Rocket Ryan Takes Charlotte Pole
Written by John Davison · October 11, 2007
CONCORD, N.C. - We’re lucky enough to be at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the weekend, so we thought you’d like some reports. Ryan Newman (once again) is on the pole at Charlotte. He beat out Jimmie Johnson by .061 second and Bobby Labonte, driving for the resurgent Petty Enterprises, by a further .156 second. This is Newman’s fifth pole of the 2007 season.
Practice is over and qualifying is underway for the Bank of America 500 here at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. After ten cars have run, Jeff Gordon is on the provisional pole, at 28.678 sec/188.298 mph, with Matt Kenseth next, Kurt Busch third, Mark Martin fourth and Scott Riggs fifth.
Bobby Labonte went on the track about 8:00, 35th in line and surprised nearly the entire field with a quickk lap of 28.668 seconds, 188.363 mph to take the pole at the time. But, Jimmie Johnson has yet to run. Bobby’s Petty Enterprises car carries, like many others in the field, a special paint scheme this weekend. Not a new sponsor or a special product, but pink for the Susan G. Komen Foundation “Pink for a Cure” for breast cancer research.
Joe Nemechek, hitting the track a few cars later, didn’t have the speed to make the field and joins the ranks of those who will head home before Saturday night’s Bank of America 500.
Jimmie Johnson, coming out with only seven cars remaining, eclipsed Labonte’s lap with a 28.573 sec/188.990 mph lap. The next car out, Jeremy Mayfield, had a decent first lap, then fishtailed on his second pass around the 1.5-mile ‘quad oval’ track.
Denny Hamlin grabbed tenth for now at 28.815 sec/187.402 before Ryan Newman went on the track, beating all runners so far with a lap of 28.512 sec.189.394 mph for another pole added to his record. This is Newman’s fifth pole in the 2007 season and his 14th top ten start for the year.
Kirk Shelmerdine, once crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Sr, could only muster a lap of 31.021 sec/174.076 mph, locking John Andretti into the field as only Kevin Harvick and J.J. Yeley have yet to make their qualifying runs.
Harvick ran a 28.967/186.419 lap for 24th on the grid as we watch Yeley make his attempt at the field. Yeley’s first lap of 29.248/184.628 has to be it, as he spun in Turn Four on his second lap, backing into the outside wall before driving into the pits. Yeley’s team almost immediately pulled the backup car out of the transporter and started taking it through the inspection procedure as the damage to the rear end was considered too much to repair in the time available.
Starting Line Up, Bank of America 500
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1, Ryan Newman, No. 12, alltel Dodge, 28.512 sec, 189.394 mph
2, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48, Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, 28.573, 188.990
3, Bobby Labonte, No. 43, Cheerios Racing/Pink for the Cure Dodge, 28.668188.363,
4, Jeff Gordon, No. 24, DuPont Chevrolet, 28.678, 188.298
5, Kasey Kahne, No. 9, Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 28.710, 188.088
6, Jamie McMurray, No. 26, Crown Royal Ford, 28.712, 188.075
7, Matt Kenseth, No. 17, Carhartt for Women / DeWalt Ford, 28.721, 188.016
8, Kurt Busch, No. 2, Miller Lite Dodge, 28.739, 187.898
9, Casey Mears, No. 25, National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet, 28.746, 187.852
10, Greg Biffle, No. 16, 3M Ford, 28.787, 187.585
11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11, FedEx Kinko’s Chevrolet, 28.815, 187.402
12, Mark Martin, No. 01, U.S. Army Chevrolet, 28.844, 187.214
13, Kyle Busch, No. 5, Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet, 28.848, 187.188
14, Scott Riggs, No. 10, Stanley Tools / Valvoline Dodge, 28.865, 187.078
15, Ward Burton, No. 4, State Water Heaters / Lucas Chevrolet, 28.890186.916,
16, Elliott Sadler, No. 19, Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 28.895, 186.884
17, Paul Menard *, No. 15, Menards / Rain-X Chevrolet, 28.895, 186.884
18, Carl Edwards, No. 99, Office Depot Ford, 28.905, 186.819
19, Michael Waltrip, No. 55, NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, 28.914, 186.761
20, David Reutimann *, No. 00, Dominos.com Toyota, 28.916, 186.748
21, David Gilliland, No. 38, M&M’s Ford, 28.923, 186.703
22, Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8, Budweiser Chevrolet, 28.952, 186.516
23, Johnny Sauter, No. 70, Yellow Transportation Chevrolet, 28.958, 186.477
24, Kevin Harvick, No. 29, Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, 28.967, 186.419
25, Clint Bowyer, No. 07, Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet, 28.974, 186.374
26, Reed Sorenson, No. 41, Fuji Film Dodge, 28.982, 186.323
27, Jeff Burton, No. 31, AT&T Mobility Chevrolet, 29.009, 186.149
28, David Stremme, No. 40, Target Dodge, 29.027, 186.034
29, Tony Stewart, No. 20, The Home Depot Chevrolet, 29.057, 185.842
30, AJ Allmendinger *, No. 84, Red Bull Toyota, 29.074, 185.733
31, David Ragan *, No. 6, AAA Ford, 29.079, 185.701
32, Martin Truex Jr., No. 1, Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet, 29.089185.637,
33, Ricky Rudd, No. 88, Snickers Ford, 29.112, 185.491
34, Dave Blaney, No. 22, Caterpillar / CatUsed.com Toyota, 29.118, 185.452
35, Bill Elliott, No. 21, Heinz / Ore-Ida Ford, 29.121, 185.433
36, Juan Pablo Montoya *, No. 42, Texaco/Havoline Dodge, 29.122, 185.427
37, Jeff Green, No. 66, Best Buy / GARMIN Chevrolet, 29.207, 184.887
38, Jeremy Mayfield, No. 36, 360 OTC Toyota, 29.241, 184.672
39, J.J. Yeley, No. 18, Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, 29.248, 184.628
40, Robby Gordon, No. 7, Motorola Digital Audio Player Ford, 29.259184.559,
41, Tony Raines, No. 96, DLP HDTV / Queen City Appliances , Owner Points ,
42, Kyle Petty, No. 45, Tire Kingdom Dodge, Owner Points ,
43, John Andretti, No. 49, Paralyzed Veterans of America Dodge, 29.267184.508,
*: Rookie
Did Not Qualify:
No. 44 Dale Jarrett; No. 78 Joe Nemechek; No. 83 Brian Vickers; No. 06 Sam Hornish Jr.; No. 08 Carl Long; No. 27 Kirk Shelmerdine
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