Montoya claims Richmond pole

The Earnhardt Ganassi driver had been fastest in the final practice session of the day while making qualifying simulations, and then went on to improve his pace in qualifying lap by 0.6 seconds.

The Colombian, running late in the order, was the only driver breaking the 21 second bracket with a second flying lap of 20.989s, giving him his first NASCAR pole position at Richmond, his second of 2011 and the seventh of his Cup career.

"We unloaded this morning and it was a bit of a headache getting the car to run at the beginning. It [the front splitter] was dragging a lot," said Montoya. "When we finally got it rolling, we actually felt like we had a pretty decent race car. It's always hard to judge. But we figured out we've got a decent car.

"In qualifying trim, it was really good. We actually did three runs in the second practice and the first run was horrible; the second run was good and the third was really good. To come here and get it done was exciting."

Montoya bumped Furniture Row's Regan Smith from what would've been his maiden Cup pole, but gave Chevrolet a front-row sweep. Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer was third, ahead of Red Bull's Kasey Kahne, who held provisional pole for most of the session.

Hendrick Motorsports' Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon filled the third row of the grid, while their team-mate and reigning champion Jimmie Johnson struggled to 30th. Dale Earnhardt Jr was fastest in the opening practice, but ended up only 24th in the starting order.

Points leader Carl Edwards was eighth fastest and the best of the Roush Fenway Fords, ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing's Joey Logano. His team-mates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, who have won the last four Richmond races between them, were 11th and 20th respectively.

David Stremme, making his return to the Cup scene driving for the newly formed Inception Motorsports team, was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers. qualifying an impressive 16th. Brian Keselowski was the only one who failed to make the field.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                     Time     Gap
 1.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  20.989s
 2.  Regan Smith         Furniture Row Chevrolet      21.031s  + 0.042s
 3.  Clint Bowyer        Childress Chevrolet          21.049s  + 0.060s
 4.  Kasey Kahne         Red Bull Toyota              21.069s  + 0.080s
 5.  Mark Martin         Hendrick Chevrolet           21.085s  + 0.096s
 6.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet           21.092s  + 0.103s
 7.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Dodge                 21.092s  + 0.103s
 8.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford            21.093s  + 0.104s
 9.  Joey Logano         Gibbs Toyota                 21.097s  + 0.108s
10.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet          21.101s  + 0.112s
11.  Denny Hamlin        Gibbs Toyota                 21.130s  + 0.141s
12.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet          21.150s  + 0.161s
13.  Ryan Newman         Stewart Haas Chevrolet       21.181s  + 0.192s
14.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota         21.181s  + 0.192s
15.  Casey Mears         Germain Toyota               21.184s  + 0.195s
16.  David Stremme       Inception Chevrolet          21.193s  + 0.204s
17.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  21.201s  + 0.212s
18.  AJ Allmendinger     Petty Ford                   21.204s  + 0.215s
19.  David Reutimann     Waltrip Toyota               21.204s  + 0.215s
20.  Kyle Busch          Gibbs Toyota                 21.208s  + 0.219s
21.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota               21.209s  + 0.220s
22.  Michael McDowell    HP Toyota                    21.210s  + 0.221s
23.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford            21.238s  + 0.249s
24.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet           21.244s  + 0.255s
25.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet          21.252s  + 0.263s
26.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                 21.256s  + 0.267s
27.  David Ragan         Roush Fenway Ford            21.257s  + 0.268s
28.  Travis Kvapil       Front Row Ford               21.278s  + 0.289s
29.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet            21.279s  + 0.290s
30.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet           21.280s  + 0.291s
31.  Tony Stewart        Stewart Haas Chevrolet       21.308s  + 0.319s
32.  Mike Skinner        Germain Toyota               21.330s  + 0.341s
33.  Matt Kenseth        Roush Fenway Ford            21.362s  + 0.373s
34.  Landon Cassill      Phoenix Chevrolet            21.369s  + 0.380s
35.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                   21.383s  + 0.394s
36.  Kurt Busch          Penske Dodge                 21.393s  + 0.404s
37.  Brian Vickers       Red Bull Toyota              21.397s  + 0.408s
38.  Ken Schrader        FAS Lane Ford                21.405s  + 0.416s
39.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford               21.443s  + 0.454s
40.  JJ Yeley            Whitney Chevrolet            21.516s  + 0.527s
41.  Andy Lally          TRG Chevrolet                21.629s  + 0.640s
42.  Robby Gordon        Gordon Dodge                 21.846s  + 0.857s
43.  Tony Raines         Front Row Ford               21.517s  + 0.528s

Did not qualify:

     Brian Keselowski    K-Automotive Dodge           21.900s  + 0.911s