Concord, N.C. ? Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch gave Penske Racing a grip on the front row for the Coca-Cola 600. Now they hope to end Penske’s drought at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Newman won his 39th career pole Thursday with a lap at 185.312 mph. Busch, showing no ill effects after getting tangled up with brother Kyle in a wreck during last weekend’s All-Star race, qualified second at 185.065.

Roger Penske has won 14 Indianapolis 500s as a car owner, and Penske driver Helio Castroneves will be on the pole Sunday. But Penske has never won a race at Charlotte.

Penske was eating dinner in Indianapolis when he got a phone call telling him his drivers will be on the pole for both of Sunday’s races.

“We’ve never done that before. Now we need to win both races,” Penske said. “We’ve come close but never done it.”

Newman acknowledges there’s pressure to put Penske in Victory Lane.

“He’s only been trying here for like 20 years, so yeah it would be special,” said Newman, who will make his 200th career start Sunday. “It’s been something that weighs on the drivers and the teams.”

Elliott Sadler qualified third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth.

Denny Hamlin was sixth, followed by Ricky Rudd, Dave Blaney, Bobby Labonte and David Stremme, giving Dodge five of the top 10 qualifiers.

With the race a 100 miles longer than any other NASCAR competition, the pole Sunday night has less significance. The drama involved who would make the field. With 49 drivers entered, six missed the race. That included Michael Waltrip, who failed to qualify for his 11th straight race after wrecking on his second lap.