Johnson on Pole in Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson put his nightmare race at Bristol last weekend behind him by taking pole position for this weekend's DirecTV 500
Johnson lost the Nextel Cup points lead after a disastrous race at the Bristol short track, where he suffered a punctured tyre on the first lap, falling two laps behind the lead as soon as the race had started.
However, with exactly the same car that he used at Bristol, Johnson emerged quickest of the runners at the similar short track of Martinsville - taking his first pole of the year, and the ninth of his Cup career..
"We didn't change a thing coming in this week," Johnson said "In our opinion, we didn't have a chance to race at Bristol.
"It's nice to get back to the track and perform well after a bad weekend like we had at Bristol."
Jamie McMurray secured his best qualifying of the season since switching to Roush Racing this season, putting his #26 car alongside Johnson on the front row.
Reigning champion Tony Stewart qualified a fraction slower to take third position on the grid, alongside Penske Racing's Ryan Newman.
"Where we qualified is not representative of what our car is going to be like," Stewart said after the session. "I overdrove the second lap while trying to make up a little time.
"I wanted to get that pole today so bad - this car is really good!"
Jeff Gordon, many people's favourite for the race after winning both events at the track last year, qualified eighth fastest.
Pos Driver Make Time Speed 1. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 19.575 96.736 2. Jamie McMurray Ford 19.583 + 0.008 96.696 3. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 19.596 + 0.021 96.632 4. Ryan Newman Dodge 19.610 + 0.035 96.563 5. Kasey Kahne Dodge 19.621 + 0.046 96.509 6. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 19.626 + 0.051 96.484 7. Elliott Sadler Ford 19.634 + 0.059 96.445 8. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 19.666 + 0.091 96.288 9. Kurt Busch Dodge 19.701 + 0.126 96.117 10. Greg Biffle Ford 19.730 + 0.155 95.976 11. Scott Riggs Dodge 19.753 + 0.178 95.864 12. Tony Raines Chevrolet 19.760 + 0.185 95.830 13. Bobby Labonte Dodge 19.769 + 0.194 95.786 14. Dave Blaney Dodge 19.776 + 0.201 95.752 15. Carl Edwards Ford 19.793 + 0.218 95.670 16. Matt Kenseth Ford 19.801 + 0.226 95.632 17. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 19.807 + 0.232 95.603 18. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 19.822 + 0.247 95.530 19. Ken Schrader Ford 19.831 + 0.256 95.487 20. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 19.840 + 0.265 95.443 21. Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 19.858 + 0.283 95.357 22. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 19.875 + 0.300 95.275 23. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 19.876 + 0.301 95.271 24. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 19.887 + 0.312 95.218 25. Reed Sorenson Dodge 19.902 + 0.327 95.146 26. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 19.905 + 0.330 95.132 27. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 19.919 + 0.344 95.065 28. Dale Jarrett Ford 19.929 + 0.354 95.017 29. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 19.963 + 0.388 94.855 30. Mark Martin Ford 19.994 + 0.419 94.708 31. Chad Chaffin Chevrolet 20.029 + 0.454 94.543 32. Casey Mears Dodge 20.030 + 0.455 94.538 33. Michael Waltrip Dodge 20.037 + 0.462 94.505 34. Jeff Green Chevrolet 20.046 + 0.471 94.463 35. Stanton Barrett Chevrolet 20.047 + 0.472 94.458 36. Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 20.050 + 0.475 94.444 37. Kyle Petty Dodge 20.099 + 0.524 94.214 38. David Stremme Dodge 20.102 + 0.527 94.200 39. Mike Garvey Chevrolet 20.122 + 0.547 94.106 40. Travis Kvapil Chevrolet 20.126 + 0.551 94.087 41. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 20.163 + 0.588 93.915 42. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 20.215 + 0.640 93.673 43. Chad Blount Dodge 20.141 + 0.566 94.017
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