Stewart-Haas Racing: Toyota Save Mart 350k Qualifying Report
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Toyota/Save Mart 350k Qualifying
Date: June 19, 2009
Event: Toyota/Save Mart 350k Qualifying (Round 16 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. (1.99-mile, 10-turn road course)
Pole Winner: Brian Vickers of Red Bull Racing (76.475 seconds at 93.678 mph)
SHR Lineup: Tony Stewart (4th, 77.000 seconds at 93.039 mph)
Ryan Newman (7th, 77.076 seconds at 92.947 mph)
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., by qualifying fourth for Sunday’s Toyota /Save Mart 350k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Stewart turned a lap of 77.000 seconds at 92.947 mph on the 1.99-mile, 10-turn road course.
“I didn’t think the lap was that good,” said Stewart, who won at Infineon in 2001 and 2005. “I had to ask the guys twice because I couldn’t believe we were that high on the board. I’m happy with where it puts us in the lineup and I think our Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy is good for Sunday.”
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation/U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala SS for SHR, will start seventh after turning a lap of 77.076 seconds at 92.947 mph. He has two top-five and five top-10 finishes in seven starts at Sonoma.
“We struggled in practice, but that was a good qualifying lap for the Haas Automation Chevy,” Newman said. “We were a little too loose, and I probably could have pushed it harder but I was a little conservative because I wanted to make sure we had a solid qualifying lap. Our car wasn’t perfect, but if we can make it a little better in practice tomorrow, I think we will be really good on Sunday.”
Brian Vickers captured his ninth career pole, his fourth of the season and his first at Infineon Raceway by posting a lap of 76.475 seconds at 93.678 mph.
Kyle Busch, the defending winner of the Toyota/Save Mart 350k race will start alongside Vickers on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 76.690 seconds at 93.415 mph. Australian driver Marcos Ambrose was third (76.918 seconds at 93.138 mph), while Stewart and Kasey Kahne (77.040 seconds at 92.991mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the Toyota/Save Mart 350k. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Chris Cook, Tom Hubert, Brian Simo and Scott Speed.
As far as manufacturers went, Toyota took the top spot via the pole run made by Vickers, while Chevrolet was next best at the hands of fourth-fastest Stewart. Dodge was the third-fastest make thanks to Kahne’s fifth-place run, while ninth-quick Boris Said (77.084 seconds at 92.938 mph) carried the flag for Ford.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350k gets underway at 5 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 21 with live coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at 4:30 p.m.
