TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Ryan Newman will start 10th in Sunday's Good Sam Club 500 Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
In Saturday's qualifying session, Newman's No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet toured the 2.66-mile oval in 53.140 seconds at 180.203 miles per hour.
"We didn't know what to expect since we did not make any qualifying laps yesterday in practice -- we concentrated on race trim," explained Newman. "It was a pretty good lap considering when we went out (22nd). It's all about how the guys prepare this U.S. Army Chevrolet to make it fast. It's up to me to keep the fenders on it and stay out of crashes."
Newman's teammate, Tony Stewart, qualified 12th with a 53.168 at 180.108.
The pole winner was Mark Martin (181.367 mph). Rounding out the top-five in order were: Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Trevor Bayne and Jeff Gordon.
Sunday's 188-lap race will be televised on ESPN, beginning with a 60-minute prerace show at 1 p.m. ET.
The U.S. Army NHRA team is off this weekend and will resume action next week, Oct. 28-30, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.