Ryan Newman broke Mike Bliss' track-qualifying record, set just last week during qualifying for the Nextel Open. Credit: Autostock

Newman breaks track record for third 600 pole

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Ryan Newman's latest qualifying effort was impressive even by his own standards.

Always a threat to win the pole, the 27-year-old did it again, shattering the track record at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Thursday night with a lap of 192.988 mph to take the top spot for the Coca-Cola 600.

Lineup Coca-Cola 600 Pos. Driver Make 1. Ryan Newman Dodge 2. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 3. Matt Kenseth Ford 4. Kasey Kahne Dodge 5. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Complete lineup, click here

That effort was nearly 3 mph faster than the mark set last week by Mike Bliss and 4 mph better than what Newman ran last October at the track.

Jeff Gordon wound up second Thursday night after running 191.925, with Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top five.

Bud Pole winnerNewman shatters the track record on his way to the pole Outside poleJeff Gordon scores the outside pole at Lowe's Solid lapEarnhardt Jr. has a solid run after a crew chief change Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

It was Newman's fourth pole of the season -- he leads the Nextel Cup Series again _ and the 31st of his career. In fact, he's started up front for an incredible 24 percent of his 128 starts.

And he became the first driver to break the 28-second barrier at the track, clocking a time of 27.981 seconds.

"That was a real good lap for me,'' Newman said. "I was just trying to break 28 seconds, and we barely did it. If we go faster, that's fine until safety is a question. We run faster at other tracks, so we'll see how we do here.''

Now, Lowe's is the second-fasted track on the circuit, trailing only Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Newman ran 194.690 earlier this season. Texas Motor Speedway is the third on the list, just ahead of Talladega.

Rookie Kyle Busch, who went out 16th, qualified sixth for Sunday night's race and marveled at the lap Newman ran.

"That's fast, dude,'' he said. "That's blistering fast.''

Dale Earnhardt Jr., with new crew chief Steve Hmiel, was 15th, and defending Cup champ Kurt Busch was 35th.