Ryan Newman takes pole in qualifying for Sylvania 300 – NASCAR news
Ryan Newman took his second pole in as many races at Loudon 2011 in the most dramatic of circumstances with a lap clocked at 135.002 mph which he completed in 28.213 seconds.
The qualifying session was interrupted due to rain with five cars still to run their qualifying lap. Juan Montoya, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman were left stranded in the pits while NASCAR officials tried to dry the track.
The track was still slightly wet as NASCAR officials resumed the race. The drivers had the option of not coming out on track and they would have maintained their track position in practice. But all five drivers did eventually come out to qualify.
Juan Montoya, who was fifth fastest in practice, took the biggest hit due to the interruption as he was the first one out after the delay and finished 27th on the grid and was not pleased with the result.
“Our car was fast enough to sit on the pole, and we're 27th,” Montoya said. “It's a freaking joke.”
Johnson followed Montoya but returned to pit road after reporting moisture in turn 2. He then restarted his lap and managed to qualify in 10th place.
The track got better after that and Jeff Gordon followed after Johnson, qualifying at 7th. Kasey Kahne finished 2nd with the last driver of the day, Ryan Newman, capturing pole position.
Before the delay, Brian Vickers held the top spot, qualifying at 134.648 mph (28.287 seconds). He was pushed down to third, behind Newman and Kahne.
Greg Biffle will start the race at 4th with Kurt Busch in 5th. Championship leader Kevin Harvick qualified in 6th place, followed by Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch in 7th and 8th places respectively.
Other Chase Racers did not have a good day out on the track. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th, Brad Keselowski finished 16th, Tony Stewart was at the 20th spot, Carl Edwards managed a 23rd place, Matt Kenseth finished 27th while
Denny Hamlin was at the 28th spot.
The pole is Newman’s third of the season and an overall 49th of his career. He won the race after starting at pole in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon earlier this year and will be looking for more of the same this Sunday.
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