FORT WORTH, Texas -- Ryan Newman won the pole but will start last after crashing during Friday's qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway.

Newman won the pole with a speed of 192.947 mph before he blew a right front tire and slammed into the turn 4 wall on his second lap.

So, why did Newman take the second lap of qualifying when he already had the pole?

"If we would have been the last car to qualify and won the pole on the first lap, then I would have shut it off," said Newman, tied for fourth in the title chase with Carl Edwards. "We had some pretty stout cars coming. They give you two laps in qualifying and you never know sometimes if the first lap is going to be better or the second lap is going to be better because every race track is different. There's no reason not to try."

Jeff Gordon qualified second with a lap of 192.397 mph. He was followed by Matt Kenseth (191.966 mph), Joe Nemechek (191.652) and Jeremy Mayfield (191.408). When Newman falls to the rear of the field for using his backup car, all the cars on the inside line will move up a row. That means that Kenseth will start the race on the pole alongside Gordon.

Points leader Tony Stewart starts 16th. Jimmie Johnson, who is second in the standings, starts 11th. Greg Biffle, third in the standings, starts seventh. Edwards starts 30th, the slowest of the 10 title contenders.

New roles

Jeff Burton and Dave Blaney each will have new crew chiefs next weekend for Richard Childress Racing.

Scott Miller will leave his post as Blaney's crew chief to become Burton's crew chief. Miller replaces Kevin Hamlin, who will serve as Blaney's crew chief for the season's final two races.

Still racing

Bill Elliott says he hasn't finalized his plans for next season but wants to drive in selected races for Evernham Motorsports.

Elliott has run a partial schedule with car owner Ray Evernham's team since last season. He did five Cup races a year ago. This is his ninth Cup start.

Pit stop

Burney Lamar will drive for a Busch team owned by Kevin Harvick, the team announced Friday. Harvick and Tony Stewart also will drive select races for the team. Also, Ron Hornaday will return to Harvick's Craftsman Truck team next season. ... Ryan Newman won the pole for today's Busch race, sweeping the poles for the Busch and Cup races this weekend. ... Jeff Gordon will compete for the United States in the 18th Race of Champions Nations Cup event in Paris on Dec. 3.

Rooting for Ryan

Roanoke resident Danielle Davis will win $500,000 if Newman wins Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Davis was one of five finalists in the contest sponsored by Dickies. She was flown to Texas and is enjoying a VIP weekend with her husband, Kirk, a railroad engineer.