Newman wins pole at New Hampshire

LOUDON, N.H. (AP) - As rain hit the track, five drivers were parked waiting for a qualifying turn that might not come.

Led by Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, the five could afford to have their laps called because of rain: They were the five fastest in practice and would have started up front Sunday had qualifying been wiped out.

Kurt Busch wanted them to get going or else his top-five qualifying lap would have been erased, and the washout would have dumped him back into the 30s.

The rain eased up, leading to some rare pole day drama. Ryan Newman was the last car out and the fastest at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, turning a lap of 135.002 mph on Friday to win the pole for the second time this season at one of his favorite tracks.