Ford 400 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Ford 400 Qualifying
Date: Nov. 19, 2011
Event: Ford 400 Qualifying (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Carl Edwards of Roush Fenway Racing (30.775 seconds at 175.467 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (14th, 31.147 seconds at 173.371 mph)
Tony Stewart (15th, 31.154 seconds at 173.332 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala for SHR, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway by qualifying 14th for Sunday’s season-ending Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman turned a lap of 31.147 seconds at 173.371 mph on the 1.5-mile oval.
“We felt the U.S. Army Chevy was going to produce a better qualifying effort than what we managed,” said Newman, who has three top-10 finishes in nine career Sprint Cup starts at Homestead. “We just didn’t get everything out of the (qualifying) run. I under-drove turns one and two and that’s what probably made the difference because I felt I nailed turns three and four. Based on our two practice sessions today, I feel we should be in good shape for tomorrow’s race.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala, will start 15th after turning a lap of 31.154 seconds at 173.332 mph.
“Well, the qualifying deal isn’t how our race is going to play out. So, this is one lap of 400 hundred miles we’ve still got to go,” said Stewart, who won at Homestead in 1999 and 2000. “Fifteenth is pretty solid. We didn’t have a pole-winning car today, but our Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy is pretty good in race trim. I’m glad we spent more time working on race trim than qualifying trim. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Carl Edwards captured his 10th career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his second at Homestead by posting a lap of 30.775 seconds at 175.467 mph.
Edwards leads Stewart by just three points in the championship standings. A win by Stewart will clinch his third Sprint Cup title, augmenting the championships he earned in 2002 and 2005.
Martin Truex Jr., will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 30.891 seconds at 174.808 mph. Kasey Kahne was third (30.931 seconds at 174.582 mph), while Kurt Busch (30.942 seconds at 174.520 mph) and Brad Keselowski (30.947 seconds at 174.492 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-eight drivers attempted to qualify for the Ford 400. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Scott Speed, Reed Sorenson, Mike Skinner, Scott Riggs and Grant Enfinger.
As far as manufacturers, Ford took the top spot with Edwards’ pole-winning run. Toyota was next best via Truex’s runner-up effort, while Dodge was the third-fastest make thanks to Kurt Busch. Seventh-quick Jeff Gordon (30.957 seconds at 174.436 mph) carried the flag for Chevrolet.
The Ford 400 gets underway at 3 p.m. EST on Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 2 p.m.
-SHR-
