Saturday, June 18, 2005
Newman wins pole: It took Ryan Newman just over 37 seconds Saturday to grab his fifth pole of the season and first at Michigan International Speedway. NASCAR's "Rocketman," well on the way to becoming the best qualifier in the history of the stock car series, was the 43rd of 47 qualifiers when he turned a lap of 194.232 mph on the 2-mile, high-banked oval. The lap -- timed at 37.069 seconds -- was easily good enough for his 32nd pole in 104 races. Newman, a two-time Michigan winner and the defending race champion, was one of 26 drivers who bettered the previous qualifying record of 191.149, set in August 2000 by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Stewart set the target with a lap of 193.512, but said he expected Newman would "turn a speed never seen here before in a stock car." Newman was up to the task. The only qualifying lap faster this season was a 194.690 by Newman at Atlanta in March. Stewart wound up third when Casey Mears followed Newman onto the track and turned a lap of 193.757 to grab the outside spot on the all-Dodge front row for today's Batman Begins 400. Kasey Kahne, driving another Dodge, will start alongside Stewart's Chevrolet at 193.123, followed by the Charger of Kahne's teammate Jeremy Mayfield at 193.086 and the Chevrolets of Bobby Labonte and Brian Vickers at 193.055 and 192.818. Rounding out the top 10 were Robby Gordon at 192.771, Jeff Gordon at 192.658, and seven-time Michigan winner Bill Elliott at 192.658. Series points leader Jimmie Johnson was 16th at 192.313, while fan favorite Earnhardt qualified 42nd at 188.260 but will start 41st by virtue of owner points.
Newman wins pole: It took Ryan Newman just over 37 seconds Saturday to grab his fifth pole of the season and first at Michigan International Speedway. NASCAR's "Rocketman," well on the way to becoming the best qualifier in the history of the stock car series, was the 43rd of 47 qualifiers when he turned a lap of 194.232 mph on the 2-mile, high-banked oval. The lap -- timed at 37.069 seconds -- was easily good enough for his 32nd pole in 104 races. Newman, a two-time Michigan winner and the defending race champion, was one of 26 drivers who bettered the previous qualifying record of 191.149, set in August 2000 by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Stewart set the target with a lap of 193.512, but said he expected Newman would "turn a speed never seen here before in a stock car." Newman was up to the task. The only qualifying lap faster this season was a 194.690 by Newman at Atlanta in March. Stewart wound up third when Casey Mears followed Newman onto the track and turned a lap of 193.757 to grab the outside spot on the all-Dodge front row for today's Batman Begins 400. Kasey Kahne, driving another Dodge, will start alongside Stewart's Chevrolet at 193.123, followed by the Charger of Kahne's teammate Jeremy Mayfield at 193.086 and the Chevrolets of Bobby Labonte and Brian Vickers at 193.055 and 192.818. Rounding out the top 10 were Robby Gordon at 192.771, Jeff Gordon at 192.658, and seven-time Michigan winner Bill Elliott at 192.658. Series points leader Jimmie Johnson was 16th at 192.313, while fan favorite Earnhardt qualified 42nd at 188.260 but will start 41st by virtue of owner points.
Rudd milestone: Ricky Rudd will make track history today when he surpasses Dave Marcis for the most career starts at Michigan. Rudd, whose first start at Michigan was in 1977, will start his 57th at the track in the Irish Hills. He tied Marcis with start No. 56 in August 2004. "I really haven't thought about it," said Rudd, who has set a record for total starts at several other tracks this season. "This has been a good race track for us over the years. The longevity stuff just sneaks up on you. You don't realize you've been around that long." In previous races on Michigan's 2-mile oval, Rudd has logged 9,813 laps for 19,626 miles with nine top five finishes and 22 top 10s.
Elliott's return: Bill Elliott is back at Michigan after missing both races last season. Elliott is running a part-time schedule this season for Evernham Motorsports, but his past success at Michigan made this race too tempting to pass up. Elliott's seven career victories at Michigan rank third. Six of the wins came from 1984-87. He has made 52 career starts at Michigan, with 29 finishes in the top 10. The former Cup champion ranks first among active drivers with the most poles, wins and laps led at Michigan.