Dover Qualifying Report - Neighborhood Excellence 400
QUALIFYING RESULTS:
1. Ryan Newman, Dodge, 23.281 seconds, 154.633 miles per hour
2. Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 23.322 seconds, 154.361 miles per hour
3. Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 23.367 seconds, 154.063 miles per hour
4. Kurt Busch, Dodge, 23.411 seconds, 153.774 miles per hour
5. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 23.428 seconds, 153.662 miles per hour
28. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 23.804 seconds, 151.235 miles per hour
35. Kyle Petty, Dodge, 23.912 seconds, 150.552 miles per hour
DOVER, DE (June 2, 2006) - Ryan Newman broke a 14-race steak of not winning a pole Friday. Newman won the pole for Sunday’s Neighborhood Excellence 400 at the one-mile Dover International Speedway on Friday. Newman’s first pole of the season came after waiting out a rain delay that forced the last nine competitors to wait out the shower before taking their lap. The #12 Dodge team was hoping the showers would pass so NASCAR could complete qualifying. The showers did stop and qualifying was completed after track drying. It is Newman’s 36th pole of his career.
Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team was one of the few teams that had to wait out the rain before qualifying. The rain washed away any rubber that had built up on the track. Labonte had to be extra careful on his qualifying lap, but still put down a lap better than many before the rain. Labonte qualified 28th .
“We’re still working on it to get it better,” said Labonte. “We had to go after the rain, but I don’t know how much it changed. We’ll keep getting better tomorrow in practice.”
Petty and the #45 Wells Fargo Dodge team are looking for a good weekend. They have extra incentive. Petty is celebrating his birthday this weekend. Petty and the team qualified 35th as they prepare for Sunday’s race.
“We did a lot of race stuff earlier today,” said Petty. “We don’t know what the weather will be like on Saturday so we did some race stuff. We didn’t even take a qualifying run in practice. That lap wasn’t bad. We just want to make sure we’re ready for Sunday.”
Teams will have two final practice sessions on Saturday before Sunday’s 400-mile race. Sunday’s race will be televised live nationally on FX and broadcast on MRN Radio. Race coverage begins at 2:00pm (EST).
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