Johnson wins pole at Dover

Jimmie Johnson

Jim Garrahan/AR1.com

Jimmie Johnson bested A.J. Allmendinger with a lap of 155.736 mph to win the pole at Dover for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400.

"Last week was last week," Johnson said of his bad start to the Chase. "We ran a lot better than where we finished and this run today shows how good this team is and that we'll have a fast car here this weekend. It takes more than just a fast car to win here but we think we have a very good shot at doing that on Sunday."

A.J. Allmendinger put his Richard Petty Motorsports Ford outside the front row.

"The confidence that I'm building with my race team is really what's most important right now," Allmendinger said. "Excited about the race and our chances Sunday. This great starting spot is a big benefit."

Third-place qualifier Mark Martin failed inspection and will move to the rear.

That puts Martin Truex Jr. in third with series point leader Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya rounding out the top five.

Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard and Carl Edwards completed the first 10 qualifiers.

While five Chase drivers occupy starting spots inside the top 10, the seven others in the championship race will have to come from further back in the field.

Those include Kyle Busch (11th), Matt Kenseth (14th), Jeff Gordon (15th), Clint Bowyer (24th), Tony Stewart (25th), Jeff Burton (27th) and Kevin Harvick (33rd).

Three drivers failed to qualify for Sunday's race: Ted Musgrave, Josh Wise and Jeff Green.

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