Atlanta 500: Newman on pole

Another of Dodge's big guns, 2002 pole-sitter Bill Elliott, was second, just 0.03s off Newman's best, with Elliott Sadler's Ford and Bobby Labonte's Chevrolet holding off a third Dodge, driven by Jimmy Spencer. The session ended with five Dodge runners in the top ten, leaving Chevrolet and Ford in an unequal struggle for the remaining five places.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. registered his worst qualifying time since he started 37th in the 2002 New Hampshire 300. His No. 8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo looked loose and unforgiving as he hustled it round the quick 1.54-mile track.

Earnhardt had the car spectacularly sideways in Turn One early on, losing vital momentum, and turned in a disappointing sub-180mph lap. A later 183.5mph effort restored some pride but it was still 8mph off Newman's pole.

"We tried some stuff that didn't work and we were really, really loose," he said. "I'm glad we've got the car still in one piece. We've got a long day Sunday, we'll make it back up."

Another DEI wheelman, Mike Waltrip, took to exploring the sideways option but managed to qualify an impressive sixth fastest all the same, at 190.287 mph. "That was just a wreck about to happen," said the Daytona 500 winner. "I got sideways more than you should be able to - usually if you get that sideways you don't qualify well. Luckily, it happened so late that letting off wasn't a choice, so I just held it wide open and held on."