Tony Stewart - Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500 Qualifying
HAMPTON, Ga., (Oct. 28, 2005) - Tony Stewart, driver of the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet, qualified 10th for Sunday's Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"That was a pretty good lap," said Stewart, who toured the 1.54-mile oval in 28.922 seconds with an average speed of 191.688 mph. "It's in the top-10 and that's good for a decent pit selection and starting spot."
Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates - Denny Hamlin and Bobby Labonte - qualified 25th and 35th, respectively. Hamlin clocked a time of 29.151 seconds with an average speed of 190.182 mph, while Labonte timed in at 29.361 seconds with an average speed of 188.822 mph.
Ryan Newman captured his 34th career pole position, his seventh of the year and sixth straight at Atlanta with a time of 28.588 seconds at an average speed of 193.028 mph. Rounding out the top-five in qualifying were Carl Edwards (28.663 seconds at 193.420 mph), Elliott Sadler (28.670 seconds at 193.373 mph), Mark Martin (28.797 seconds at 192.520 mph) and Dave Blaney (28.849 seconds at 192.173 mph).
Fifty-three drivers attempted to qualify for the 325-lap race. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were J.J. Yeley, Boris Said, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Johnny Sauter, Robby Gordon, Stuart Kirby, Mike Wallace, Jimmy Spencer, Mike Garvey and Morgan Shepherd.
As far as manufacturers went, Dodge took the top spot thanks to Newman's pole-winning mark, while Ford swept the next three positions via Edwards, Sadler and Martin. Chevrolet's best was fifth-quick Blaney.
The Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500 gets underway on Sun., Oct. 30 at 12:40 p.m. EST. NBC will carry live coverage of the event.
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