Johnson takes his first Phoenix pole
Jimmie Johnson got his weekend off to a great start by claiming his sixth pole position of the year in qualifying for the penultimate race of the season at Phoenix International Raceway
Johnson dominated practice earlier in the day before beating Kurt Busch's mark by around four hundredths of a second in the late afternoon qualifying session, to claim his first-ever pole at the one-mile oval with a lap of 26.271 seconds, at an average speed of 134.725 mph.
"It feels good to get the pole," said Johnson, who hopes to get a third win in a row at Phoenix.
"We were fastest in practice and went out and backed it up in qualifying. Everything came together, we did our job today and really today is only one day of what really matters. It's important but what takes place tomorrow and on Sunday is really what we're here for.
"I feel very good about what we're bringing to tomorrow's practice sessions. We feel like we can improve a little bit to what we had here in the spring and we were one of the best cars then. So I'm eager for tomorrow and just really want to get going, get up and get racing."
If the race was to end with the title contenders in the positions they start Sunday's race, Jimmie Johnson would clinch his third consecutive title just by starting the season finale at Homestead.
Starting beside the reigning champion on Sunday will be Jamie McMurray, who claimed his best qualifying effort of the season. He was by far the best of the Roush Fenway cars, while his teammates who are still contending for the title, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, were only fifteenth and thirty-first respectively.
Meanwhile the Hendrick machines all looked strong, following practice where they all ran in the top ten. In qualifying the worst of them was Casey Mears in sixteenth, while two-time winner at Phoenix Dale Earnhardt Jr was fifth and Jeff Gordon seventh.
Kurt Busch was the best Dodge in third, while David Reutimann was the fastest Toyota qualifier in fourth place.
AJ Allmendinger was the fastest qualifier among the non-guaranteed drivers, posting an impressive second lap on his run to put his car thirteenth on the grid. He will share the seventh row with Kyle Busch on Sunday.
David Gilliland was the slowest qualifier but he got in the field thanks to his car's status in the owners' standing, while Joe Nemechek, who needed to qualify on time, was the only car not making it into Sunday's race.
Pos Driver Car Time 1. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 26.721 2. Jamie McMurray Ford 26.741 +0.020 3. Kurt Busch Dodge 26.760 +0.039 4. David Reutimann Toyota 26.763 +0.042 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet 26.844 +0.123 6. Ryan Newman Dodge 26.907 +0.186 7. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 26.920 +0.199 8. Denny Hamlin Toyota 26.929 +0.208 9. Paul Menard Chevrolet 26.948 +0.227 10. Mark Martin Chevrolet 26.970 +0.249 11. Kasey Kahne Dodge 26.984 +0.263 12. Reed Sorenson Dodge 26.991 +0.270 13. A.J. Allmendinger Dodge 27.001 +0.280 14. Kyle Busch Toyota 27.002 +0.281 15. Carl Edwards Ford 27.006 +0.285 16. Casey Mears Chevrolet 27.006 +0.285 17. Scott Riggs Chevrolet 27.028 +0.307 18. Marcos Ambrose Toyota 27.033 +0.312 19. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 27.037 +0.316 20. Martin Truex Jr Chevrolet 27.069 +0.348 21. Regan Smith Chevrolet 27.076 +0.355 22. Elliott Sadler Dodge 27.099 +0.378 23. Dave Blaney Toyota 27.099 +0.378 24. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 27.101 +0.380 25. Michael Waltrip Toyota 27.110 +0.389 26. Juan Montoya Dodge 27.111 +0.390 27. Robby Gordon Dodge 27.131 +0.410 28. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 27.142 +0.421 29. Tony Stewart Toyota 27.145 +0.424 30. David Ragan Ford 27.156 +0.435 31. Greg Biffle Ford 27.161 +0.440 32. Ken Schrader Toyota 27.172 +0.451 33. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 27.193 +0.472 34. Matt Kenseth Ford 27.215 +0.494 35. Kyle Petty Dodge 27.248 +0.527 36. Brian Vickers Toyota 27.250 +0.529 37. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 27.275 +0.554 38. Scott Speed Toyota 27.288 +0.567 39. Bill Elliott Ford 27.299 +0.578 40. Travis Kvapil Ford 27.311 +0.590 41. Bobby Labonte Dodge 27.319 +0.598 42. David Gilliland Ford - - 43. Johnny Sauter Chevrolet 27.306 +0.585
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