Newman Qualifies 23rd, Stewart 24th at Indianapolis

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by qualifying 23rd for Sunday’s 18th annual Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman turned a lap of 49.636 seconds at 181.320 mph on the 2.5-mile oval.


“We have some work to do track position-wise, but I think we have a really good Haas Automation Chevrolet,” said Newman, who grew up in South Bend, Ind., located about three hours north of Indianapolis. “We just missed it a little bit on the balance, but it’s good in race trim. I’m proud of the effort our guys have made. There are some other teams that had perfect balances for their cars and we out-qualified them. So, we’ll take what we have and prep it up for tomorrow’s race. We didn’t get the lap we wanted, or the start we wanted, but I think we still have a chance to get the finish that we want.”


Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 24th after turning a lap of 49.655 seconds at 181.251 mph.


“It wasn’t a spectacular lap, by any means,” said Stewart, who won the Brickyard 400 in 2005 and 2007 and hails from nearby Columbus, Ind. “We struggled all day yesterday and were much better today. We have tonight to look at everything and look at the laps and look at everybody’s runs and see if we’re on pace or need to gain. So, we’ve definitely fought an uphill battle. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) will work through the night, I’m sure, to get our Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevy ready. He’s about as hard-working as anybody I’ve ever found. He won’t stop until he thinks he’s got the right formula for tomorrow.”


David Ragan captured his second career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his first at Indianapolis by posting a lap of 49.182 seconds at 182.994 mph.


Kasey Kahne will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 49.200 seconds at 182.927 mph. Jimmie Johnson was third (49.234 seconds at 182.801 mph), while Kurt Busch (49.269 seconds at 182.671 mph) and Brad Keselowski (49.300 seconds at 182.556 mph) rounded out the top-five.


Forty-eight drivers attempted to qualify for the Brickyard 400. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were David Stremme, Travis Kvapil, Erik Darnell, J.J. Yeley and Scott Wimmer.

Qualifying was a model of parity as all four manufactures claimed a spot in the top-four. Ford took the top spot thanks to Ragan’s pole-winning mark. Toyota was next best at the hands of Kahne. The top Chevrolet came via Johnson, while Busch carried the flag for Dodge.

 

Stewart-Haas Racing PR