Ryan Newman on Subway 400 Pole
Written by John Davison · February 20, 2004
Rockingham, NC - Ryan Newman just pipped fellow Dodge driver Jamie McMurray for his first pole of the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. Running a lap of 23.398 sec/156.475 mph on the 1.017-mile track, Newman beat McMurray by 0.165sec. This is the second time Ryan Newman has beat out Jamie McMurray for pole at Rockingham. McMurray “complained” in the Media Center after qualifying ended.
“I wish we raced here every single weekend, guys” said McMurray when asked about the track. “This is one of the best tracks we race at,” he added.
“My car is as good here as it’s ever been,” commenting on his Busch car.
“I think the track picked up some, and we picked up a little bit too,” said Newman. “Matt and the guys did an awesome job preparing this ALLTEL Dodge. The track is the same old track. It’ll eat tires just like it always has.
“I knew what Rusty had run and I thought I could beat it, but it was just a matter of doing it. All it takes is just a little something wrong going on, but it was a good lap. It was just a matter of putting everything together,” Newman continued. “I hope it holds up.
“I had complaints. I was watching the crowd when I came around on my second lap and I didn’t see anybody cheering. I didn’t know what it was. Sometimes when you try harder you go slower. This time I tried harder and went faster,” he added.
“We’ve got to get there first. They’re calling for rain for tomorrow’s practices, so we’ll see what happens there.
“The car is fast and we’re looking forward to another opportunity to do well here. This racetrack is one of the best tracks we come to. It’s important to start up front, but it’s not the end of the day here at Rockingham. You can start in the back and work your way to the front. You can pass and don’t have to worry about the clean air and dirty air. Tires always come into the picture but I don’t think we’re going to have any problems.”
“My number in my head before I went out was going to be a 29.45[seconds]” said Newman. “It’s just a matter of hitting everything right.
When asked if, since the Dodges have six of the top eight starting positions, do they have an advantage over the rest of the field, Newman replied: “No. 1, I don’t think they have an advantage and No. 2, I wouldn’t tell you if they did.”
Bobby Labonte’s No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevy failed pre-qualifying inspection, after carrying the logo for Mel Gibson’s new film on the Passion of the Christ at Daytona and having no problems at all. This week, he carried the Interstate Batteries logo. Hmmmm…..
In qualifying for the Goody’s Headache Powder 200 Busch Grand National race, Johnny Benson stole the pole position from David Stremme by .112 second. Benson’s lap was 23.903sec/153.169 mph, against Stremme’s lap of 24.015 sec.
The forecast for Saturday’s weather shows that rain may interfere with the day’s schedule.
Pos. Car Driver Make Sponsor Speed Time Behind
1 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 156.475 23.398 Leader
2 #42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Texaco/Havoline 155.379 23.563 -0.165
3 #9 Kasey Kahne* Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 154.814 23.649 -0.251
4 #2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 154.644 23.675 -0.277
5 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 154.318 23.725 -0.327
6 #19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 154.195 23.744 -0.346
7 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 154.149 23.751 -0.353
8 #43 Jeff Green Dodge STP/Cheerios 154.117 23.756 -0.358
9 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 154.078 23.762 -0.364
10 #16 Greg Biffle Ford Subway/National Guard 154.026 23.770 -0.372
11 #18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 154.020 23.771 -0.373
12 #01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 153.987 23.776 -0.378
13 #41 Casey Mears Dodge Target 153.942 23.783 -0.385
14 #40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 153.942 23.783 -0.385
15 #77 Brendan Gaughan* Dodge Kodak EasyShare 153.748 23.813 -0.415
16 #0 Ward Burton Chevrolet NetZero HiSpeed 153.690 23.822 -0.424
17 #32 Ricky Craven Chevrolet Tide 153.619 23.833 -0.435
18 #49 Ken Schrader Dodge Schwan’s Home Service 153.413 23.865 -0.467
19 #10 Scott Riggs* Chevrolet Valvoline 153.297 23.883 -0.485
20 #25 Brian Vickers* Chevrolet GMAC Financial Services 153.169 23.903 -0.505
21 #6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 153.015 23.927 -0.529
22 #21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts 152.984 23.932 -0.534
23 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford DeWalt Power Tools 152.945 23.938 -0.540
24 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Home Depot 152.875 23.949 -0.551
25 #38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M’s 152.798 23.961 -0.563
26 #4 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet YokeTV.com 152.792 23.962 -0.564
27 #97 Kurt Busch Ford Irwin Tools 152.633 23.987 -0.589
28 #99 Jeff Burton Ford SKF 152.486 24.010 -0.612
29 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 152.480 24.011 -0.613
30 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Georgia Pacific/Brawny 152.353 24.031 -0.633
31 #22 Scott Wimmer* Dodge Caterpillar 152.290 24.041 -0.643
32 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 152.220 24.052 -0.654
33 #15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 152.119 24.068 -0.670
34 #31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 152.024 24.083 -0.685
35 #5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Kellogg’s 151.722 24.131 -0.733
36 #30 Johnny Sauter* Chevrolet America Online 151.283 24.201 -0.803
37 #50 Derrike Cope Dodge Arnold Development Companies 151.283 24.201 -0.803
38 #14 Larry Foyt Dodge A.J. Foyt Racing 151.221 24.211 -0.813
41 #172 Kirk Shelmerdine Ford Tucson 145.661 25.135 -1.737
42 #146 Carl Long Dodge Al Smith Dodge 148.739 24.615 -1.217
43 #280 Andy Hillenburg Ford Commercial Truck & Trailer 146.859 24.930 -1.532
Provisional
39 #1 John Andretti Chevrolet Snap-On/Nilla/Chevrolet 150.481 24.330 -0.932
40 #09 Joe Ruttman Dodge Phoenix Racing 145.142 25.225 -1.827
Did not Qualify
44 #89 Morgan Shepherd Ford Voyles John Deere - - -
45 #259 Andy Belmont Pontiac Continental Fire & Safety - - -
* Denotes Rookie
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Ho hum, another race, another pole for Newman. Hopefully he’ll translate the pole into a win and put Junior on notice that the championship will be a fight to the finish. I am continuing to be impressed by this: “Kiddies” 7, “Greybeards” 3. That is the make up of the top 10. I’m counting Jeff and Jeremy as Kids.
What I REALLY want to see is Rusty get a good showing, maybe a win, to boost his confidence, sneak into the top 10 and steal the championship. Thanks for the change in scoring, NASCAR, I don’t think he would have a chance any other way!