Chase drivers enjoy auspicious start to Texas

For Ryan Newman, two bits of good news on Friday most likely failed to outweigh the one piece of bad news he got during qualifying for Sunday's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

First, the good news: Newman won his eighth Bud Pole of the season with a lap at 27.987 seconds, 192.947 miles per hour, clinching the Bud Pole Award for Newman for the third straight season.

	Matt Kenseth
	Inside the Chase Texas qualifying Start Driver Speed 1 R. Newman 192.947 3 M. Kenseth 191.966 5 J. Mayfield 191.408 7 G. Biffle 191.299 8 M. Martin 191.171 11 J. Johnson 190.712 16 T. Stewart 190.382 18 Ku. Busch 190.134 26 R. Wallace 189.680 30 C. Edwards 189.089

The bad news was a little more immediate. On his second lap, Newman had a mechanical failure that sent his Alltel Dodge into the wall in Turns 3 and 4, which forced him into a backup car for Sunday's race. He'll have to go to the back of the field on Sunday. Though he won his second pole in five starts at Texas, his starting average of 13.750 is just fourth-best among the Chasers, and his finishing average of 24.000 is sixth.

It was a pretty good day for the majority of the Chase contenders, as five of them made the top 10, seven made the top 16 and none will start worse than 30th -- with the exception of Newman.

Roush Racing was first represented by Matt Kenseth, who qualified third fastest in his Ford at 28.130 seconds, 191.966 mph. That's a wicked-good improvement on his starting average of 25.333 (worst among Chasers) and gives him a good chance to make headway in improving on his 15.333 average finish (fourth among Chasers).

Jeremy Mayfield, the forgotten Chaser, was stout in his Dodge, timing in fifth-quick at 28.212 seconds, 191.408 mph. Mayfield averages 16.666 per Texas start (sixth among Chasers) and averages an eighth-best 19.555 per finish.

Greg Biffle, third in the points and winner here in the spring race, was seventh-fastest at 28.228 seconds, 191.299 mph in his Ford. Biffle did slightly better than his Chase-best starting average of 9.666, but his average finish (20.000) is ninth-best among Chasers.

Hard hitShortly after taking control of the pole, Newman hits the wall Outside the top 10Second in points, Jimmie Johnson qualifies 11th Stuck in the middlePoint leader Tony Stewart qualifies 16th at Texas Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Mark Martin made it Roush Fords in consecutive spots with his eighth-fastest lap at 28.247 seconds, 191.171 mph. That ought to boost his average Texas start from its current level of 13.444 (third best of the Chase cars). His average finish, including a victory, is 15.333, which is fourth among the Chase drivers.

Jimmie Johnson, chasing Tony Stewart in the points, timed in 11th in his Chevrolet, posting a lap at 28.315 seconds, 190.712 mph. Johnson hit his average start of 10.750 (second in the Chase race), and that could play a role in making his Chase-best finishing average of 6.500 rise a tick before next season.

Stewart, who drew an early number, laid down a lap at 28.364 seconds, 190.382 mph in the Home Depot Chevrolet. That was good for 16th, much better than his starting average of 25.142. That average is ninth among the 10 Chasers, but his finishing average of 16.571 is sixth.

Kurt Busch, whose title hopes took a terminal shot last week at Atlanta, qualified his Ford 18th at 28.401 seconds, 190.134 mph. Busch has an average starting spot of 19.200 at Texas, but his finishing average is second only to Johnson at 9.800.

Rusty Wallace's run of bad luck in the last three races have made his Last Call tour a quest for one more victory. He pushed the Miller Lite Dodge to 26th on the grid, timing in at 28.469 seconds, 189.680 mph. That is somewhat worse than his fifth-best starting average of 15.222, but it still gives him hope that he can improve his average finish of 12.111 (third-best among Chasers) a few points.

Carl Edwards, last week's winner at Atlanta and a surprise title contender (he's tied for fourth with Newman, 107 points behind Stewart), was the last of Chasers to land in the lineup, timing in 30th. Edwards' lap of 28.558 seconds, 189.089 mph won't help his starting average (an eighth-best 20.000 that grows to 25.000), but he's only started one race here. Edwards finished 19th in the spring, and that's his average finish so far.

In terms of manufacturers, the three Dodges wound up first, fifth and 26th; Fords were third, seventh, eighth, 18th and 30th and the two Chevrolets were 11th and 15th.

Biffle, Kenseth, Martin and Newman have all won here, and in nine races at TMS there's never been a repeat winner. Will history hold or another streak be broken on Sunday?