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LONG POND, Pa. - Ryan Newman surpassed 166 mph in both Nextel Cup practices Friday at Pocono Raceway, the only driver to do so as he paced both sessions.
Newman's Happy Hour circuit registered 166.012 mph, besting June Pocono pole-sitter Michael Waltrip by five-hundredths of a second. Sterling Marlin was third in practice, followed by Ricky Rudd and Kasey Kahne to round out the top five.
Mark Martin was sixth. Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers, Scott Riggs and Dale Jarrett were seventh through tenth.
Many have tabbed Vickers as the favorite to win Sunday's Pennsylvania 500. He led 121 laps in the Pocono 500 here in June before succumbing to Carl Edwards' advance.
Two of Vickers' teammates will require backup cars Sunday. Points leader Jimmie Johnson wrecked his primary machine in Turn 1 during the first practice session, suffering significant right-side damage. Then, with some five minutes remaining in Happy Hour, Kyle Busch wrecked the No. 5 Chevy. Both were uninjured.
"If there's a time to have it happen, now is a good time," Johnson said. "I was just trying hard and got loose.
"I knew when I went in the turn, and it turned off in the corner, that I was loose and when started cycling through the bumps it just kept coming around. At that point you just drop your head and hold on."
Johnson isn't the only championship contender that required a backup car. Just as Happy Hour got underway, Elliott Sadler wrecked in Turn 3, resulting in significant rear end damage on the No. 38 Ford. He was uninjured, as well.
"I just lost it," Sadler said. "You know you've got to start the car off loose to be good on long runs and I was just wanting to keep trying to drive through it, and I just 100 percent lost it myself.
"It's a bad feeling. Anytime the guys put so much hard work into the primary car and to come up here and destroy it like that is not good. It's a shame."
NASCAR confirmed that tires were not an issue in any of the three accidents. The last time the Nextel Cup Series raced at Pocono, in June, 22 left-front tires burst during the race.
Johnson finished the final practice 22nd on the speed chart, while Sadler was 25th. Busch was 21st.
Newman's Happy Hour circuit registered 166.012 mph, besting June Pocono pole-sitter Michael Waltrip by five-hundredths of a second. Sterling Marlin was third in practice, followed by Ricky Rudd and Kasey Kahne to round out the top five.
Mark Martin was sixth. Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers, Scott Riggs and Dale Jarrett were seventh through tenth.
Many have tabbed Vickers as the favorite to win Sunday's Pennsylvania 500. He led 121 laps in the Pocono 500 here in June before succumbing to Carl Edwards' advance.
Two of Vickers' teammates will require backup cars Sunday. Points leader Jimmie Johnson wrecked his primary machine in Turn 1 during the first practice session, suffering significant right-side damage. Then, with some five minutes remaining in Happy Hour, Kyle Busch wrecked the No. 5 Chevy. Both were uninjured.
"If there's a time to have it happen, now is a good time," Johnson said. "I was just trying hard and got loose.
"I knew when I went in the turn, and it turned off in the corner, that I was loose and when started cycling through the bumps it just kept coming around. At that point you just drop your head and hold on."
Johnson isn't the only championship contender that required a backup car. Just as Happy Hour got underway, Elliott Sadler wrecked in Turn 3, resulting in significant rear end damage on the No. 38 Ford. He was uninjured, as well.
"I just lost it," Sadler said. "You know you've got to start the car off loose to be good on long runs and I was just wanting to keep trying to drive through it, and I just 100 percent lost it myself.
"It's a bad feeling. Anytime the guys put so much hard work into the primary car and to come up here and destroy it like that is not good. It's a shame."
NASCAR confirmed that tires were not an issue in any of the three accidents. The last time the Nextel Cup Series raced at Pocono, in June, 22 left-front tires burst during the race.
Johnson finished the final practice 22nd on the speed chart, while Sadler was 25th. Busch was 21st.
