Motorsports

Newman in record run to 600 pole

By BRANT JAMES
Published May 27, 2005

CONCORD, N.C. - Ryan Newman wins pole. Yawn. No headline there - usually.

But NASCAR's reigning king of qualifying made his 31st career pole an event on Thursday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, smashing the track record - his, of course - by 4 mph for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.

Newman's 192.988 mph lap around the freshly "levigated" 1.5-mile track beat the points race standard of 188.877 he set before the 2004 fall race.

The grinding and smoothing of Lowe's surface increased times throughout the field, as the top 22 of 43 qualifiers beat the 2004 standard.

GORDON'S EMBARRASSMENT: Jeff Gordon will sling his No. 24 Chevrolet into a 24-degree banked turn at 200 mph on Sunday.

It was a far different story on Tuesday, when Gordon - admittedly - came unglued, butchering Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field. Gordon, in Chicago to promote the July 10 Nextel Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway, agreed to sing a la Harry Caray as a condition of throwing out the first pitch. Gordon's trouble began before he started singing, when he referred to the Cubs' ballpark as Wrigley Stadium. He was booed and struggled to keep up with the song.

"I had practiced. I knew the words down pat," he said. "They said, "You want to practice?' I said, "No, let's do it.'

"It definitely was a moment that I'm not proud of, probably it will haunt me for a long time, but I will be able to laugh at it for a long time."

RE-UP: As recently as a year ago, former NASCAR Truck and Busch series champion Greg Biffle sounded like a driver trying to criticize and agitate his way out of Roush Racing, but standing second in driver points after 11 races apparently has created harmony within the organization.

Roush announced Thursday that Biffle, who has three wins, four top fives and seven top 10s this season, has agreed to a three-year extension to drive the No. 16 Ford. Biffle said he was not close to leaving, partly, he said, because it would the ruin the chemistry and performance he has built since he was elevated to full-time Cup racing in 2003.

"I had plenty of opportunities and I'm thankful for that," he said of his other options. "I'm really blessed that I've got the drivingability that I do and other people have interest in me to drive their race cars. I'm friends with a lot of the team owners. I like to mingle with them and talk with them. Ray ( Evernham) has got a great organization. Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress - all of them - Roger Penske. Every single one of those guys - DEI - have great organizations in our sport. I had some opportunities, but this is where my heart was at and we were able to work out a deal and I think I'm going to be happy."

SPARK PLUGS: Jason Leffler, 36th in driver points and one spot removed from a guaranteed starting spot at Lowe's Motor Speedway, failed to qualify on time in the No. 11 Chevrolet and will miss his first Nextel Cup race of the season. His run of 187.611 left him one spot out of the field.

[Last modified May 27, 2005, 00:40:18]