Stewart-Haas Racing: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen Qualifying

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent in time trials at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International by qualifying sixth for Sunday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Stewart turned a lap of 71.458 seconds at 123.429 mph on the 11-turn, 2.45-mile road course.

“It was solid. I think I left a little bit out there, but the car itself was really good,” said Stewart, who is the defending race winner and has finished either first or second in the series’ last six visits to Watkins Glen. “I’m really proud of Darian Grubb (crew chief) and all the guys on this Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet. They’ve done a great job and really worked hard. I wasn’t very happy with the car at the end of the first session yesterday, but Darian made some really good changes during the break that we had and it really worked out well for us. I’m really happy with the car that I have for tomorrow.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 19th after turning a lap of 71.965 seconds at 122.560 mph.

“The U.S. Army Chevrolet was loose and I didn’t feel comfortable pushing it,” said Newman, who won the 2005 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at The Glen and scored his best Sprint Cup result at The Glen in 2002 when he finished second to Stewart, who notched the first of his series-leading five Watkins Glen victories. “We concentrated on race setup in practice yesterday and feel that we’re pretty close to being dialed in. We’re going to get together after qualifying to go over all the data and then make a decision on how we’ll start the race. We have to race smart and put ourselves in position for a strong finish.”

Carl Edwards captured his fifth career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season, his first at Watkins Glen and his first on a road course by posting a lap of 70.882 seconds at 124.432 mph.

Jamie McMurray will start alongside Edwards on the outside of row one, as he timed in at 71.236 seconds at 123.814 mph. Juan Pablo Montoya was third at 71.302 seconds at 123.699 mph, while A.J. Allmendinger (71.348 seconds at 123.619 mph) and Kurt Busch (71.403 seconds at 123.524 mph) rounded out the top-five.

Forty-six drivers attempted to qualify for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were J.J. Yeley, Dave Blaney and Tony Ave.

As far as manufacturers went, Ford took the top spot thanks to Edwards’ pole. Chevrolet was next best at the hands of McMurray, while Dodge was the third-fastest make thanks to Busch. Scott Speed, who qualified eighth, was the top Toyota at 71.493 seconds at 123.369 mph.

The Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 8, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at noon.