Stewart-Haas Racing CARFAX 400 Qualifying

Brooklyn, MI – Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn by qualifying fourth for Sunday’s CARFAX 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Stewart turned a lap of 38.591 seconds at 186.572 mph on the 2-mile oval.

“I’m not a very good qualifier, normally, so to be this close to the pole is a really good run for the Office Depot/Old Spice team,” said Stewart, who won at Michigan in June 2000. “They’ve been doing an awesome job. We felt like we’ve been a little bit behind here recently. But we’re not way behind, obviously, today. We’re making gains in the right direction. I’m really appreciative of that.

“It was a good lap. It wasn’t quite as good as the guys in front of me, but it was a good lap. I was real happy with it. I’m real happy with our power. I know everybody at Hendrick Engines has been working real hard to get us caught up here and today, I think with Jimmie’s (Johnson) run and our run, they’re making some ground. We’re real appreciative of those guys. Everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing has done an awesome job.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet Impala for SHR, qualified 17th with a time of 38.849 seconds at 185.333 mph. “It was good coming to the green, then I never got (turns) three and four right,” said Newman, who won at Michigan in August 2003 and June 2004. “I felt like I had a decent (turns) one and two, but just didn’t get (turns) three and four. Good effort with the Tornados Chevrolet. We’ll see what we can do in race trim.”

Kasey Kahne captured his 18th career pole, his second of the season and his second in 14 Sprint Cup races at Michigan by posting a lap of 38.465 seconds at 187.183 mph. Johnson, the four-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion, will start alongside Kahne on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 38.485 seconds at 187.086 mph. Clint Bowyer was third (38.590 seconds at 186.577 mph), while Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya (38.614 seconds at 186.461 mph) rounded out the top-five.

Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify for the CARFAX 400. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were J.J. Yeley, Mike Bliss, Casey Mears and Scott Riggs. As far as manufacturers went, Ford took the top spot thanks to the pole-winning run by Kahne. Chevrolet was next best at the hands of Johnson. Toyota was the third-fastest make thanks to Martin Truex Jr.’s ninth-place run (38.675 seconds at 186.167 mph). Kurt Busch carried the flag for Dodge by qualifying 13th (38.794 seconds at 185.596 mph).

The CARFAX 400 at Michigan International Speedway gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at noon.