Johnson on Sprint pole at Fontana

Johnson will start his home race first, claiming his third consecutive pole position since the final race of last season at Homestead. The reigning Sprint Cup series champion is also the most recent winner at the two-mile oval, having taken victory there last August and will be joined on the front row by his teammate Jeff Gordon.

Although he will benefit from pole position, Johnson hopes the skies clear on Saturday to get some much needed track time, as he struggled to get front-end grip on his car during a two-day test at the end of January at Fontana.

"This weather, if this keeps us from getting on track, that will cause a lot of scrambling," Johnson said. "There were a few cars that showed really strong here in the test, I am sure those teams and drivers are hoping that it rains. For us we just want to get on the track."

The starting order has been determined according to the NASCAR rulebook by the final owner points standing of 2007. The only change among the top 35 has been Sam Hornish taking seventh place in the order, following his points swap with Kurt Busch, who will start the race from 36th place.

Denny Hamlin, who was quickest at this track in testing in January, will start the race from 12th behind both of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, while Daytona 500 Ryan Newman will start behind him from the inside of the seventh row of the grid.

Dario Franchitti will take the green flag from 26th place, but fellow rookie Patrick Carpentier didn't get the chance to attempt to make the field through qualifying, and will miss his second race in a row.

"It's just a rough day for us and we had a new sponsor this weekend again so for us it's tough," said Carpentier. "You cannot even fight it, you know, so you cannot even try to get in so you just come and leave. That's what's the sad part about it. You know, if at least if you give it a shot and you don't make it, you gave it a shot."

Dale Jarrett and Bill Elliott made the field through their champion's provisional, with Brian Vickers, David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip, John Andretti and Joe Nemechek being allocated by the rules the rest of the spots remaining on the grid for those not in the top 35 in the 2007 owner standings.

Like Carpentier, AJ Allmendinger will also miss his second race in a row. Ken Schrader, Burney Lamarr and Mike Skinner, who was set to replace Jacques Villeneuve, did not make the field for Sunday's Auto Club 500 either.

The weather forecast shows weather conditions should improve on Saturday to allow teams to get some practice time before the race, although there is a 70 per cent chance of rain for Sunday's race.

Pos  Driver                 Make 
 1.  Jimmie Johnson         Chevrolet
 2.  Jeff Gordon            Chevrolet
 3.  Clint Bowyer           Chevrolet
 4.  Matt Kenseth           Ford
 5.  Casey Mears            Chevrolet
 6.  Tony Stewart           Toyota
 7.  Sam Hornish Jr         Dodge
 8.  Jeff Burton            Chevrolet
 9.  Carl Edwards           Ford
10.  Kevin Harvick          Chevrolet
11.  Martin Truex Jr        Chevrolet
12.  Denny Hamlin           Toyota
13.  Ryan Newman            Dodge
14.  Greg Biffle            Ford
15.  Dale Earnhardt Jr      Chevrolet
16.  Mark Martin            Chevrolet
17.  Regan Smith            Chevrolet
18.  Jamie McMurray         Ford
19.  Bobby Labonte          Dodge
20.  Kasey Kahne            Dodge
21.  Juan Montoya           Dodge
22.  Kyle Busch             Toyota
23.  Reed Sorenson          Dodge
24.  David Ragan            Ford
25.  J.J. Yeley             Toyota
26.  Dario Franchitti       Dodge
27.  Elliott Sadler         Dodge
28.  Robby Gordon           Dodge
29.  Paul Menard            Chevrolet
30.  Travis Kvapil          Ford
31.  Scott Riggs            Chevrolet
32.  David Gilliland        Ford
33.  Jeremy Mayfield        Chevrolet
34.  Dave Blaney            Toyota
35.  Kyle Petty             Dodge
36.  Kurt Busch             Dodge
37.  Dale Jarrett           Toyota
38.  Bill Elliott           Ford
39.  Brian Vickers          Toyota
40.  David Reutimann        Toyota
41.  Michael Waltrip        Toyota
42.  John Andretti          Chevrolet
43.  Joe Nemechek           Chevrolet