Concord, N.C. ? For Ryan Newman, losing races is working out pretty well so far this season.

He’s sixth in Nextel Cup points after 11 events, an improvement of 21 spots compared to this stage last season. He trails leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 201 points heading into tonight’s Nextel All-Star Challenge, all without any victories in 2004.

“I’m pleased we’re doing better, but I wouldn’t say we’re satisfied,” Newman said Friday. “I wish we had been to victory lane.”

He continued his solid season by qualifying second for the all-star event, ending up just behind teammate Rusty Wallace later Friday. Wallace finished three laps and a pit stop with an average speed of 130.647 mph.

Drivers had a minimum speed of 45 mph on the entry into the pits, with no limit on the exit, and eight of the 22 drivers were caught speeding on their stops.

“I was on it, and the team was on it, too,” Wallace said. “They had it handling real good, and then the guys dreamed up the setup for qualifying.”

Defending Nextel Cup champ Matt Kenseth was third, followed by Mark Martin and Tony Stewart.

Newman had a series-high eight victories a year ago, including six during an amazing 13-race run through the summer. But he also failed to finish seven races, and that lack of consistency left him 311 points behind champ Matt Kenseth.

Five of those DNF’s came in the first half of the season, making a better start imperative for Newman and his Penske Racing South team.

“On a weekly basis, we’re still here to win races,” crew chief Matt Borland said. “But we’re trying not to take unnecessary risks and do things that made us fall out of races last year.”

Newman still is plenty fast — his three poles are tied with rookie Kasey Kahne for most in the series — and the only blemish on his record is an accident at Texas Motor Speedway.

He admits to being a bit more conservative on the track, making sure he has clearance before making any pass. It doesn’t always work, as the wreck at Texas showed, but for the most part, he’s been successful.

“I think about it a little bit more,” Newman said.

Setzer takes truck victory

Concord, N.C. — Dennis Setzer took the lead when Carl Edwards inexplicably slowed for what he thought was a caution with four laps left, and Setzer held on Friday night to win the Infineon 200 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

It was the 11th career victory for Setzer, who has won at least one race for a record seven straight seasons. His Chevrolet beat Edwards’ Ford by 0.869 seconds — about 10 truck lengths — in the series’ second event at the track.

David Starr was third, followed by Nextel Cup drivers Kevin Harvick and Michael Waltrip.

Edwards appeared headed for an easy win when he passed Setzer for the top spot with six laps remaining and began pulling away. On lap 130, as he headed down the backstretch, Edwards pulled toward the inside and slowed enough for Setzer to power by on the outside.

Bourdais best at Monterrey

Monterrey, Mexico — France’s Sebastien Bourdais captured the provisional pole for the Monterrey Grand Prix on Friday, turning a fast lap of 1 minute, 15.978 seconds.