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Indianapolis NASCAR Sprint Cup: Ryan Newman claims pole

Ryan Newman claimed his first pole in nearly two years in qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup's Indianapolis round

Newman, who recently learned that he would lose his Stewart-Haas seat at the end of 2013, was the final driver to qualify.

His lap of 47.992 seconds and 187.531mph squeezed him ahead of four-time Brickyard 400 winner and dominant championship leader Jimmie Johnson by 0.024s.

Carl Edwards was only 0.096s off pole in third place.

Newman had not taken pole since the September 2011 New Hampshire Motor Speedway round, while the result marked the first SHR pole since Danica Patrick led the Daytona 500 grid five months ago.

Denny Hamlin was top Toyota in fourth, followed by Newman's team-mate and boss Tony Stewart, and final practice pacesetter Kurt Busch.

Kasey Kahne and Juan Pablo Montoya had both looked strong on Friday and will share row four.

A 45-car entry meant the possibility of non-qualification for the first time since Charlotte in late May. Mike Bliss and Scott Speed were the drivers who missed out.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                     Time     Gap
 1.  Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       47.992s
 2.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet           48.016s  +0.024s
 3.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford            48.088s  +0.096s
 4.  Denny Hamlin        Joe Gibbs Toyota             48.097s  +0.105s
 5.  Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       48.173s  +0.181s
 6.  Kurt Busch          Furniture Row Chevrolet      48.200s  +0.208s
 7.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet           48.223s  +0.231s
 8.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  48.248s  +0.256s
 9.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet           48.264s  +0.272s
10.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                   48.314s  +0.322s
11.  Joey Logano         Penske Ford                  48.399s  +0.407s
12.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Ford                  48.408s  +0.416s
13.  Matt Kenseth        Joe Gibbs Toyota             48.442s  +0.450s
14.  AJ Allmendinger     Phoenix Chevrolet            48.477s  +0.485s
15.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet           48.486s  +0.494s
16.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet          48.531s  +0.539s
17.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota               48.534s  +0.542s
18.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  48.601s  +0.609s
19.  Kyle Busch          Joe Gibbs Toyota             48.622s  +0.630s
20.  Austin Dillon       Childress Chevrolet          48.659s  +0.667s
21.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford                   48.703s  +0.711s
22.  Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                    48.734s  +0.742s
23.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet          48.742s  +0.750s
24.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet          48.756s  +0.764s
25.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Roush Fenway Ford            48.771s  +0.779s
26.  Mark Martin         Waltrip Toyota               48.832s  +0.840s
27.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford            48.901s  +0.909s
28.  Trevor Bayne        Wood Brothers Ford           48.938s  +0.946s
29.  Landon Cassill      Circle Sport Chevrolet       48.962s  +0.970s
30.  Casey Mears         Germain Ford                 48.979s  +0.987s
31.  David Reutimann     BK Toyota                    49.092s  +1.100s
32.  Josh Wise           Front Row Ford               49.168s  +1.176s
33.  Danica Patrick      Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       49.197s  +1.205s
34.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota         49.227s  +1.235s
35.  Michael McDowell    Parsons Ford                 49.229s  +1.237s
36.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford               49.329s  +1.337s
37.  David Stremme       Swan Toyota                  49.539s  +1.547s
38.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota               49.577s  +1.585s
39.  JJ Yeley            Baldwin Chevrolet            49.658s  +1.666s
40.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                 49.772s  +1.780s
41.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet            50.034s  +2.042s
42.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford               50.126s  +2.134s
43.  Timmy Hill          FAS Lane Ford                50.344s  +2.352s

Did not qualify:

     Mike Bliss          Humphrey Smith Toyota        49.483s  +1.467s
     Scott Speed         Leavine Ford                 50.780s  +2.692s

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