Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Qualifying
Date: July 30, 2010
Event: Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Qualifying (Round 21 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Pole Winner: Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing (52.511 seconds at 171.393 mph)
SHR Lineup: Tony Stewart (1st, 52.511 seconds at 171.393 mph)
Ryan Newman (5th, 52.961 seconds at 169.936 mph)
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway by qualifying on the pole for Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Stewart turned a lap of 52.511 seconds at 171.393 mph on the 2.5-mile triangle.
It was the 12th Sprint Cup pole of Stewart’s career, and his second this season as the two-time Sprint Cup Series champion also won the first starting spot in April at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. The last time Stewart won multiple poles in a season was in 2005, when he took the top starting position three times.
“I knew we were really good through turn one and through the tunnel turn and I don’t know where I was with everybody else through turn three, but I knew it was a pretty good lap,” said Stewart, who also won the pole at Pocono in July 2000. “I mean it was better than what we practiced for sure. I just didn’t know how good it was. I’m really proud of all these guys on this Office Depot/Old Spice team.”
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala for SHR, qualified fifth with a time of 52.961 seconds at 169.936 mph.
“We have a really good U.S. Army Chevrolet,” said Newman, who won at Pocono in July 2003. “We unloaded good today, and I think we’ll be good on Sunday. I was a little tight in turn one, but I felt like I was really good in the tunnel turn and pretty good in turn three. I really think I gave up most of my time there.”
With Stewart on the pole and Newman fifth, it marked the first time ever both SHR cars qualified in the top-five.
Juan Pablo Montoya will start alongside Stewart on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 52.602 seconds at 171.096 mph. Denny Hamlin was third (52.826 seconds at 170.371 mph), while Jeff Gordon (52.872 seconds at 170.222 mph) and Newman rounded out the top-five.
Forty-five drivers attempted to qualify for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were David Stremme and Max Papis.
As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet swept the top two spots thanks to Stewart and Montoya, while Toyota was next best at the hands of third-fastest Hamlin. Ford was the third-fastest make thanks to A.J. Allmendinger’s seventh-place run (52.979 seconds at 169.879). Brad Keselowski carried the flag for Dodge by qualifying 11th (53.084 seconds at 169.543 mph).
The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at noon on ESPN2.
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