Jimmie Johnson Steals Coke 600 Pole From Newman
Written by John Davison · May 27, 2004
Jimmie Johnson ran last and under the lights in qualifying after Ryan Newman, going out in full sunlight and the heat of the day broke his own old track record. “The last shall be first” applies once again, as Johnson beat the old record of 28.930 sec/186.657 mph. Johnson’s sole qualifying lap was 28.860 sec/187.052 mph. The first three cars all beat the old record.
Running fourth, a position “guaranteed” to result in a none-too-successful run, Ryan Newman broke the old event qualifying record and his track record with a lap of 28.885 sec/186.948 mph. “It was pretty close to a perfect lap,” said Newman. “I think the track is going to get better for sure, but it was a good effort for the ALLTEL Dodge. The guys did a great job. This is the same car we had last week ad the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully we’ll end up in the top five. I’m pretty confident of that. We’ll just have to wait and see if it sticks for the pole.
“I told Berggren that I was going to run a .62 because of his age and all that. We know the track picked up, but you’ve got to tune to it. You can lose the tuning of the car and not have it right so that you don’t pick up near as much as you should.”
Newman commented on the additional length of Sunday’s race. “I’d say the mileage on the motors is probably a bigger issue than the time we practice and the quantity of laps we practice. It’s the crew chief’s call and I’ll do what he says but it is pretty crazy to be practicing when we’re practicing. We’d be better off not practicing,” he said, referring to the mid-afternoon practice for a twilight start of the race. “Personally, it’s kind of crazy to show up here on Thursday and get a day off. We could do this Friday nigth adn practice on Saturday and race on Sunday like we usually do. I’m sure it works out the way it does for a reason.”
Two cars later, Brendan Gaughan bumped Rusty Wallace back to third, giving Penske Racing the first three positions. This lasted only until Joe Nemechek, going out twelfth, started a parade of quick times, ending with Jeff Gordon’s third-place lap, just .004 second slower than Newman’s. “From the car to the engine to the people, the whole effort was awesome,” said Gordon. We unloaded and we were a little bit off. We were pretty conservative when we unloaded,” he explained. “We kept attacking and putting our best effort out there. Track conditions are fast right now and you can get really aggressive. That’s a great effort.”
Kevin Harvick’s second lap was only .002 second slower than his first, giving him the consistency award for the evening. “It wasn’t bad,” said Harvick. “It wasn’t great by any means. It was just a little bit too tight. I couldn’t get it off through turns three and four. Hopefully it doesn’t cool down too much.”
This weekend will mark the tenth anniversary of Jeff Gordon’s first career NASCAR ‘Cup’ victory. Gordon scored his first win in the 1994 ‘600′ after then crew chief Ray Evernham surprised all observers by calling for only a two-tire stop, giving the future four-time champion his first win.
Starting Lineup, Coca-Cola 600
1) Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, 28.869 sec, 187.052 mph
2) Ryan Newman, No. 12 Alltel Dodge, 28.885 sec, 186.948 mph (second lap 28.901)
3) Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, 28.889 sec, 186.922 mph
4) Elliott Sadler, No. 38 Pedigree Ford, 28.936 sec, 186.619 mph
5) Brian Vickers*, No. 25 ditech.com Chevrolet, 28.991 sec, 186.265 mph
6) Tony Stewart, Home Depot Chevrolet, 29.015 sec, 186.111 mph
7) Brendan Gaughan*, No. 77 Kodak Easy Share/Jasper Dodge, 29.026 sec, 186.040 mph
8) Jeff Green, No. 43 Cheerios/Great American Bake Sale Dodge, 29.066 sec, 185.784 mph
9) Bobby Labonte, No. 18 Allstate Batteries Chevrolet, 29.093 sec, 185.612 mph
10) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Budweiser Chevrolet, 29.140 sec, 185.312 mph
11) Dave Blaney, No. 23 Whelen Dodge, 29.144 sec, 185.287 mph
12) Michael Waltrip, No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet, 29.172 sec, 185.109 mph
13) Joe Nemechek, No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, 29.193 sec, 184.976 mph
14) Casey Mears, No. 41 Target Dodge, 29.215 sec, 184.837 mph
15) Jeremy Mayfield, No. 19 UAW Dodge, 29.220 sec, 184.805 mph
16) Rusty Wallace, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, 29.240 sec, 184.679 mph
17) Ward Burton, No. 0 NetZero Chevrolet, 29.272 sec, 184.477 mph
18) Mark Martin, No. 6 Viagra Ford, 29.274 sec, 184.464 mph
19) Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 29.277 sec, 184.445 mph
20) Robby Gordon, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet, 29.311 sec, 184.231 mph
21) Jamie McMurray, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge, 29.333 sec, 184.093 mph
22) Kevin Lepage, No. 51 Negotiationseminar.com Chevrolet, 29.335 sec, 184.080 mph
23) Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Goodwrench Chevrolet, 29.350 sec, 183.986 mph
24) Jimmy Spencer, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet, 29.350 sec, 183.986 mph
25) John Andretti, No. 1 Snap-On Chevrolet, 29.357 sec, 183.943 mph
26) Ricky Craven, No. 32 Tide Chevrolet, 29.360 sec, 183.924 mph
27) Kyle Busch, No. 84 CarQuest Chevrolet, 29.373 sec, 183.842 mph
28) Scott Riggs*, No. 10 Valvoline Chevrolet, 29.381 sec, 183.792 mph
29) Scott Wimmer*, No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge, 29.387 sec, 183.755 mph
30) Greg Biffle, No. 16 National Guard Ford, 29.390 sec, 183.736 mph
31) Bobby Hamilton Jr, No. 09 Miccosukee Resorts Dodge, 29.401 sec, 183.667 mph
32) Kurt Busch, No. 97 Irwin Ford, 29.414 sec, 183.586 mph
33) Dale Jarrett, No. 88 UPS Ford, 29.415 sec, 183.580 mph
34) Jeff Burton, No., 99 Roundup Ford, 29.429 sec, 183.492 mph
35) Terry Labonte, Kellogg’s/Got Milk? Chevrolet, 29.434 sec, 183.461 mph
36) Sterling Marlin, No. 40 Coors Light Dodge, 29.440 sec, 183.424 mph
37) Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Smirnoff Ice/DeWalt Ford, 29.467 sec, 183.256 mph
38) Derrike Cope, No. 50 Bennett Lane Winery Dodge, 29.494 sec, 183.088 mph
First 38 cars qualify on time, next five are provisional
39) Johnny Sauter*, No. 30 AOL Chevrolet, 29.629 sec, 182.260 mph (First Provisional)
40) Ricky Rudd, No. 21 Air Force Ford, 29.519 sec, 182.933 mph (Second Provisional)
41) Ken Schrader, No. 49 Schwan’s Home Service Dodge, 29.558 sec, 182.692 mph (Third Provisional)
42) Kyle Petty, No. 45 Krazy Kritters/Georgia-Pacific Dodge, 29.866 sec, 180.808 mph (Fourth Provisional)
43) Hermie Sadler, No. 02 Zapf Creations Chevrolet, 29.961 sec, 180.234 mph (Fifth Provisional)
Did Not Qualify:
Steve Park, No. 7 Ultra Motorsports Dodge, 29.644 sec, 182.162 mph
Todd Bodine, No. 37 Carter’s Royal Dispos-All Dodge, 29.646 sec, 182.149 mph
Carl Long, No. 46 RacingMetal.com Dodge, 29.795 sec, 181.238 mph
Stanton Barrett, No. 94 Husqvarna Chevrolet, 29.992 sec, 180.048 mph
Geoffrey Bodine, No. 98 Lucas Oil Ford, 30.030 sec, 179.820 mph
Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Dodge, 30.105 sec, 179.372 mph
Jeff Fultz, No. 78 Jasper Ford, 30.265 sec, 178.424 mph
Kirk Shelmerdine, No. 72 Freddie B’s Dodge, 30.472 sec, 177.212 mph
Andy Hillenburg, No. 80 Commercial Truck & Trailer Ford, 31.553 sec, 171.141 mph
*: Rookie
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