The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 37

1 THF CHARLOTTE OBSFRVFR I www charlotte com SPORTS SATURDAY MARCH 12 2005 5C CUP QUALIFYING 300 QUALIFYING D0iY0Ur0WEiTHEIRS7j TOMYAND RECLAIM VoUAITAtt Newman fastest in Vegas Edwards takes 1st Busch pole Wins 28th pole entering his 119th career start in top series gled mightily in the race here last year was 34th and teammate Michael Waltrip was 36th Jason Leffler who will start 17th was fastest among the drivers not in the top 35 in last owner standings and thereby guaranteed a spot in the lineup Fffcctur Is 4th different pole winner in 4 starts By David Poole Staff Writer By Jim Utter Knight Ridder LAS VEGAS So far double duty is providing double the success for Carl Edwards Edwards the only NASCAR driver planning to run full schedules in both Nextel Cup and Busch this season continued his strong start to the 2005 season winning the pole for II (I almost got The Rocket said Sadler whose lap was just six one-thousandths slower than was right on the edge hate to have to try to run that lap Newman won nine poles last year and 11 in 2003 This is his 28th pole in what will be his 119th start in top series Greg Biffle coming off a win at California Speedway in the most recent Nextel Cup race will start third He said he felt like he let his chance to beat Newman get away feel bad for the guys I just got too loose down there in (turns) 3 and Biffle said Kevin Harvick initially qualified fourth but his speed was disallowed and start 42nd because it was determined his No 29 Chevrolet was not carrying a full fuel load during his qualifying laps which is a new requirement this season fuel pump had been altered to make it appear like it was full said John Darby Nextel Cup Series director Darby said a more extensive penalty might be issued next week Scott Riggs qualified fourth but will have to start at the rear of the field (43rd) because his team changed a transmission in the No 10 Chevrolet after practice Reigning Nextel Cup champion and Las Vegas native Kurt Busch was fifth Dale Earnhardt Jr who strug LAS VEGAS On Thursday Ryan Newman and crew chief Matt Borland got a deluxe tour of one of the great engineering marvels the Hoover Dam On Friday they engineered a marvel of their own in winning the pole for the Chrysler 400 In lapping the L5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 173745 mph Newman set a pace no one else could match in qualifying for race felt like I pretty much nailed Newman said Newman went out third among 49 cars entered That normally would be considered an unfortunate draw but No 12 Dodge had been fastest in practice earlier Friday and he backed that up with his pole-winning lap Elliott Sadler driving the No 38 Ford went out 29th and ran 173712 mph to earn the out wszmn gpfonIMtasTlBm $15 OFF $25 OFF side spot on front row any wood purchase Manufacturer restrictions apply any iron set purchase Manufacturer restrictions apply Wheeler: Smoothing of track finished enough to hold off Cup drivers Elliott Sadler and Kyle Busch The pole is first in the Busch series coming in his sixth start having a lot of said Edwards who is second in Busch points and fourth in Cup got two great teams biggest thing is how each team perseveres had little problems and little setbacks like having to go to the backup car last week at Mexico City Busch team does such a good job and the Cup team we seem to have a fast car every Shane Hmiel was fourth fastest and Clint Bowyer completed the top five Series points leader Kevin Harvick who is not running the full season will line up 12th Edwards is the third driver to win his first pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the fourth different pole winner in as many races this season Come Meet the Reps! Demo Week Schedule Tires to be tested after Atlanta race next week Haas Motorsports competition director Bill Ingle and team engineer Walter Giles will oversee the team today Michael McSwain crew chief for Ricky Nextel Cup team will miss his second consecutive race following back surgery As he did for the California race McSwain will have access to his communications and help call the race from home -JU 11 ii first gear ratio last weekend at Mexico City Danny Gill crew chief for the No 73 Chevrolet driven by Eric Jones was fined $500 because of an unapproved intake manifold found during the opening day inspection NASCAR confiscated an expired seat belt from the No 2 Dodge of driver Rusty Wallace and an unapproved fire extinguisher from the No 89 Dodge of driver Morgan Shepherd during inspections Officials also required team members to make alterations to the rear deck lid of Jeff No 31 Chevrolet before it could pass pre-qualifying inspection Notes Jim Utter covers NASCAR for ThatsRacincom part of the Knight Ridder Digital network NASCAR fined Elton Sawyer crew chief for the No 6 Dodge driven by Paul Wolfe in the Busch series $2500 for an unapproved 541 1 Smith HvdTEjTOA-3 23-7261 500 Mnovilla Matthews Bood 704-54 1-6950 Lineup in scoreboard 12C 6701 East Independence llvd 704-536-9021 Store Times! MON-FR1 10-7 SAT 9-6 AND SUNDAY 5) in person 223222 I I By David Poole Staff Writer LAS VEGAS Motor Speedway has completed the grinding process to smooth out bumps in the turns It took about two weeks for the diamond-grinding machine to complete the project which began with a laser grid mapping of the Jw surface re- Wheeler ceived a lot of in quiries from the racing community about what done to the said HA Wheeler the president and general manager made some major changes to the surface but it has been for the better I know that I will ever repave a track Wheeler said that one round of inquiries came from Goodyear which late last year had tested a new tire compound for this Charlotte races Goodyear now is concerned about how the grinding will impact those results and plans to test tires at LMS after next race at Atlanta Motor Speedway Wheeler also said the grinding has been done tiiree grooves wide in the turns 3 and 4 end of the track and three grooves wide in Him 1 as welL The lowest groove in Turn 2 however was not ground Wheeler said he hopes that negates some of the advantage of being in the low groove in that part of the track perhaps leading to more side-by-side rac- SURE THE PREVIOUS OWNER STANDS BEHIND THEIR CAR AFTER ALL THEY BUILT IT 1 FIGURE SALARY We wouldn't sell you a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle we wouldn't buy ourselves And that's precisely what we do Before a vehicle can become a Certified Pre-Owned Lexus it gets put through its paces Each vehicle the dealer purchases undergoes the scrutiny of a fastidious inspection and thorough reconditioning process And more than just a 3-year-from-your-date-of-purchase or 100000-total-vehicle- mile Lexus-backed warranty each vehicle comes with all of the privileges and prestige of the Lexus ownership experience All this is illustrative of the fact that when a Lexus dealer selects a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle they only buy the best of the best So consider a Certified Pre-Owned Lexus available only at your local Lexus dealer After all the previous owner wasn't a person The previous owner was Lexus mg Gordon Parrott cleared after run-in 7 FIGURE SALARY ONE IS GOOD SEVEN IS BETTER NASCAR has elected to take no action against Robby Gordon or Brad Parrott who were involved in a confrontation before the start of the Busch Series race at Mexico City on Sunday officials said Gordon had qualified second for the race but changed engines and had to start at the rear of the field Parrott is the crew chief for Carl Edwards who had moved to a backup car but was able to change engines without penalty Witnesses said Parrott and Gordon got in a heated discussion and then had a brief physical altercation JIM UTTERKNIGHT RIDDER Get 7 Channels in-car coverge In-car cameras jgl Team audio jwf Real-time data BNLY OIH DIGITAL CABLE Bofncircom Crew chiefs ailing to sit out race Order today and get NACAR IN CAR for just $99! 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