Sylvania 300 Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Sylvania 300 Qualifying
Date: Sept. 17, 2010
Event: Sylvania 300 Qualifying (Round 27 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (1.058-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Brad Keselowski of Penske Racing (28.515 seconds at 133.572 mph)
SHR Lineup: Tony Stewart (3rd, 28.549 seconds at 133.413 mph)
Ryan Newman (24th, 28.842 seconds at 132.057 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 New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon by qualifying third for Sunday’s Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Stewart turned a lap of 28.549 seconds at 133.413 mph on the 1.058-mile oval.
“I just missed it a little bit (laughs). I tried a little too hard, I think,” said Stewart, who has two Sprint Cup wins at New Hampshire in July 2000 and July 2005. “We’ve got a really good racecar. I’m pretty proud of the guys. It drives awesome. This Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy is pretty fast. It may not have gotten the pole here, but we’re going to be something to deal with on Sunday.”
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala for SHR, qualified 24th with a time of 28.842 seconds at 132.057 mph.
“We didn’t have much more,” said Newman, who won at New Hampshire in September 2002 and September 2005. “Unfortunately, this is a track where it’s a big advantage to start up front. As I’ve said many times, New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the birthplace of track position. But we’ve started in the back before and patiently climbed our way to the front. So far our U.S. Army Chevrolet has been pretty good in race trim and we have a couple of practices tomorrow to do some fine tuning.”
Brad Keselowski captured his first career Sprint Cup pole by posting a lap of 28.515 seconds at 133.572 mph.
Clint Bowyer will start alongside Keselowski on the outside of row one as he timed in at 28.538 seconds at 133.464 mph. Stewart was third, while Jamie McMurray (28.554 seconds at 133.389 mph) and Juan Pablo Montoya (28.561 seconds at 133.357 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Forty-five drivers attempted to qualify for the Sylvania 300. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Johnny Sauter and Jeff Green.
As far as manufacturers went, Dodge took the top spot thanks to the pole-winning run by Keselowski. Chevrolet was next best at the hands of Bowyer while Ford was the third-fastest make thanks to A.J. Allmendinger’s sixth-fastest effort (28.579 seconds at 133.273 mph). David Reutimann carried the flag for Toyota by qualifying seventh (28.584 seconds at 133.249 mph).
The Sylvania 300 – the first race of the 10-race Chase for the Championship – begins at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN. A pre-race show will be broadcast at noon on ESPN2.
-SHR-
