STEWART-HAAS RACING: Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying
Date: May 21, 2009
Event: Coca-Cola 600 Qualifying (Round 12 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C. (1.5-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Ryan Newman of Stewart-Haas Racing (28.651 seconds at 188.475 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (1st, 28.651 seconds at 188.475 mph)
Tony Stewart (28th, 29.067 seconds at 185.778 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., by winning the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman turned a lap of 28.651 seconds at 188.475 mph on the 1.5-mile oval to log the 44th pole of his Sprint Cup career and the first for SHR.
“Great job, top to bottom, by everyone involved,” said Newman, whose first career Sprint Cup pole came in the 2001 Coca-Cola 600, and he now has eight poles in 17 career Sprint Cup starts at Charlotte. “It’s a great opportunity to be here and drive good cars. We’ve just to keep doing what we’ve been doing and move forward.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for SHR, qualified 28th. The co-owner of SHR along with Oxnard, Calif.-based Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world – turned a lap of 29.067 seconds at 185.778 mph.
“Our car was a little too free back to the gas in that qualifying run,” said Stewart, who comes into the Coca-Cola 600 after winning the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte – the first win of any kind for SHR. “It just didn’t have the grip that it had in practice. But it’s a long race, and we have a lot of adjustability built into the car.”
Kyle Busch will start alongside Newman on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 28.684 seconds at 188.258 mph. Jeff Gordon (28.694 seconds at 188.193 mph) was third, while Mark Martin (28.698 seconds at 188.166 mph) and Jimmie Johnson (28.751 seconds at 187.820 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600, the longest on the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were J.J. Yeley, Mike Garvey, Todd Bodine and David Starr.
As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet took four of the top-five spots, with Toyota being the lone make to crack the top-five via Busch. Dodge was next best at the hands of sixth-quick Kasey Kahne (28.801 seconds at 187.493 mph), while the top Ford came courtesy of Bill Elliott, who posted the 10th-fastest time (28.851 seconds at 187.169 mph).
The Coca-Cola 600 gets underway at 5:45 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 24 with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 5 p.m.
