Jimmie Johnson ends his NASCAR Sprint Cup pole drought at Kentucky Speedway

The five-time champion set the benchmark of a delayed qualifying session with a lap of 29.700 seconds, at an average speed of 181.818 mph.

Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch, winner of the inaugural Cup race at the venue a year ago, got closest to Johnson's time, ending up second fastest ahead of his team-mate Denny Hamlin, the most consistent driver on long runs during Friday's practice sessions.

"Very comfortable lap, very good lap," said Johnson after winning his first pole since September 2010. "Qualifying has not been our strong suit over the last two years, so very happy to get this pole today.

"I've had a lot of seconds and there's nothing more frustrating than a close second in qualifying but it all went really well and I think we've got a great race car in race trim as well."

Kevin Harvick was fourth for Richard Childress Racing while Stewart-Haas' Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.

Brad Keselowski was the best Dodge in eighth, following a clash with Earnhardt Ganassi's Juan Pablo Montoya at the start of the first practice, which ended up with the Penske driver hitting the wall and being forced to a back up car.

Keselowski clashed with the Colombian again during second practice, hitting the back of the #42 Chevrolet several times before officials waved the caution flags, interrupting the session.

Roush Fenway's Greg Biffle will line up 11th for Saturday night's event as the best Ford, followed by Australian Marcos Ambrose (Petty Ford), who suffered a spin early in the opening practice.

The session was halted almost halfway through due to severe winds while Montoya was making his qualifying run. The winds caused some damage in the garage area, blowing tents and debris while the grandstands were evacuated as a precaution.

Saturday's race is expected to be the hottest of the season thus far, track temperatures going well beyond 50 degrees celsius during practice before the sudden drop during the qualifying session.

Scott Speed was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers in 24th while Mike Skinner and JJ Yeley failed to make the field.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                     Time     Gap
 1.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet           29.700s
 2.  Kyle Busch          Gibbs Toyota                 29.765s  + 0.065s
 3.  Denny Hamlin        Gibbs Toyota                 29.810s  + 0.110s
 4.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet          29.939s  + 0.239s
 5.  Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       29.944s  + 0.244s
 6.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota               29.962s  + 0.262s
 7.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet           29.963s  + 0.263s
 8.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Dodge                 29.966s  + 0.266s
 9.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet           29.994s  + 0.294s
10.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota               30.006s  + 0.306s
11.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford            30.041s  + 0.341s
12.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                   30.082s  + 0.382s
13.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford                   30.111s  + 0.411s
14.  Kurt Busch          Phoenix Chevrolet            30.133s  + 0.433s
15.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet          30.155s  + 0.455s
16.  AJ Allmendinger     Penske Dodge                 30.160s  + 0.460s
17.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  30.169s  + 0.469s
18.  Joey Logano         Gibbs Toyota                 30.190s  + 0.490s
19.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet           30.212s  + 0.512s
20.  Matt Kenseth        Roush Fenway Ford            30.298s  + 0.598s
21.  Casey Mears         Germain Ford                 30.367s  + 0.667s
22.  Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       30.371s  + 0.671s
23.  Landon Cassill      BK Toyota                    30.505s  + 0.805s
24.  Scott Speed         Leavine Ford                 30.594s  + 0.894s
25.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford            30.644s  + 0.944s
26.  Regan Smith         Furniture Row Chevrolet      30.687s  + 0.987s
27.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                 30.729s  + 1.029s
28.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota         30.749s  + 1.049s
29.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet          30.820s  + 1.120s
30.  Josh Wise           Front Row Ford               30.843s  + 1.143s
31.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  30.846s  + 1.146s
32.  David Stremme       Inception Toyota             30.900s  + 1.200s
33.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford               30.911s  + 1.211s
34.  Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                    30.963s  + 1.263s
35.  Michael McDowell    Parsons Ford                 30.963s  + 1.263s
36.  Scott Riggs         R3 Chevrolet                 30.973s  + 1.273s
37.  Mike Bliss          Humphrey Smith Toyota        30.986s  + 1.286s
38.  David Reutimann     Baldwin Chevrolet            31.122s  + 1.422s
39.  Michael Waltrip     Waltrip Toyota               31.359s  + 1.659s
40.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford
41.  Ken Schrader        FAS Lane Ford
42.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet
43.  Stephen Leicht      Circle Sport Chevrolet       31.190s   + 1.490s

Did not qualify:

     JJ Yeley            Robinson-Blakeney Toyota
     Mike Skinner        Hamilton Means Toyota