Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Qualifying
Date: Aug. 6, 2011
Event: Good Sam RV Insurance 500 Qualifying (Round 21 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Pole Winner: Joey Logano of Joe Gibbs Racing (52.309 seconds at 172.055 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (12th, 52.697 seconds at 170.788 mph)
Tony Stewart (28th, 53.024 seconds at 169.734 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway by qualifying 12th for Sunday’s Good Sam RV Insurance 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman turned a lap of 52.697 seconds at 170.788 mph on the 2.5-mile triangle.
“It didn’t have the grip that I thought it was going to have,” said Newman, who won from the pole at Pocono in 2003. “The car just really never hooked up like it did yesterday. I don’t know if that’s the tires or not. I’m real proud of the guys. We’ve got a good, fast Tornados Chevy for tomorrow. We’ll take our 12th-place starting spot and see what we can do tomorrow to get it up front.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 28th after turning a lap of 53.024 seconds at 169.734 mph.
“Not a good lap, but the car is good,” said Stewart, who has two wins at Pocono (June 2003 and June 2009). “It’s obviously not the starting spot we want. You never want to be that far back, but 500 miles at this place is a long time. Our Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy is good, and I feel like it’ll get us up to where we’re supposed to be.”
Joey Logano captured his third career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his first at Pocono by posting a lap of 52.309 seconds at 172.055 mph. At age 21 years, two months, 13 days, Logano is the youngest pole winner at Pocono.
Kasey Kahne will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 52.433 seconds at 171.648 mph. Martin Truex, Jr., was third (52.480 seconds at 171.494 mph), while Carl Edwards (52.486 seconds at 171.474 mph) and Kurt Busch (52.488 seconds at 171.468 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-six drivers attempted to qualify for the Good Sam RV Insurance 500. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Geoffrey Bodine, T.J. Bell and Mike Skinner.
As far as manufacturers went, Toyota qualified 1-2-3 via the runs made by Logano, Kahne and Truex. Ford was the second-fastest make thanks to Edwards. Dodge was third best care of Busch, and carrying the flag for Chevrolet was Brickyard 400 winner and seventh-quick Paul Menard (52.518 seconds at 171.370 mph).
The Good Sam RV Insurance 500 gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at noon.
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