Baker for the most all-time at the track. “I felt like I had everything I could get out of (turns) three and four and didn’t get everything out of it in (turns) one and two. The track is so unpredictable with the bumps and everything else that, even when you think you hit your marks, you can hit a bump just a little bit the wrong way and get thrown off. We did our best and, either way, it should be a good starting spot. Really looking forward to it. I think we have a good car for tomorrow night’s race.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for SHR, qualified fifth with a time of 29.666 seconds at 186.881 mph.
“Our car’s not as good as Ryan’s. Well, actually, probably as good as Ryan’s. I just don’t do as good of a job at qualifying as Ryan does,” said Stewart, who scored victories at Atlanta in March 2002 and October 2006. “I am proud of this Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy team. It is a pretty decent spot and we should get a good pit selection. I’m pretty proud of these guys.”
The last time both SHR cars qualified in the top-10 came two weeks ago at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, where Stewart qualified fourth and Newman qualified sixth.
Denny Hamlin captured his eighth career pole, his first of the season and his first in 11 career Sprint Cup races at Atlanta by posting a lap of 29.587 seconds at 187.380 mph. The pole was the 50th Cup Series pole for Joe Gibbs Racing as an organization.
Newman will start alongside Hamlin on the outside of row one. Hamlin’s teammate Kyle Busch was third (29.637 seconds at 187.063 mph), while Carl Edwards (29.666 seconds at 186.881 mph) and Stewart rounded out the top-five. While Edwards and Stewart clocked in at identical times on the speed chart, Edwards will start fourth based on his higher position in the owner point standings. Edwards is fourth in points and Stewart sits sixth.
Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the Emory Healthcare 500. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Todd Bodine, Landon Cassill, Jason Leffler and Scott Riggs.
As far as manufacturers went, Toyota took the top spot thanks to Hamlin’s pole-winning mark. Chevrolet was next-best at the hands of Newman, while Ford was the fourth-fastest make via Edwards. Kurt Busch carried the flag for Dodge by qualifying 11th (29.769 seconds at 186.234 mph).
The Emory Healthcare 500 gets underway at 7:30 p.m. EDT Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.
-SHR-
