Casey Mears won the pole for Sunday’s Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet at 182.556 m.p.h. in a Hendrick Chevrolet, followed by Martin Truex Jr. in a Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevy at 182.476.
Ryan Newman was third in a Dodge at 182.463.
Mears didn’t know whether it was the actual track-cooling effect of a cloud that helped him, or just his imagination.
“Sometimes I tell my guys to put a tinted windshield in for qualifying, so I’ll think it’s cloudy and go faster,” he quipped. “I don’t know if it’s my imagination or better grip on the track, but I did get a cloud down in [turns] three and four.”
Hot asphalt is gummier and more slippery. Cooler conditions give asphalt more grip.
The lineup
After Friday qualifying; race Sunday
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(Car number in parentheses)
%% POS, DRIVER CAR MPH
1. (25) Casey Mears Chev. 182.556
2. (1) Martin Truex Jr. Chev. 182.476
3. (12) Ryan Newman Dodge 182.463
4. (01) Mark Martin Chev. 182.297
5. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chev. 182.272
6. (5) Kyle Busch Chev. 181.886
7. (07) Clint Bowyer Chev. 181.653
8. (48) Jimmie Johnson Chev. 181.580
9. (45) John Andretti Dodge 181.427
10. (17) Matt Kenseth Ford 181.409
11. (24) Jeff Gordon Chev. 181.330
12. (43) Bobby Labonte Dodge 181.263
13. (11) Denny Hamlin Chev. 181.226
14. (29) Kevin Harvick Chev. 181.147
15. (22) Dave Blaney Toyota 181.038
16. (15) Paul Menard Chev. 180.959
17. (21) Bill Elliott Ford 180.808
18. (70) Johnny Sauter Chev. 180.693
19. (20) Tony Stewart Chev. 180.638
20. (36) Jeremy Mayfield Toyota 180.632
21. (00) Dvid Reutimann Toyota 180.602
22. (41) Reed Sorenson Dodge 180.536
23. (31) Jeff Burton Chev. 180.463
24. (9) Kasey Kahne Dodge 180.319
25. (99) Carl Edwards Ford 180.313
26. (49) Chad Chaffin Dodge 180.210
27. (13) Joe Nemechek Chev. 180.198
28. (55) Michael Waltrip Toyota 180.174
29. (66) Jeff Green Chev. 180.150
30. (42) Juan Montoya Dodge 179.910
31. (19) Elliott Sadler Dodge 179.874
32. (6) David Ragan Ford 179.850
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33. (16) Greg Biffle Ford 179.778
34. (26) Jamie McMurray Ford 179.671
35. (2) Kurt Busch Dodge 179.653
36. (18) J.J. Yeley Chev. 179.563
37. (14) Sterling Marlin Chev. 179.444
38. (40) David Stremme Dodge 179.354
39. (7) Robby Gordon Ford Owner pts
40. (96) Tony Raines Chev. Owner pts
41. (88) Ricky Rudd Ford Owner pts
42. (38) David Gilliland Ford Owner pts
43. (4) Ward Burton Chev. 179.581
DID NOT QUALIFY CAR MPH
44. (10) Scott Riggs Dodge 179.134
45. (83) Brian Vickers Toyota 178.980
46. (44) Dale Jarrett Toyota 178.767
47. (84) AJ Allmendinger Toyota 178.642
48. (37) Kevin Lepage Dodge 178.353
49. (78) Kenny Wallace Chev. 178.200 %%
Chicagoland Speedway (18-degree bank in all turns, 11-degree front stretch, 5-degree back stretch) Lap length: 1.5 miles
IN THE WEB EDITION
*Check out our photo gallery from Joliet at chicago sports.com/nascarphotos
*Will you be watching Sunday’s race on TV — or be there? Let us know at chicagosports.com/nascarpoll