AVONDALE, Ariz. - Ryan Newman is usually the driver to beat in Nextel Cup qualifying.

But he can't seem to figure out how to get that same kind of advantage in the races.

Newman, one of 10 drivers competing in the new 10-race championship run on NASCAR's top circuit, easily won his series-leading ninth pole of the season and fourth in a row Friday.

This one, his 27th pole in 114 races, was a record effort. His lap of 135.499 mph in a Dodge on the mile Phoenix International Raceway oval, easily topped the mark of 134.178 set four years ago by teammate Rusty Wallace.

It was Newman's third straight pole at the track.

Unfortunately, for the third-year Cup star, none of the poles this season has resulted in victory. Newman's only win came in June at Michigan, where he started fourth.

"I don't think there's a specific weakness or weaknesses," said Newman, who led the series last year with eight wins and 11 poles. "I think some of it is just variables. We've had some bad luck."

His last three poles, giving him a chance to rebound from some early adversity in the championship chase, have resulted in finishes of 14th, third and 17th, thanks to a crash in Charlotte, a late-race run-in with Wallace in Martinsville and an out-of-balance tire in Atlanta.

All of that has left the Penske Racing South driver seventh in the standings heading into Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500.

Newman hasn't given up despite trailing series leader Kurt Busch by 186 points with only three races remaining.

"We're definitely in the chase mathematically," Newman said. "Is it a long shot? Sure."

Newman is aware of his failure to take advantage of superior starting positions.

"You win some and you lose some, whether it's on Friday or Sunday," he said. "It's not necessarily disappointing, we just wish we could have capitalized on having the fastest race car."There was no doubt who was fastest Friday, when rookie Brian Vickers took the second spot at just 133.879."I don't know where they got that speed or traction," Vickers said of Newman's team. "We felt we could have run better but we couldn't have run that fast."The last few weeks, that team has found something that nobody else has. Whatever it is, though, it doesn't work in the race. It doesn't last."Busch qualified an undistinguished 28th, but time trials have not been his forte. He has started no better than seventh in any of the seven races since the title chase began, but has only one finish worse than sixth.That came last Sunday in Atlanta, where Busch's engine blew early in the race, relegating him to 42nd place and allowing several contenders to close in.Heading into Sunday's race, Busch leads runner-up Jimmie Johnson - on a three-race winning streak - by 59 points. Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are within 98 points of the lead."It's racing," Busch said of his bad day in Atlanta. "We still believe we've got the upper hand. Those other guys have to catch us."Among the rest of the championship contenders, sixth-place Tony Stewart was the fastest. He took the sixth spot in the 43-car field. Gordon was eighth, with eighth-place Elliott Sadler ninth and Johnson 13th.Defending race champion Earnhardt was 14th. Ninth-place Matt Kenseth qualified 16th, Martin 22nd and 10th-place Jeremy Mayfield 24th.