Newman sets rookie pole record

AVONDALE, ARIZONA - Ryan Newman is having an easy time getting started on the Winston Cup series.

The 24-year-old rookie nipped John Andretti on Friday for the top qualifying spot Sunday in the Checker Auto Parts 400. It was Newman's sixth pole of the season, breaking the Winston Cup rookie record set by Davey Allison in 1987.

Asked what he enjoys most about being up front, Newman said, ``It's just like anything else, beating everybody. To me, it's just about the competition and knowing you're the best on a given day at a given time doing what I like to do.''

Newman knocked Dale Earnhardt Jr. off the pole with a lap of 132.655 mph at Phoenix International Raceway. Andretti's 132.597 took the other front-row position.

The time difference between Newman's Penske Racing South Ford and Andretti's Petty Enterprises Dodge was just 0.014 seconds on the mile oval.

``I was worried about John,'' Newman said. ``He was very fast in practice and I knew he was going out after me.''

Newman, fourth in the points and leading the series with 21 top-10 finishes, was asked if this season has exceeded all of his expectations.

``We've had too many engine problems for that,'' he said. ``We've had one win and a lot of top-fives and top-10s, but you can always do better. I said at the start of the year, our goal was to finish in the top 10.''

Newman's third pole in the last four races clinched the season qualifying award and gave him seven poles in his brief career.

Andretti won the pole here in 1999 and went on to finish eighth. Last year, he started second and wound up 39th.

``We're not going to do that again this year,'' he said. ``We're going to do all the right things in practice and make it right.''

Referring to the Petty team's last win here, by Bobby Hamilton in 1996, Andretti said, ``I'd like to be the guy who wins again for Petty Enterprises.''

Earnhardt wound up third at 132.333, followed by Jeff Gordon at 132.285, Dave Blaney at 132.115 and Kenny Wallace at 131.849.

Mark Martin, who trails Winston Cup leader Tony Stewart by 112 points going into the last two races of the season, qualified seventh at 131.728, while Stewart was 16th at 131.014.

Stewart didn't appear to be feeling any pressure in his first NASCAR championship battle.

``I didn't crash in two laps, so I didn't think it was that exciting of a qualifying run,'' Stewart said.

Asked about the difficulty of passing on the 1-mile oval, Stewart shrugged and said, ``I took a provisional last year and it wasn't that bad.''

Actually, it wasn't that bad. Stewart started 22nd last year and finished fifth.

``If you've got a good driving car, you can pass,'' he said.

Martin, penalized 25 points for an unapproved spring on his Ford last Sunday in Rockingham, N.C., knows he has to make inroads on Stewart's lead to have a real chance for the title in the final race, Nov. 17 in Homestead, Fla.

``I'm just glad to be starting near the front,'' Martin said. ``It just makes your life a little bit easier. You don't have to fight as hard or jeopardize your car as much if you're up in the front of the pack.''

CART star Christian Fittipaldi, making his first Winston Cup start, put a Petty Dodge in at 17th with a lap of 131.009.

``Testing here last week helped us a little bit,'' said Fittipaldi, the nephew of Formula One and CART champion Emerson Fittipaldi.

He'll be the first Brazilian to race in NASCAR.

``I'm quite happy to be in the show in a real competitive way and not being in the show with a provisional,'' he said.