LONG POND, Pa. - Ryan Newman left no doubt about who has the car to catch at Pocono Raceway when he backed up the fastest practice speed with his fifth pole of the season Friday.
Newman hustled around the 21/2-mile track at 170.358 mph to claim the top spot for Sunday's Pennsylvania 500. Seven weeks ago in the Pocono 500, he qualified second and finished fifth.
Newman's speed didn't approach Tony Stewart's 3-year-old track record of 172.391, but was good enough to hold off Pocono 500 pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson. The winner of Sunday's race at New Hampshire will start on the outside of the front row.
Elliott Sadler was third and will line up beside three-time Pocono winner Bobby Labonte.
John Andretti qualified fifth in his second start for Haas CNC Racing.
Brett Bodine's return to racing after breaking his collarbone last month at Michigan ended quickly. As the substitute driver in the No. 4 owned by Morgan-McClure Motorsports, Bodine was the only entry that didn't make the field after running 40th fastest.
TRIMSPA DREAM BODY 250: Bobby Hamilton Jr. won the pole for today's Busch race at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo.
Hamilton's speed of 133.319 mph edged Stacy Compton's 133.259. Ron Hornaday Jr. will start third.
The pole is Hamilton's first this season and third of his career. He is sixth in the standings.
SEARS 200: Jason Leffler won his 10th career Truck series pole and set the Michigan International Speedway track record for trucks with a lap of 178.037 mph.
Chad Chaffin will start second in today's 100-lap race in Brooklyn and Ted Musgrave will start third.
During practice, Michael Dokken crashed and was taken to a hospital in Jackson by helicopter. He was later transferred to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor for further evaluation.
Dokken was awake and alert after hitting the wall in Turn 3 and was still awake and alert later in the day. The extent of Dokken's injuries was not known.
MOLSON INDY: Bruno Junqueira wound up on the provisional pole after CART points leader Paul Tracy lost his fast lap for blocking Junqueira and others during qualifying for the Vancouver race.
The announcement was made after CART stewards spent 41/2 hours watching video of the qualifying session and gathering data from the teams involved.
CART's decision gave Junqueira the top spot heading into today's final time trials. He also earned one point for winning the provisional pole, which guarantees the Brazilian a front-row start in Sunday's street race.
MICHIGAN INDY 400: Sam Hornish Jr. got the boost he was hoping for from his new Gen IV Chevy Indy V-8 engine. He turned the fastest lap at 223.618 mph during two practice sessions.
The IRL announced last week Hornish would be able to use the new engine this weekend in Brooklyn in an attempt to help the competitive balance between drivers with Chevy engines and those with Toyota and Honda engines.
