Toyota/Save Mart 350k Qualifying
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Toyota/Save Mart 350k Qualifying
Date: June 24, 2011
Event: Toyota/Save Mart 350k Qualifying (Round 16 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. (10-turn, 1.99-mile road course)
Pole Winner: Joey Logano of Joe Gibbs Racing (76.821 seconds at 93.256 mph)
SHR Lineup: Ryan Newman (5th, 76.981 seconds at 93.062 mph)
Tony Stewart (20th, 77.714 seconds at 92.184 mph)
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., by qualifying fifth for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman turned a lap of 76.981 seconds at 93.062 mph on the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course.
“It was a good lap for our Haas Automation Chevrolet,” said Newman, who posted his first top-five qualifying effort at Infineon. “We were on the pole for a little bit, but I was pretty sure it wouldn’t hold. We still got a top-five out of it and we qualified better than we practiced, so we improved for sure.”
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 20th after turning a lap of 77.714 seconds at 92.184 mph.
“That’s pretty disappointing,” said Stewart, who won at Infineon in June 2001 and June 2005. “We struggled in practice and it showed in qualifying. But, we have two more practice sessions tomorrow to get it right for Sunday.”
Joey Logano captured his second career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season and his first at Infineon by posting a lap of 76.821 seconds at 93.256 mph. His only other pole came in March 2010 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Jamie McMurray will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 76.848 seconds at 93.223 mph. Paul Menard was third (76.887 seconds at 93.176 mph), while Denny Hamlin (76.965 seconds at 93.081 mph) and Newman rounded out the top-five.
Forty-four drivers attempted to qualify for the Toyota/Save Mart 350k. The lone driver not making the cut in the 43-car field was Tony Ave.
As far as manufacturers went, Toyota took the top spot via Logano’s pole run. Chevrolet was next best at the hands of McMurray. Ford was the third-fastest make thanks to seventh-quick A.J. Allmendinger (77.086 seconds at 92.935 mph), while 11th-quick Kurt Busch (77.352 seconds at 92.616 mph) carried the flag for Dodge.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350k gets underway at 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday with live coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at 2 p.m.
-SHR-
