Newman, who drives for Penske Racing, has won at least one pole in each of his eight seasons in NASCAR and moved into a tie with NASCAR pioneer Buck Baker for 10th on the career qualifying list.
Asked if the thrill of winning poles has lessened during the years, Newman, whose last pole came at Charlotte this past October, shook his head and said, "No. It's been a while for me.
"I was really happy. I was as happy after practice as I am now because it's been a while since, even in practice, we were P1 [position one]. We've won some poles but we hadn't been P1 in practice (speeds). To be P1 in practice and then back it up in qualifying, that shows consistency and that's a good thing for the race this weekend.''
Newman's fast lap on the mile Phoenix oval was 133.457 mph (watch video), just 0.045 faster than runner-up Elliott Sadler's 133.412.
"I thought it was a good lap, a bit conservative, but a good lap,'' Newman said. "Obviously, it wasn't too conservative because it was good enough. I think we've got a good car. It's been a while since we've had a car this good around this racetrack.''
