(I have a feeling that Ryan Newman will win this race. You race the track here, no the other racers. That's why they call him the rocket......................)






DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -- Kasey Kahne drove to his second Nextel Cup pole in three tries at Darlington Raceway, easily beating qualifying ace Ryan Newman in time tests Friday for the Dodge Charger 500.

Kahne won the pole here last spring and finished 13th in the race. He started 13th last fall on the 1.366-mile oval and ran fifth in the final Southern 500.

"We've had some success here, but it's a pretty tough track and it can bite you," Kahne said. "It's gotten me a couple of times. I've run into the wall a couple of times, but not too hard, yet."

Kahne's Evernham Motorsports Dodge took the fifth pole of his career with a lap of 170.024 mph. Newman, who has qualified on the pole three times and been second twice in 10 races this year, made it an all-Dodge front row for Saturday night's race with a lap at 169.555.

"It was on the edge and I didn't expect it to get loose where it did," Newman said of his run on the treacherous, egg-shaped oval. "Kasey laid down a great lap. He was nice and smooth, and we weren't quite as smooth or fast."

Kahne and Newman were followed by the Fords of Greg Biffle at 169.222 and Elliott Sadler at 168.665, and the Chevrolets of Brian Vickers at 168.607 and rookie Kyle Busch at 168.089.

Series points leader Jimmie Johnson, who swept both races at Darlington in 2004 and won the pole for Friday night's Busch series race, qualified ninth at 167.676. Defending series champion Kurt Busch -- Kyle's older brother and the current series runner-up -- was 11th at 167.550.

Jeff Gordon, the leading active driver with six Darlington victories, was 14th. Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a disappointing 39th.


Pos. Car Driver Make Sponsor Speed Time Behind
1 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 170.024 28.923 Leader
2 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 169.555 29.003 -0.080
3 16 Greg Biffle Ford National Guard/Travelodge 169.222 29.060 -0.137
4 38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M's 168.665 29.156 -0.233
5 25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC/ditech.com 168.607 29.166 -0.243
6 5 Kyle Busch* Chevrolet Kellogg's 168.089 29.256 -0.333
7 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 167.773 29.311 -0.388
8 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 167.693 29.325 -0.402
9 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 167.676 29.328 -0.405
10 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot/Scotts 167.642 29.334 -0.411
11 97 Kurt Busch Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools/Sharpie 167.550 29.350 -0.427
12 2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 167.436 29.370 -0.447
13 42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Texaco/Havoline 167.351 29.385 -0.462
14 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 167.322 29.390 -0.467
15 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 167.322 29.390 -0.467
16 41 Casey Mears Dodge Target 167.123 29.425 -0.502
17 77 Travis Kvapil* Dodge Kodak/Jasper Engines 167.095 29.430 -0.507
18 10 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Valvoline 167.083 29.432 -0.509
19 15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 167.021 29.443 -0.520
20 6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 166.953 29.455 -0.532
21 200 Carl Long Chevrolet Buyer's Choice Auto Warranties 166.760 29.489 -0.566
22 88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 166.388 29.555 -0.632
23 43 Jeff Green Dodge Cheerios/Betty Crocker 166.146 29.598 -0.675
24 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 165.995 29.625 -0.702
25 11 Jason Leffler Chevrolet FedEx Express "Birdies for St. Jude" 165.950 29.633 -0.710
26 32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet Tide 165.855 29.650 -0.727
27 01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 165.749 29.669 -0.746
28 49 Ken Schrader Dodge Schwan's Home Service 165.531 29.708 -0.785
29 0 Mike Bliss Chevrolet NetZero Best Buy 165.381 29.735 -0.812
30 07 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 165.342 29.742 -0.819
31 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Carhartt 165.331 29.744 -0.821
32 100 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Bryan Foods 165.076 29.790 -0.867
33 22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Caterpillar 165.031 29.798 -0.875
34 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 165.026 29.799 -0.876
35 21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts 164.976 29.808 -0.885
36 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 164.970 29.809 -0.886
37 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Georgia-Pacific/Brawny/Mother's Day 164.854 29.830 -0.907
38 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge R&J Racing 164.722 29.854 -0.931
39 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 164.628 29.871 -0.948
40 34 Jeff Fuller Chevrolet Mach One Inc. 164.177 29.953 -1.030
41 66 Hermie Sadler Ford East Tennessee Trailers 164.040 29.978 -1.055
42 4 Mike Wallace+ Chevrolet Lucas Oil Products 163.202 30.132 -1.209
43 192 Stanton Barrett* Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 163.408 30.094 -1.171

Did not Qualify
44 09 Johnny Sauter Dodge Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts 163.094 30.152 -1.229
45 7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Harrah's 162.657 30.233 -1.310
46 161 Tony Raines Dodge Buddy Sisco Racing 162.571 30.249 -1.326
47 89 Morgan Shepherd Dodge Victory in Jesus/Red Line Oil 160.774 30.587 -1.664


+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie

 

thank you for highlighting junior that far back for easty location...im sure he will turn 15 or 20 cars around with the help of phony stewart and ***** jimmy johnson

poor morgan shepard....youd think a guy sponered by jesus could get some love for a tail wind or something.

 

HAHA funny lol...well he did pretty good and I was happy with his finish

 

i am starting to not care, honestly...