Rain puts Johnson on Dover pole

Based on the new procedures set by NASCAR for this season when qualifying gets cancelled, the starting order of Sunday's race has been determined by each driver's best lap from practice.

On Friday two sessions took place and Johnson, a six-time winner at Dover, set the fastest time in the first one while completing a qualifying-style run that has eventually placed him on pole for the fifth time in his Cup career at the track known as the 'Monster Mile', ahead of AJ Allmendinger.

"Well this new system definitely requires some thinking beforehand coming into the race weekend and paying close attention to the weather," said Johnson. "We elected to start in race trim yesterday and the first run on track was really strong. I think it had us third at the time and ended up being fifth overall with guys in qualifying trim.

"So when we saw that speed and the threat of weather, we at that point switched into qualifying trim and worked really hard to outrun [Allmendinger]. He put up a huge lap time. It took me two or three tries to finally get it."

Richard Petty Motorsports' Allmendinger will start beside the Hendrick driver on the front row of the grid, having been fastest in the first practice session, while Johnson's team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr, Red Bull's Kasey Kahne and Joe Gibbs Racing's Joey Logano rounded out the top-five with their best from the same first session.

Penske's Kurt Busch, fastest in the final practice, will start sixth ahead of his brother Kyle, who won Friday's Truck series race. Michael Waltrip Racing's Martin Truex Jr will see the green flag wave from eighth, while the second Penske Dodge of Keselowski and Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick will start from row five.

Points leader Carl Edwards, fourth in the final practice, will be 13th on the grid, while Scott Riggs failed to get in the field.

Nationwide Series qualifying was also cancelled, placing Edwards on pole position based on practice times as well. Sunday's forecasts show a 50 per cent chance of consistent rain through the afternoon.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car
 1.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet
 2.  AJ Allmendinger     Petty Ford
 3.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet
 4.  Kasey Kahne         Red Bull Toyota
 5.  Joey Logano         Gibbs Toyota
 6.  Kurt Busch          Penske Dodge
 7.  Kyle Busch          Gibbs Toyota
 8.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota
 9.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Dodge
10.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet
11.  Regan Smith         Furniture Row Chevrolet
12.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford
13.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford
14.  David Ragan         Roush Fenway Ford
15.  Brian Vickers       Red Bull Toyota
16.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet
17.  David Reutimann     Waltrip Toyota
18.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford
19.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet
20.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet
21.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet
22.  Clint Bowyer        Childress Chevrolet
23.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota
24.  Matt Kenseth        Roush Fenway Ford
25.  Mark Martin         Hendrick Chevrolet
26.  Denny Hamlin        Gibbs Toyota
27.  Tony Stewart        Stewart Haas Chevrolet
28.  Ryan Newman         Stewart Haas Chevrolet
29.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford
30.  Casey Mears         Germain Toyota
31.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet
32.  Landon Cassill      Phoenix Chevrolet
33.  Mike Bliss          FAS Lane Ford
34.  Scott Wimmer        Gordon Dodge
35.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet
36.  Michael McDowell    HP Toyota
37.  Andy Lally          TRG Chevrolet
38.  JJ Yeley            Whitney Chevrolet
39.  Mike Skinner        Germain Toyota
40.  David Stremme       Inception Chevrolet
41.  Travis Kvapil       Front Row Ford
42.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota
43.  Tony Raines         Front Row Ford

Did not qualify:

     Scott Riggs         Whitney Chevrolet