Stewart claims pole position in record time

INDIANAPOLIS -- The way Tony Stewart likes to handle pressure is to get in his race car and drive -- fast.

He did just that Saturday, ignoring the oppressive heat, overcoming a slick track and shaking off a myriad of outside distractions to win the pole for Sunday's Brickyard 400.

The Indiana native sat in the window of his Joe Gibbs Pontiac and pumped his fists in the air, taking in the booming cheers of the partisan crowd of about 30,000 after setting a track qualifying record.

His lap at 182.960 mph easily broke the record of 181.072, set in 2000 by Brett Bodine. In fact, the top five qualifiers surpassed that speed despite temperatures in the 90s and a glaring sun that made the 2 1/2-mile asphalt oval treacherous.

Stewart, who grew up about 30 miles from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Columbus, Ind., had more than racing on his mind prior to qualifying, and it wasn't the heat.

"As much as I love being home, I hate this week," he said. "I'll bet my phone rang 400 times last night because everybody knew that it was my only night off and everybody wanted to take me to dinner or go out and ride Harleys or do something.

"Between them and family and being home and wanting to do well in front of all your friends and family, that puts a lot of pressure on me."

Still, that didn't make winning his second pole of the season and sixth of his career any more gratifying for Stewart, who is determined to win a race here.

"To be honest, I could care less about poles," he said. "I want my name on a brick and I want my name on a Borg-Warner trophy."

The winner of Indy's NASCAR race gets his name inscribed on one of the bricks that originally covered the 2 1/2-mile Indy oval. The Borg-Warner trophy honors the winners of the Indianapolis 500.

Stewart was a star in the Indy Racing League before switching to stock cars. He raced in the 500 five times with a best finish of fifth in 1997 and is now the only driver to start from the pole in both the 500 and the Brickyard.

His best finish also is fifth in three previous stock car starts here.

"I know the track," Stewart said. "If you look at the amount of laps that these Cup guys have, they probably have as many laps or more than I've had here in the past. But, being able to come here every day in the month of May for three or four weeks at a time, you learn some things day-to-day about the personality of the track and some things to watch out for."

The Dodge of Bill Elliott, coming off a victory from the pole last Sunday at Pocono, took the outside spot on the front row at 182.109, followed by the Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 181.627, the Chevy of Robby Gordon at 181.543 and rookie Ryan Newman's Ford at 181.287.

Stewart noted that drawing the 11th spot in the qualifying line on the hot, humid day was a key to winning the pole.

"I think I lost about 5 pounds just in a few laps in a qualifying run," the stocky Stewart said. "I was never very good at drawing an early number. We've got somebody else doing it now and he certainly earned his keep this week."

The temperature rose steadily and the humidity thickened as the session started at 10:05 a.m. local time and didn't end until 12:30 p.m.

The top four also were among the first 11 drivers in the line. Newman was the only driver to break the pattern, going out 49th among the 50 drivers who made attempts.

"It was in the heat of the day, but I think it was pretty hot from the time the first green flag dropped all the way through," Newman said. "It probably made a little bit of difference but, overall, the run was pretty good."

Newman, from South Bend, Ind., and a graduate of Purdue University, is 12th in the Winston Cup points but has yet to win a race. If he or teammate Rusty Wallace wins Sunday's race, it would give team owner Roger Penske -- who owns a record 11 Indianapolis 500 wins -- his first stock car victory here. Wallace will start 35th in the 43-car field.

Three-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon won from 26th position last year and will start Sunday's race 21st, while two-time winner Dale Jarrett will start 17th.

Gordon, hoping to end a 28-race winless streak, said he was fortunate to qualify that high.

"Something just snapped in the motor when I crossed the line to complete the first lap," he said. "It could have happened during the lap. It just shut completely off. I'm hoping it's something in the driveline, not the motor."

If it does turn out to be the motor, under NASCAR's new rule permitting teams to use only one engine per race, his team could put a new engine in his Chevy. But Gordon, another local favorite who spent his teen years in nearby Pittsboro, Ind., would have to start from the rear of the field.

Ricky Rudd and Bobby Labonte, the only other former Brickyard winners in the lineup, also had problems in qualifying. Rudd, Jarrett's teammate, was 25th despite drawing the seventh spot in line. Labonte, going out in the middle of the session, had to use a provisional to take the 40th spot after failing to qualify by speed.

Kurt Busch, the fastest in practice Friday, also had to use a provisional after spinning during his first qualifying lap. He missed the wall but ruined his tires and will have to start 38th.