Newman wins pole at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Ryan Newman won the pole Friday for Sunday's Subway 500 at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway.

Newman turned in a track record of 19.513 seconds for a speed of 97.043 miles per hour. Tony Stewart set the old record four years ago, but 18 drivers broke it Friday.

It was the seventh pole of the season for Newman and the 25th of his career.

"It was a good lap for us," said Newman who was second quickest to Ricky Rudd in the final practice. "They did a great job of resurfacing the race track."

Starting on the front row with Newman will be Rusty Wallace, who posted a time of 19.677 seconds. Wallace has won seven times on this track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (19.683) and Ward Burton (19.703) will start in the second row. Travis Kvapil rounded out the top five.

Series points leader Kurt Busch will start seventh. He has a 24-point edge over Earnhardt with five races left.

Jeff Gordon, third in the points race, qualified 15th.