Ryan Newman wins Martinsville pole

Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman won the pole for Sunday's race with a lap at 96.795 mph, followed by Jeff Gordon at 96.519. Mark Martin, who trails Johnson and Gordon at the midpoint of the 10-race playoff, will start fourth, giving Hendrick Motorsports two cars in the first two rows.

The pole is Newman's second of the season and 45th of his career.

"It's the place to be, no doubt, and it's the place to finish," Newman said.

Newman downplayed Johnson's poor showing, saying he noticed the three-time defending series champion spent very little time in practice working on his setup for the two-lap run.

In all, only four of the 12 participants in the Chase qualified ahead of Johnson. Most chose to focus on their racing setup with prospects for additional practice sketchy. Heavy rain fell early at the speedway, and more is forecast for Saturday.

With five races remaining in the Chase, Johnson holds a 90-point lead over Mark Martin and 135 over Jeff Gordon, both his teammates at Hendrick Motorsports.

Both Gordon (second) and Martin (fourth) will start ahead of Johnson.

"Any time we can put a gap between us and in pit selection, it's good for us," said Gordon, who has seven career wins at Martinsville and has finished in the top-five in 21 of his 33 races at the track.

"I feel like we have momentum right now and we want to keep pushing forward with that momentum and continue to put good, solid finishes in and hopefully start putting some wins together.

"This is a track where we can do that."

Lineup

+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie