JGR Qualifying Report - Charlotte
Date: Oct. 11, 2007
Event: Bank of America 500 (Round 31 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Ryan Newman of Penske Racing (28.512 seconds at 189.394 mph)
JGR Lineup: Denny Hamlin (11th, 28.815 seconds at 187.402 mph)
Tony Stewart (29th, 29.057 seconds at 185.842 mph)
J.J. Yeley (39th, 29.248 seconds at 184.628 mph)
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Kinko’s Chevrolet, qualified 11th to lead the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing contingent during time trials for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Hamlin turned a lap of 28.512 seconds at 189.394 mph on the 1.5-mile oval.
“I’m actually a little disappointed with that time because I know we’re better than what we showed,” said Hamlin, who has three top-10 finishes in his four career Nextel Cup starts at Charlotte. “I was a little tight, pushed up the track through turns one and two, and that’s where we lost time. But I know we’re in good shape in race trim, so we should be really competitive on Saturday night.”
Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates – Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet and J.J. Yeley in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet – qualified 29th and 39th, respectively. Stewart turned a lap of 29.057 seconds at 185.842 mph, while Yeley stopped the clocks in 29.248 seconds at 184.628 mph.
“We made two laps and we were tight both laps,” said Stewart, who won at Charlotte in October 2003. “It wasn’t perfect, but we’ve got two more practice sessions tomorrow to get it right.”
“The first lap I got really loose into (turn) one, which caught me by surprise,” said Yeley, who crashed his primary car during his second qualifying lap. He’ll start at the rear of the field on Saturday night with his backup race car. “On the second lap it was really solid in (turn) one and (turn) two. When I went into (turn) three, it carried enough speed and I got to the bottom. I got in the throttle and thought I was going to be able to save it, but then it got really quiet and at that point the motor had stalled and we got into the fence. It just got into one of those lazy spins and I couldn’t catch it. This is one of the better cars in the shop, so it’s really disappointing.”
Ryan Newman captured his 42nd career pole position, his fifth of the season and his seventh at Charlotte with a time of 28.512 seconds at 189.394 mph. Rounding out the top-five in qualifying were Jimmie Johnson (28.573 seconds at 188.990 mph), Bobby Labonte (28.668 seconds at 188.363 mph), Jeff Gordon (28.678 seconds at 188.298 mph) and Kasey Kahne (28.710 seconds at 188.088 mph).
Forty-nine drivers attempted to qualify for the Bank of America 500. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Dale Jarrett, Joe Nemechek, Brian Vickers, Sam Hornish Jr., Carl Long and Kirk Shelmerdine.
As far as manufacturers went, Dodge took the top spot thanks to Newman’s pole-winning mark. Chevrolet was next best at the hands of Johnson. Sixth-quick Jamie McMurray carried the flag for Ford (28.712 seconds at 188.075), while the top Toyota came via 19th-quick Michael Waltrip (28.914 seconds at 186.761 mph).
The Bank of America 500 gets underway on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. EDT. ABC will broadcast the event live and in high-definition beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.
