Hamlin knocks Newman off Atlanta pole

Hamlin knocks Newman off Atlanta pole


By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR W Service

HAMPTON, Ga.—Late qualifier Denny Hamlin was the only driver between Ryan Newman and a record eighth Coors Light Pole Award at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
But Hamlin, the 31st driver to make a run during Saturday’s time trials for Sunday’s Emory Healthcare 500, knocked Newman, the third driver to qualify, off the pole with a lap at 187.380 mph to Newman’s 187.070 mph.
Hamlin won five races early in the season before suffering through an uneven, winless stretch over the past nine races. Even though two races remain before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is set Sept. 11 at Richmond, Hamlin said Saturday, “Our Chase starts now.”
“These next two weeks, we’re bringing everything we’ve got to the racetrack—the best stuff that we have—and see how we’re going to stack up against the competition,” said Hamlin, who won his first pole of the season and the eighth of his career.
“We’re not waiting for the Chase. We’re bringing what we have to see where we’re going to stack up competition-wise these next two weeks. We brought our best stuff here. We never qualify on the pole. We never qualify in the top 10, so this is a great step at a good time for our team.”
Newman edged Kyle Busch (187.063 mph) for the second starting spot. Carl Edwards (186.881 mph) will start fourth after posting the same speed as fifth-place qualifier Tony Stewart, who lost the position on an owner points tiebreaker.
Three drivers contesting the 12th and final Chase position will start in close proximity on Sunday. Thirteenth-place Jamie McMurray, who trails Clint Bowyer in 12th by 100 points, qualified 12th. Bowyer will start 14th, and Mark Martin, who trails McMurray by one point will roll off in the 17th spot.
Newman, who is 15th in the standings and 118 points behind Bowyer, remains tied with his mentor, Buddy Baker, for most Atlanta poles.
“I think we have a good race package as well,” Newman said. “All that being said, we’re second. We’ll start up front and hopefully finish up there.
“We can’t expect as a team to go out there and make up points in two races that we didn’t accomplish in the last 24. That being said, we’ll do the best job we possibly can. We’ll go out, and if we win the race, we win the race. If we finish in the top five in both of them, we still may not have enough points to make it into the Chase. So either way, we are searching for our best finish, no different than any other race.”
Series leader Kevin Harvick qualified 29th. Jason Leffler, Landon Cassill, Scott Riggs and Todd Bodine failed to qualify for the 43-car field.