INDIANAPOLIS — Just when it looked as if no one could go faster than Jimmie Johnson, a Hoosier on a mission rocketed to the pole for Sunday's Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard.
Ryan Newman, the final qualifier to make a lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Saturday's Brickyard time trials, knocked Johnson off the pole with a track-record lap of 187.531 mph.
JOHNSON: Favored to win fifth Brickyard race
"I'll admit, I was emotional," the South Bend, Ind. native said. "It's special to me for a lot of reasons — being home, being in Indiana and being so long without being on the pole."
Newman has 50 poles — ninth on NASCAR's all-time list — but hadn't been the fastest in qualifying since Sept. 2011 at New Hampshire. Once called the "Rocketman" for his ability to pile up the pole positions, Newman said people had been asking him lately "if I ran out of fuel for the rocket."
With Kevin Harvick set to take Newman's ride at Stewart-Haas Racing next season, Newman needed something to boost his credentials and remind people why he's won 16 career Sprint Cup Series races. Newman doesn't know where he'll drive next year.
"I knew he was going to be a tough bullet to dodge," said Johnson, who was the provisional pole-sitter for about an hour. "Ryan hit all four corners great and got it done. Happy for him. That's got to be a great day for him (being) a hometown boy and all."
REDEMPTION: Montoya seeks vindication at Indy
Newman said his Indiana roots "didn't make me any faster today, but it makes it more gratifying when we did win the pole."
"So many drivers who are my heroes, so many drivers I've admired, so many drivers that have worked so hard in their careers to get to here on this day — to be the fastest one, that's what's the most special to me," he said.
Carl Edwards qualified third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart, Newman's teammate and fellow Indiana native.
HAMLIN: : Won't cut season short for surgery
Johnson, the defending Brickyard champ, is tied for the most wins ever on the track's oval (four) with Jeff Gordon, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.
"Fifth would be incredible," Johnson said. "I can't believe I have four of them right now."
Four Chevrolets — Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Gordon — and the Ford of Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top 10.
Though two Stewart-Haas cars were in the top five, the team's other driver — Danica Patrick — struggled again in qualifying and will start 33rd.
"We'll work on it and we'll come back stronger next year," she said.
Mike Bliss and Scott Speed failed to qualify for the race, marking the first time in five races that a driver was sent home. The previous four races all had only 43 cars entered, which meant they all made the race.
Follow Jeff Gluck on Twitter
*****
Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard lineup
1. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 187.531 mph.
2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 187.438.
3. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 187.157.
4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 187.122.
5. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 186.827.
6. (78) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 186.722.
7. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 186.633.
8. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 186.536.
9. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 186.474.
10. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 186.281.
11. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 185.954.
12. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 185.92.
13. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 185.789.
14. (51) A J Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 185.655.
15. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 185.621.
16. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 185.448.
17. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 185.437.
18. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 185.181.
19. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 185.101.
20. (33) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 184.961.
21. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 184.794.
22. (93) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 184.676.
23. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 184.646.
24. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 184.593.
25. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 184.536.
26. (55) Mark Martin, Toyota, 184.305.
27. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 184.045.
28. (21) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 183.906.
29. (40) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 183.816.
30. (13) Casey Mears, Ford, 183.752.
31. (83) David Reutimann, Toyota, 183.329.
32. (35) Josh Wise, Ford, 183.046.
33. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 182.938.
34. (47) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 182.826.
35. (98) Michael McDowell, Ford, 182.819.
36. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 182.448.
37. (30) David Stremme, Toyota, owner points.
38. (56) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, owner points.
39. (36) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, owner points.
40. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, owner points.
41. (7) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, owner points.
42. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, owner points.
43. (32) Timmy Hill, Ford, owner points.
Failed to Qualify
44. (19) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 181.881.
45. (95) Scott Speed, Ford, 177.235.
No comments:
Post a Comment