Ryan Newman bounced back from a NASCAR penalty to win his 43rd career pole in qualifying for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 on Thursday.
Newman was penalized 25 points after his fourth-place car was found to be an eighth of an inch (less than a centimeter) too high after last Sunday’s race at Texas.
The Daytona 500 winner, who drives for Penske Racing, has won at least one pole in each of his eight seasons in NASCAR and moved into a tie with NASCAR pioneer Buck Baker for 10th on the career qualifying list.
Asked if the thrill of winning poles has lessened over the years, Newman, whose last pole ame at Charlotte last October, shook his head and said, “No. It’s been a while for me.
“I was really happy. I was as happy after practice as I am now because it’s been a while since, even in practice, we were P1 (position one). We’ve won some poles but we hadn’t been P1 in practice. To be P1 in practice and then back it up in qualifying, that shows consistency and I think that’s a good thing for the race this weekend.”
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YOU ARE THE MAN RYAN. NOW JUST HOLD TRUE TO FORM, AND WIN THIS DAMM THING. I,M THE MAN WITH THE VAN.
Are we surprised that Kyle Petty missed the show? I see the crew chief change didn’t make an impact. Andretti has to be satisfied knowing that the guy that fired him 5 years ago sucks worse than he did in qualifying. That’s a long way to go (Phoenix) not to make a race. Congratulations to Newman for yet another pole in his short but storied career.