Stewart Qualifies Ninth at Phoenix

"That was a good run for us," said Stewart, who toured the 1-mile oval in 27.115 seconds with an average speed of 132.768 mph. "We didn't leave too much on the table."

Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates - Denny Hamlin and Bobby Labonte - qualified first and fifth, respectively. Hamlin's pole-winning time came in 26.831 seconds with an average speed of 134.173 mph, while Labonte timed in at 27.020 seconds with an average speed of 133.235 mph.

Rounding out the top-five in qualifying were Jimmie Johnson (26.965 seconds at 133.506 mph), Carl Edwards (26.975 seconds at 133.457 mph), Greg Biffle (26.980 seconds at 133.432 mph) and Labonte.

Fifty drivers attempted to qualify for the 312-lap race. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Brandon Ash, Bryan Reffner, Mike Wallace, Kevin Lepage, Derrike Cope, P.J. Jones and Morgan Shepherd.

As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet swept the front row via Hamlin and Johnson, while Ford took the second row thanks to Roush Racing teammates Edwards and Biffle. Carrying the flag for Dodge was 11th quick Ryan Newman (27.117 seconds at 132.758 mph).

The Checker Auto Parts 500k gets underway on Sun., Nov. 13 at 3:40 p.m. EST. NBC will carry live coverage of the event.