JGR Qualifying Report - Homestead
Date: Nov. 16, 2007
Event: Ford 400 (Round 36 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (30.545 seconds at 176.788 mph)
JGR Lineup: Tony Stewart (14th, 30.858 seconds at 174.995 mph)
J.J. Yeley (24th, 30.969 seconds at 174.368 mph)
Denny Hamlin (32nd, 31.037 seconds at 173.986 mph)
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, qualified 14th to lead the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing contingent during time trials for Sunday’s season-ending Ford 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Stewart turned a lap of 30.858 seconds at 174.995 mph on the 1.5-mile oval.
“That wasn’t bad… for me,” said Stewart, who has an average finish of 10th in eight career starts at Homestead – the best among the eight drivers that have competed in all eight Nextel Cup races at Homestead. “I haven’t been much of a qualifier this year, but we always seem to find a way to the front. We don’t have nearly as far to go this time around. I think we’re going to be pretty good on Sunday.”
Stewart’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates – J.J. Yeley in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet and Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 FedEx Express Chevrolet – qualified 24th and 32nd, respectively. Yeley turned a lap of 30.969 seconds at 174.368 mph, while Hamlin stopped the clocks in 31.037 seconds at 173.986 mph.
“That was a big pick-up from practice,” said Yeley, who led eight laps in this race last year. “I told Steve (Addington, crew chief) that on my final run in practice I didn’t get a good lap, but on our qualifying run, the car was really solid underneath me. I overdrove the entry into (turn) one and chattered the front tires, which cost us a little bit. It was still a decent qualifying run, and much better than we’ve done in the later part of the year when we’ve run the Monte Carlo. We have a new body on this car and it’s been really stable since we’ve been here. I think we have a really good race car and we’ll make sure it turns well in practice tomorrow.”
“That was not the lap we were looking for,” said Hamlin, who finished third in last year’s season finale at Homestead. “It was just a case of being too loose from the start and not having the time to make up for it on only one lap. Kind of like last year when we qualified in the 30s (33rd), we were just missing on our setup by a little bit. I expected we would be a little better in qualifying, but the conditions changed a little and we didn’t have the grip we needed. But I have no doubt we’ll be good in race conditions, just like we were last year.”
Championship point leader Jimmie Johnson captured his 13th career Bud Pole position and his fourth of the season with a time of 30.545 seconds at 176.788 mph. Johnson needs only to finish 18th or better in Sunday’s race to clinch his second straight Nextel Cup championship.
Rounding out the top-five in qualifying were Ryan Newman (30.583 seconds at 176.569 mph), Kasey Kahne (30.621 seconds at 176.350 mph), Matt Kenseth (30.669 seconds at 176.074 mph) and Kurt Busch (30.692 seconds at 175.942 mph).
Forty-nine drivers attempted to qualify for the Ford 400. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were A.J. Allmendinger, John Andretti, Joe Nemechek, Michael Waltrip, Todd Bodine and Burney Lamar.
As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet took the top spot thanks to Johnson’s pole-winning mark. Dodge was next best at the hands of Newman. The top Ford was Kenseth, while 17th-quick Brian Vickers carried the flag for Toyota (30.897 seconds at 174.774 mph).
The Ford 400 gets underway on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 3:30 p.m. EST. ABC will broadcast the event live and in high-definition beginning with its pre-race show at 3 p.m.
