Rain or no rain—it didn’t matter to Ryan Newman, who won the pole for Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the second race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
After a rain delay halted Friday’s qualifying session, Newman, the last driver to make an attempt, posted a lap at 135.002 mph (28.213 seconds) to knock Kasey Kahne (134.763 mph), who had preceded him on the track, out of the top spot.
The pole was Newman’s third of the season and the 49th of his career. The driver of the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet won the July race at New Hampshire from the pole.
As the fastest driver in Friday’s practice, Newman would have started from the top spot whether or not rain had washed out the session. Had he started first based on practice speed, however, he wouldn’t have gotten credit for a pole. NASCAR.com
“It was a good race for Stewart-Haas (Racing) and a good race for our team,” Newman said prior to practice for Sunday’s Sylvania 300. “We had at least a third-place car toward the end if we’d have had enough fuel. We had a car that was as good as Stewart’s. He just had a little better fuel mileage. It was a great feeling knowing we had two cars that were capable of winning Even though we finished eighth, we had a better car than that.
“It’s huge for those guys that are assembling the race cars. It gives us confidence in the pieces they’re bolting together. Even though our setups might be a little different, they’re virtually the same when it comes to gears, rear ends; things that make a difference.”
Newman, who has never finished higher than sixth in points, says his team’s performance at Chicagoland gives him reason to think that his team will be able to perform at 1 ½-mile tracks like Charlotte, Kansas and Homestead-Miami, which loom in the Chase. USA Today
Kahne, who was the second-to-last qualifier, posted a lap at 134.763 mph to earn the outside pole. Vickers held the provisional pole before Newman and Kahne made their runs. He will start third.
Greg Biffle qualified fourth, while Kurt Busch, a championship contender, completed the top-five.
With five drivers remaining in the 45-car field for qualifying, a light rain fell on the racetrack, forcing the lengthy delay for track-drying efforts. Juan Pablo Montoya was the first of the five to make his attempt when qualifying resumed. Montoya felt the track was not dry enough when he made his run. He ended up qualifying 31st.
“They [NASCAR] know the track is in bad condition and tried to work on it,” he said. “As soon as I went, the windshield was full of rain. I asked, ‘Should I go, should I go?’ And then I tried to go. We had a car that was fast enough to be on pole. It’s a frickin’ joke.”
Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kahne and Newman were next in line. MiamiHerald.com
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire - Race Line-Up
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