Qualifying Report - Pocono

QUALIFYING RESULTS:
1. Ryan Newman, Dodge, 52.922 seconds, 170.062 miles per hour
2. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 53.167 seconds, 169.278 miles per hour
3. Martin Truex, Jr., Chevrolet, 53.346 seconds, 168.710 miles per hour
4. Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 53.527 seconds, 168.139 miles per hour
5. Clint Bowyer, Ford, 53.553 seconds, 168.058 miles per hour
26. Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 54.162 seconds, 166.168 miles per hour
37. Chad McCumbee, Dodge, 54.419 seconds, 165.383 miles per hour

Ryan Newman made it a “Turkey” Friday afternoon at the 2.5-mile Pocono (Penn.) Raceway. Newman drove his Dodge to his this third straight pole at the speedway and seems to have a strangle hold on qualifying sessions. Newman was the only driver all day to break the 53 second barrier at the speedway. It is Newman’s 41st career pole and he will lead the field to Sunday’s Pocono 500.

Newman did it by beating Denny Hamlin. Hamlin swept both races at Pocono last season. Last weekend’s first-time winner, Martin Truex, Jr., continued his success qualifying third. Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer completed the top-five qualifiers. Kurt Busch struggled on Friday. The driver was penalized 100 points earlier in the day as a result of infractions at Dover on Monday. Busch then wrecked his car in practice, but Newman carried the team with his pole run.

Bobby Labonte and the #43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge team made race runs in their practice session on Friday. The team worked on their car to get ready for Sunday’s 200-lap event. The team made various changes before turning their attention to qualifying. Crew chief Paul Andrews and the team turned the car over for qualifying. Labonte, a former multi-winner at the track, qualified 26th fastest.

“This is a tricky place,” said Labonte. “The lap wasn’t what we wanted, but we worked on it all day. The guys have been working hard on it. We have a good game plan for practice. We’ll know more about the car after that.”

Chad McCumbee and the #45 Goody’s Cool Orange Dodge team qualified 37th for Sunday’s Pocono 500 at the Pocono (Penn) Raceway. The sun was blazing on a hot afternoon and McCumbee’s early qualifying draw did not help matters. However the 22-year-old was able to better his practice speed by over one second.

McCumbee will also compete in Saturday’s Pocono 200 for the ARCA RE/MAX Series. He will line his No. 62 Victory Junction Gang Camp Dodge up in the fifth position for that race.

“We really spent a lot of practice time working on race runs,” said McCumbee. “We didn’t get to make a mock qualifying run until right before the end of practice. We were a little unsure of what it would do in qualifying. Billy (Wilburn) tuned on the car a little and it stuck really well. That was a good pickup for us. This is such a great team to drive for. I am just living the dream.”

“I have some great drivers starting near me. I am just going to learn as much as I can for the first 100 laps or so. Then hopefully we can get up there and mix it up a little. It’s like I said, I’m grateful for the opportunity that Goody’s Cool Orange and Petty Enterprises have given me this weekend.”

Friday’s qualifying session was televised live nationally by SPEED Channel and broadcast on MRN Radio. Sunday’s race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast live on MRN Radio. The race is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. (ET).