Johnson chokes, crashes pole car
As a result, the polesitter for Sunday's race will now start from the rear of the field.
"I just lost it getting into Turn 3," Johnson said. "The car was kind of loose. I thought it was coming to me and so I started opening up my entry into the corners and it just got out from underneath me getting into Turn 3.
"We definitely didn't need that. The car we've got [as the backup] is the car we won California with. I'll have to start in the back but this track is wide and good. And we can race anywhere. I really don't have any big concerns besides getting run over [from] behind us."
Though the damage to his primary car was not major, the team deemed it necessary to use a backup and immediately went into action after the wreck occurred. Johnson, who was uninjured, was in the seat and the engine was fired with 35 minutes left in practice.
"The damage … is more significant than it may look from a cosmetic standpoint," Hendrick Motorsports Vice President Doug Duchardt said. "The entire left side of the car is caved in, so basically it is wrecked. We asked NASCAR and they said we could pull out the backup car.
"Aero here at Kansas is very important and given the option to use a backup car that we know is 100 percent, even to start in the back, is the best option in the Chase."