| Pos. | Car | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Speed | Time | Behind |
| 1 | #12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | ALLTEL | 188.877 | 28.590 | Leader |
| 2 | #9 | Kasey Kahne* | Dodge | Dodge Dealers Mopar/UAW | 187.311 | 28.829 | -0.239 |
| 3 | #41 | Casey Mears | Dodge | Target/SpongeBob SquarePants | 187.279 | 28.834 | -0.244 |
| 4 | #10 | Scott Riggs* | Chevrolet | Valvoline | 186.483 | 28.957 | -0.367 |
| 5 | #38 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | Combos | 186.233 | 28.996 | -0.406 |
| 6 | #15 | Michael Waltrip | Chevrolet | NAPA Auto Parts | 186.226 | 28.997 | -0.407 |
| 7 | #29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench | 186.143 | 29.010 | -0.420 |
| 8 | #01 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | U.S. Army/G.I. Joe | 186.066 | 29.022 | -0.432 |
| 9 | #99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Canteen Vending/Kraft Foods | 185.976 | 29.036 | -0.446 |
| 10 | #32 | Bobby Hamilton Jr. | Chevrolet | Tide | 185.957 | 29.039 | -0.449 |
| 11 | #6 | Mark Martin | Ford | Viagra | 185.319 | 29.139 | -0.549 |
| 12 | #19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Dodge | Dodge Dealers/UAW | 185.274 | 29.146 | -0.556 |
| 13 | #2 | Rusty Wallace | Dodge | Miller Lite | 185.223 | 29.154 | -0.564 |
| 14 | #20 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | The Home Depot | 185.122 | 29.170 | -0.580 |
| 15 | #77 | Brendan Gaughan* | Dodge | Jasper Engines & Transmissions | 184.982 | 29.192 | -0.602 |
| 16 | #25 | Brian Vickers* | Chevrolet | GMAC/HMS 20th Anniv. | 184.849 | 29.213 | -0.623 |
| 17 | #16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | National Guard | 184.837 | 29.215 | -0.625 |
| 18 | #48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's/HMS 20th Anniv. | 184.697 | 29.237 | -0.647 |
| 19 | #31 | Robby Gordon | Chevrolet | Cingular Wireless | 184.672 | 29.241 | -0.651 |
| 20 | #14 | John Andretti | Ford | VB/APlus at Sunoco | 184.615 | 29.250 | -0.660 |
| 21 | #97 | Kurt Busch | Ford | IRWIN Industrial Tools/Sharpie | 184.527 | 29.264 | -0.674 |
| 22 | #4 | Jimmy Spencer | Chevrolet | Lucas Oil Products | 184.502 | 29.268 | -0.678 |
| 23 | #24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont/HMS 20th Anniv. | 184.370 | 29.289 | -0.699 |
| 24 | #42 | Jamie McMurray | Dodge | Texaco/Havoline | 184.300 | 29.300 | -0.710 |
| 25 | #8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 184.055 | 29.339 | -0.749 |
| 26 | #50 | Jeff Fuller | Dodge | Arnold Development Companies | 183.480 | 29.431 | -0.841 |
| 27 | #137 | Kevin Lepage | Dodge | Carter's Royal Dispos-all | 183.349 | 29.452 | -0.862 |
| 28 | #251 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | Marathon Oil/Chase | 183.312 | 29.458 | -0.868 |
| 29 | #09 | Johnny Sauter* | Dodge | Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts | 183.237 | 29.470 | -0.880 |
| 30 | #49 | Ken Schrader | Dodge | Schwan's Home Service | 183.225 | 29.472 | -0.882 |
| 31 | #40 | Sterling Marlin | Dodge | Coors Light/Prilosec | 183.163 | 29.482 | -0.892 |
| 32 | #45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | Georgia-Pacific/Brawny | 183.070 | 29.497 | -0.907 |
| 33 | #43 | Jeff Green | Dodge | Cheerios/Betty Crocker | 183.051 | 29.500 | -0.910 |
| 34 | #18 | Bobby Labonte | Chevrolet | Interstate Batteries | 183.014 | 29.506 | -0.916 |
| 35 | #30 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | America Online | 182.958 | 29.515 | -0.925 |
| 36 | #17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | DeWalt Power Tools | 182.408 | 29.604 | -1.014 |
| 37 | #113 | Greg Sacks | Dodge | ARC Dehooker/Vita Coco | 182.260 | 29.628 | -1.038 |
| 38 | #84 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | CARQUEST/HMS 20th Anniv. | 182.254 | 29.629 | -1.039 |
| Provisional | |||||||
| 39 | #88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | UPS | 181.433 | 29.763 | -1.173 |
| 40 | #5 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | Kellogg's/HMS 20th Anniv. | 181.794 | 29.704 | -1.114 |
| 41 | #21 | Ricky Rudd | Ford | Motorcraft/U.S. Air Force | 181.476 | 29.756 | -1.166 |
| 42 | #22 | Scott Wimmer* | Dodge | Caterpillar | 180.935 | 29.845 | -1.255 |
| 43 | #0 | Ward Burton | Chevrolet | NetZero | 182.242 | 29.631 | -1.041 |
| Did not Qualify | |||||||
| 44 | #100 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Aaron's | 181.622 | 29.732 | -1.142 |
| 45 | #194 | Derrike Cope | Ford | AmericInn/Racer's Edge | 181.165 | 29.807 | -1.217 |
| 46 | #135 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | Gary Keller Racing | 180.796 | 29.868 | -1.278 |
| 47 | #200 | Carl Long | Chevrolet | Buyer's Choice Auto Warranties | 180.693 | 29.885 | -1.295 |
| 48 | #172 | Kirk Shelmerdine | Ford | Vote for Bush | 178.630 | 30.230 | -1.640 |
| 49 | #159 | Larry Foyt | Dodge | BAM Racing | 177.737 | 30.382 | -1.792 |
| 50 | #02 | Hermie Sadler | Chevrolet | SCORE Motorsports | 177.148 | 30.483 | -1.893 |
| 51 | #89 | Morgan Shepherd | Dodge | Racing With Jesus/Red Line Oil | 177.061 | 30.498 | -1.908 |
| 52 | #198 | Geoffrey Bodine | Ford | Mach One Inc. | 176.384 | 30.615 | -2.025 |
UAW-GM Quality 500 Qualifying
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Ryan Newman knows he'll have to be flawless over the final six races to win the Nextel Cup title.
Newman was just that Thursday night, shattering the track record at Charlotte Motor Speedway while winning the pole for the UAW-GM Quality 500.
Newman turned a lap at 188.877 mph in his Dodge to win the top starting spot. It beat the track record of 187.052 that Jimmie Johnson set here in May -- a lap that erased the record Newman had held.
"I told my wife I wanted it back," he said.
But Newman knows the track record means nothing. He needs a win Saturday night to climb back into the Chase for the Championship.
His 33rd-place finish in Kansas last weekend dropped him to eighth in the standings, 232 points behind leader Kurt Busch.
"We're just going to keep our smiley face on and do the best job we can," Newman said. "It's not easy to do by any means, but you have to forget what you can't fix."
Kasey Kahne ran a lap at 187.311 to qualify second and Casey Mears was third to put Dodges in the first three spots. Mears won the pole for Friday night's Busch series race shortly before he made his Cup qualifying run.
