NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Stewart Captures Atlanta Pole
Tony Stewart won his 14th Sprint Cup pole…
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 31, 2012   Hampton, GA
Three-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart used an old dirt-tracking trick to win the pole for Sunday night’s AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the penultimate race in NASCAR’s 26-race regular season.

Not known as a great qualifier, Stewart ran 186.121 miles per hour in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet to capture the top spot in Sunday’s race. It was his 14th career pole in 489 Sprint Cup starts, but first at Atlanta.

Stewart credited teammate Ryan Newman, who went out earlier and qualified 17th, with showing him the fast way around the track, which was the high groove. Stewart ran up near the wall on his qualifying lap, as if he had a dirt car at Eldora Speedway.

“That pole is 100 percent due to Ryan Newman,” Stewart said. “He walked back down there to help us before we went out and said there’s a ton of grip out there, you’ve just gotta do it. I was having a hard time convincing myself that’s what I was gonna do.”

Stewart said Newman told him to try the high line on Turns 3 and 4 of his warm-up lap and decide on his way to the start/finish line.

“That’s about 2½ seconds,” Stewart laughed. “I’m not sure if we’d have run the line I’d planned on running we’d have been that fast. It’s awesome having a teammate like. I don’t ever remember being here and seeing anybody run up at the top like he did.”

Greg Biffle showed the strength of the Roush Fenway Racing contingent, qualifying second at 185.648 miles per hour, just ahead of Kyle Busch’s 185.493 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Biffle’s teammate Matt Kenseth was fourth at 185.319 mph run.

Biffle said he felt he left a little on the table and was felt good about his chances for Sunday night. “I feel like I could have actually been a fair amount better than I was, so that gives me a lot of confidence for Sunday that I do have a good car,” said Biffle.

Jeff Gordon had a good run, lapping at 185.307 mph to finish the session in fifth.

The second five was Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose. Among other notables, Danica Patrick qualified a career-best 23rd, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. was back in 35th.

With two races to go until the field is set for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Kasey Kahne holds the first wild-card slot with two race victories and an 11th-place ranking in the points. If 12th-place Carl Edwards can win his first race of the season, he could well move into the second slot currently held by Kyle Busch, who has one victory already.

Likewise, Gordon, Newman, Ambrose and Joey Logano each have one victory and could snare the last Chase spot with another victory.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100.
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