HAMPTON, GA. ? Ryan Newman was the fastest Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, winning his first pole of the season after topping the Winston Cup circuit last year.

Newman edged Bill Elliott, who nipped him for the pole here last spring.

“It doesn’t matter who we beat, as long as we beat everybody,” Newman said.

The 25-year-old Newman posted a lap of 191.417 mph on the 11¼2-mile quad-oval to take the top spot for Sunday’s Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. It was the eighth pole of his career.

The first came as he ran a handful of races in 2001. Last year, he set a rookie record with six poles.

Newman said his ability is only part of the reason for his success in qualifying.

“It’s a team thing, just like everything else in racing,” he said. “There’s just less variables to the equation.

“You don’t need a spotter and your tires don’t go off. You just go out there and race the track. And, fortunately, I’m a pretty good driver.”

Newman, who drives a Dodge for Penske Racing South, was the 15th of 45 drivers in the qualifying line. He had a long wait to see if his speed would hold up on a warm, sunny afternoon.

Elliott, the 1988 series champion who has 55 career poles, came the closest to knocking Newman out of the top spot. He fell short, but was unruffled after posting a lap at 191.232 in his Evernham Motorsports Dodge.

“If you miss by a little bit or a lot, you just go on and race and come back next week and try again,” Elliott said.

Elliott Sadler, in only his fourth start for Robert Yates Racing, put his Ford in the third spot with a fast lap at 190.883.

“This place is so fast, you’re really holding your breath,” said Sadler, who ran only one of two allowable qualifying laps. “When I heard our time, I decided that was fine. I shut it off. One lap here is enough for me.”

Newman agreed that Atlanta is one of the scarier tracks to qualify on.

“It’s tense,” he said. “If you’re going to put a lap down, you have to be on the edge.”

Sadler was followed in qualifying by the Chevrolet of 2000 series champion and five-time Atlanta winner Bobby Labonte at 190.594.

Next on NASCAR’s fastest track were Jimmy Spencer at 190.339 in a Dodge and series points leader Michael Waltrip at 190.287 in a Chevy.

Schumacher takes pole

Melbourne, Australia — Michael Schumacher began his attempt to win a fourth consecutive Australian Grand Prix by taking the pole today for the season-opening Formula One race.

Schumacher raced around the 3.295-mile Albert Park circuit in 1 minute, 27.173 seconds. That was .245 seconds faster than Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello’s 1:27.418.