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STEWART-HAAS RACING
Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Qualifying

Date: July 15, 2011
Event: Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Qualifying (Round 19 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Ryan Newman of Stewart-Haas Racing (28.165 seconds at 135.232 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (1st, 28.165 seconds at 135.232 mph)
Tony Stewart (2nd, 28.200 seconds at 135.064 mph)

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) drivers Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart proved to be rock solid in the Granite State as they qualified 1-2 for Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. It marked the first time SHR drivers have swept the front row for a Sprint Cup race.

Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, turned a track-record lap of 28.165 seconds at 135.232 mph on the 1.058-mile oval. It was his 47th career Sprint Cup pole, his series-best fifth at New Hampshire and his first of 2011. He is now alone in 10th place on the all-time Sprint Cup career pole list.

“I’m just proud of the U.S. Army team and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing for getting our first front row together,” said Newman, who won at New Hampshire in September 2002 and September 2005. “We’ve made our cars better, inside and out, and Mobil 1 deserves a lot of credit for the inside part. Each week we unload with a little bit better race car and a little bit better engineering and a little bit better strategy and a little bit more knowledge and more notes on where to start.

“The car felt good in practice. The lap itself was nice and smooth. I wouldn’t say it was perfect, but it was good enough, and if we can make that a little bit better for Sunday, we’ll be in really good shape.”

This is the sixth pole for SHR, with the last one coming at the hands of Stewart on July 30, 2010 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, 33 races ago. Newman’s previous pole came on May 27, 2010 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, turned a lap of 28.200 seconds at 135.064 mph to claim the outside of row one.

“This is awesome,” said Stewart, who won at New Hampshire in July 2000 and July 2005. “Our partnership with Mobil 1 is really paying off, and that showed today. Their engine oil, chassis lubricants, gear oil – even their power steering fluid – helped put us on the front row. It’s about reducing friction, heat and rolling resistance, and after looking up at the board, I’d say their stuff did a pretty good job of that.

“We also have a great group of guys at SHR. We’ve got great engines and great chassis from Hendrick Motorsports and I’m just really proud of our organization. We’ve been fighting hard here and it’s definitely not an easy time for us at the shop. But we’ve got a group of guys here who are racers. They stay focused and they keep working. This is for all of our guys in the fab shop and the prep shop and the job that they do to get us here. Plus, I’ve got a pretty good driver over there (Newman).”

Twelve drivers bested the previous track record of 28.515 seconds at 133.572 mph, set by Brad Keselowski during qualifying for last September’s Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire.

Trailing the SHR duo in qualifying was third-quick David Reutimann (28.263 seconds at 134.763 mph), while Kurt Busch (28.352 seconds at 134.340 mph) and Keselowski (28.392 seconds at 134.150 mph) rounded out the top-five.

Forty-six drivers attempted to qualify for the Lenox Industrials Tools 301. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Tony Raines, Scott Riggs and Dennis Setzer.

As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet took the top two spots via Newman and Stewart. Toyota was next best care of Reutimann, while Busch was the top Dodge. Ford was the fourth-fastest make thanks to 15th-quick Carl Edwards (28.550 seconds at 133.408 mph).

The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday with live coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at noon.

-SHR-