QUALIFYING: Newman Sweeps NHMS Poles
Sprint Cup Driver Will Start Out Front At Loudon For Third Time
Loudon, NH — Ryan Newman is one step closer to a clean sweep of his three-race NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule as he captured the Coors Light Pole Award in advance of Saturday’s F.W. Webb 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
A veteran NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor, Newman laid down a fast lap of 29.457 seconds (129.300 mph) in Thursday’s qualifying for his third career Whelen Modified Tour pole. All three have come at New Hampshire.
Newman won the pole and the race in the Whelen Modified Tour’s first visit to the “Magic Mile” in June, and followed that with a victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in August. His third and final moonlight appearance in the Tour in 2010 will be in Saturday’s F.W. Webb 100, which will air on SPEED at 1 p.m.
Todd Szegedy was second fastest in qualifying at 29.799 (127.816) followed by Ryan Preece at 29.817 (127.739). Szegedy will look for his second career win at New Hampshire while Preece will strive for his first after podium efforts in three of his last four races at the 1.058-mile facility.
Points leader Bobby Santos, Ed Flemke Jr., Mike Stefanik, Chuck Hossfeld, Eric Goodale, Erick Rudolph and defending race winner Ron Silk round out the top 10 qualifiers.
Saturday’s F.W. Webb 100 is scheduled to take the green flag at 12:45 p.m., and the SPEED broadcast will begin on a 15-minute tape delay.
QUALIFYING | AUDIO: POST-QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE WITH TOP THREE
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR