Ryan Newman has won six Bud Poles this season. Credit: Autostock

Qualifying session may signal changing of guard

Newman starts on pole at Dover; Stewart rolls off 31st

The Rocket Man made a return to form Friday afternoon at Dover International Speedway, winning the pole for the MBNA RacePoints 400 and whipping his fellow Chasers at the same time.

With a victory in the Chase opener last week at New Hampshire, Newman used that momentum to win his sixth pole of the year, second at Dover and his first in 13 races (first Michigan). That performance, combined with Tony Stewart's 31st-place run, might just set the stage for Newman to put a first-class whipping on the rest of the Chasers, who ranged from fifth (Jimmie Johnson) to 32nd (Carl Edwards) behind him.

Inside the Numbers Average finishers for the Chase drivers at Dover Driver Pts. Avg. T. Stewart 1st 5.1 R. Newman 3rd 6.7 R. Wallace 4th 12.6 J. Johnson 6th 13.4 M. Martin 7th 13.4 M. Kenseth 5th 14.6 C. Edwards 9th 17.0 G. Biffle 2nd 18.0 J. Mayfield 8th 18.5 K. Busch 10th 19.6 Lineup MBNA RacePoints 400 Pos. Driver Make 1. R. Newman Dodge 2. K. Kahne Dodge 3. Ky. Busch Chevrolet 4. D. Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 5. J. Johnson Chevrolet • Complete lineup, click here • Official standings, click here Pole winnerRyan Newman makes it a two pole weekend at Dover Tony StewartThe Race Chase leader will start in the back on Sunday Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Seven of the 10 Chasers wound up in the top 12 after Bud Pole Qualifying.

Newman's lap at 22.770 seconds, 158.103 mph was 1.028 mph faster than runner-up Kasey Kahne. The only thing more impressive than Newman's 8.000 average start at Dover is his 6.714 average finish. He's won three times at Dover in just seven starts.

Jimmie Johnson, who has been fairly quiet thus far in the Chase, was next among Chasers, slotting in fifth in the Lowe's Chevy with a lap at 22.993 seconds, 156.569 mph. Johnson owns two victories at DIS, both coming in his rookie year of 2002. He runs well at Dover, too, averaging 8.857 for a starting spot and 13.428 as a finishing position.

Rusty Wallace, making his 44th and final start at Dover, responded with a stellar lap of 23.003 seconds, 156.501 mph to slot in sixth. Wallace, who ends his career at Dover with five poles, averages 8.860 in starting position and 12.558 for finishing position, third among Chasers in both categories.

Mark Martin missed sixth by an eyelash -- or .001 seconds. His lap of 23.004 seconds, 156.495 mph, put him seventh in the field for Sunday's race. Martin is fourth among Chasers in both starting position (10.236) and finishing position (13.394).

Kurt Busch, who suffered through an accident last week at New Hampshire and finished 35th, got back on track with a 10th-place showing in qualifying. Busch's lap of 23.050 seconds, 156.182 mph made it five Chasers in the top 10 and bettered his average start (13.200) at Dover. His average finish at Dover, however, is last among the Chase field at 19.600.

Matt Kenseth, whose hot streak to make the Chase hasn't seemed to cool off any, put his Ford 11th with a lap at 23.060 seconds, 156.114 mph. Among Chasers, Kenseth has the worst starting average (17.846), but is sixth in finishing average at 14.615.

Jeremy Mayfield, for the second consecutive year the forgotten man in the Chase, made folks sit up and notice with a lap at 23.081 seconds, 155.972 mph, good for 12th on the grid. That's better than his career starting average of 16.954 (ninth among Chasers). His finishing average is 18.545, also ninth among the 10 Chase participants.

Greg Biffle, who won here in June, was not happy with his lap at 23.154 seconds, 155.481 mph, which earned him the 18th starting spot. That's slightly worse than his career average starting position (16.666). Including his victory here earlier this year, Biffle averages 18.000 for a finish. Both averages are eighth among Chasers.

Stewart, who was not concerned with his lap of 23.259 seconds, 154.779 mph that had him 31st in the lineup, has statistics on his side. That's more than twice his career average start of 15.076 (seventh among Chasers), but his career finishing average of 5.076 is tops among the 10. Stewart doesn't have a pole at Dover, and started 27th in the fall of 2000, when he led 163 laps on the way to a season sweep.

Carl Edwards brought up the rear among Chasers, slotting in 32nd. His lap at 23.260 seconds, 154.772 mph was just .001 slower than Stewart. Edwards has just two starts at Dover, averaging 11.500 for a start and 17.000 for a finish.

In terms of manufacturers in the Chase, the three Dodges ranked first, sixth and 12th, while Fords were seventh, 10th, 11th, 18th and 32nd. The two Chevrolets were fifth and 31st.