Newman on Cup pole at Phoenix
Ryan Newman scored his 43rd Sprint Cup Series career pole in qualifying for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway
'The Rocket' set a lap time of 26.975 seconds at an average speed of 133.457 mph, going a couple of tenths faster than what he had managed in practice, where he had already been quickest.
The Penske driver's first pole of the season is also a record fourth at the one-mile-oval, also adding to his impressive tally to put him 10th overall in the Sprint Cup pole winners' ranking of all-time.
"It was a good run," Newman said. "I was really happy with the car in practice. Our last run was our best run and moved us to P1. In general, I thought it was a good lap. It was a bit conservative, but it was a good lap.
"Both laps were almost identical - I think within four-thousandths of a second. It wasn't perfect, but obviously good enough. I think we have a good car."
In a good day for some of the Dodge runners, Gillett Evernham's Elliot Sadler grabbed second after lapping only nine thousandths of a second slower than Newman. The top eight in qualifying were actually covered by less than a tenth of a second.
Texas winner Carl Edwards will start the race from third beside DEI's Mark Martin, who looked very strong during the afternoon practice. The third Dodge in the top-five was Kasey Kahne's, which will take the green flag on Saturday beside Kyle Busch's Toyota.
Jimmie Johnson, winner at Phoenix last November, was the fastest of the Hendrick cars in seventh, while Jeff Gordon, winner a year ago at the Arizona track, will start the race from eleventh on the grid.
Dave Blaney was the fastest of those who needed to qualify on time for the event, taking 19th on the grid, two places ahead of Dario Franchitti, who bounced back from a disappointing weekend at Texas to put himself back in the grid this time.
"After last week it feels really good," said Franchitti. "The guys on the 40 team did a great job all week. It was a pretty bad week for us not getting in the show last weekend but everybody pulled together and the whole organization did an amazing job.
"That's what teams are all about and we're in the show so I'm pretty happy about that."
All the former open-wheel drivers qualified for the race, including Michael McDowell who was 29th, beating both Sam Hornish Jr and Patrick Carpentier.
With 45 cars entered into qualifying, only two missed the field for the race. Kyle Petty, who had returned to the No. 45 car, will not make the show for the third week in a row. John Andretti also failed to qualify.
Pos Driver Make Speed Time 1. Ryan Newman Dodge 133.457 26.975 2. Elliott Sadler Dodge 133.412 26.984 + 0.009 3. Carl Edwards Ford 133.378 26.991 + 0.016 4. Mark Martin Chevrolet 133.368 26.993 + 0.018 5. Kasey Kahne Dodge 133.304 27.006 + 0.031 6. Kyle Busch Toyota 133.274 27.012 + 0.037 7. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 133.240 27.019 + 0.044 8. Jamie McMurray Ford 133.190 27.029 + 0.054 9. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 132.876 27.093 + 0.118 10. Scott Riggs Chevrolet 132.871 27.094 + 0.119 11. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 132.851 27.098 + 0.123 12. Tony Stewart Toyota 132.836 27.101 + 0.126 13. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 132.714 27.126 + 0.151 14. Paul Menard Chevrolet 132.704 27.128 + 0.153 15. Juan Montoya Dodge 132.553 27.159 + 0.184 16. Denny Hamlin Toyota 132.416 27.187 + 0.212 17. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 132.397 27.191 + 0.216 18. Greg Biffle Ford 132.256 27.220 + 0.245 19. Dave Blaney Toyota 132.256 27.220 + 0.245 20. Reed Sorenson Dodge 132.071 27.258 + 0.283 21. Dario Franchitti Dodge 132.042 27.264 + 0.289 22. JJ Yeley Toyota 131.970 27.279 + 0.304 23. David Ragan Ford 131.945 27.284 + 0.309 24. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 131.921 27.289 + 0.314 25. Mike Skinner Toyota 131.887 27.296 + 0.321 26. David Reutimann Toyota 131.801 27.314 + 0.339 27. Matt Kenseth Ford 131.762 27.322 + 0.347 28. Michael Waltrip Toyota 131.757 27.323 + 0.348 29. Michael McDowell Toyota 131.704 27.334 + 0.359 30. Casey Mears Chevrolet 131.656 27.344 + 0.369 31. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 131.617 27.352 + 0.377 32. Travis Kvapil Ford 131.608 27.354 + 0.379 33. Brian Vickers Toyota 131.473 27.382 + 0.407 34. Bobby Labonte Dodge 131.416 27.394 + 0.419 35. Robby Gordon Dodge 131.277 27.423 + 0.448 36. David Gilliland Ford 131.224 27.434 + 0.459 37. Patrick Carpentier Dodge 131.167 27.446 + 0.471 38. Regan Smith Chevrolet 131.105 27.459 + 0.484 39. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 130.928 27.496 + 0.521 40. Kurt Busch Dodge 130.928 27.496 + 0.521 41. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 130.581 27.569 + 0.594 42. Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 130.482 27.590 + 0.615 43. Bill Elliott Ford Champion's Provisional
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