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Ryan Newman knows a little something about winning the pole position.
The Dodge driver, nicknamed “Rocket Man” for his penchant for spinning quick laps in qualifying, posted a 189.394 mph effort (28.512 seconds) Thursday night to capture the top spot for NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Bank of America 500.
The run was just strong enough to bump Jimmie Johnson, the darling of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, off the pole. Johnson, in a heated battle with teammate Jeff Gordon in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, has won five of the past nine points races at the 1.5-mile tri-oval including a sweep in 2004 and 2005. USAToday.com
Bobby Labonte qualified third, followed by points leader Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw and Jamie McMurray. Matt Kenseth qualified seventh, followed by Kurt Busch, Casey Mears and Greg Biffle of Vancouver, Wash. SeattleTimes. SeattleTimes
Johnson, who has won five of the past 12 races at LMS, will start second after a lap of 188.990 for Saturday night’s race, which marks the halfway point in the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship.
Newman, who also won the pole for the May race at LMS, went out three drivers after Johnson’s lap. With Johnson watching from pit road, Newman beat his speed on the first of two laps. CanadianPress
Once the Bank of America 500 starts, Ryan Newman knows most of the attention will go to the 12 drivers in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. That’s why he tried to get some attention during Thursday night’s qualifying session.
Newman’s Dodge ran 189.394 mph at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway to win the pole for Saturday night’s main event. And in the process, he delivered a salvo for the 32 drivers who aren’t racing for a championship.
“We’ve all got a job to do, ” Newman said after winning his sixth pole at the 1.5-mile quad-oval. “We try to get the job done. We did what we had to do to make the car fast. I don’t look at it like we have to create some fame because we’re not in the Chase. I went out there to be fast. That’s what we did. ” SavannahNow.com
