Points leader Johnson wins Phoenix pole
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| Jimmie Johnson |
Jimmie Johnson won the pole Friday in qualifying for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Johnson, who has won the last two Sprint Cup Series races held at the one-mile desert track, turned a lap of 134.725 mph in his Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Chevrolet.
"This is one of our better tracks," Johnson said. “I think history shows that Homestead’s been better for the Roush guys—so I want to leave here without using any points. If I get to 56 points and end up 162 ahead, right on. I mean that’s the ultimate goal. But the goal is to outrun (Carl Edwards), wherever that is."
Jamie McMurray will start 2nd in his Ford.
Kurt Busch, David Reutimann and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five.
Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard and Mark Martin completed the top 10 qualifiers.
Carl Edwards, who trails Johnson by 106 points in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship qualified 16th.
Results
|
POS |
CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 134.725 | 26.721 | Leader |
| 2 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | IRWIN Industrial Tools | 134.625 | 26.741 | -0.020 |
| 3 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Miller Lite | 134.529 | 26.760 | -0.039 |
| 4 | 44 | David Reutimann | Toyota | UPS | 134.514 | 26.763 | -0.042 |
| 5 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | AMP Energy / National Guard | 134.108 | 26.844 | -0.123 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Alltel | 133.794 | 26.907 | -0.186 |
| 7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 133.730 | 26.920 | -0.199 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 133.685 | 26.929 | -0.208 |
| 9 | 15 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | PEAK / Menards | 133.591 | 26.948 | -0.227 |
| 10 | 8 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 133.482 | 26.970 | -0.249 |
| 11 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Budweiser | 133.412 | 26.984 | -0.263 |
| 12 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Target / AMP | 133.378 | 26.991 | -0.270 |
| 13 | 10 | A.J. Allmendinger | Dodge | McDonald's | 133.328 | 27.001 | -0.280 |
| 14 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Pedigree | 133.323 | 27.002 | -0.281 |
| 15 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Office Depot | 133.304 | 27.006 | -0.285 |
| 16 | 5 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | Cheez-It / CARQUEST | 133.304 | 27.006 | -0.285 |
| 17 | 66 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | State Water Heaters | 133.195 | 27.028 | -0.307 |
| 18 | 347 | Marcos Ambrose | Toyota | Little Debbie | 133.171 | 27.033 | -0.312 |
| 19 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Shell / Pennzoil | 133.151 | 27.037 | -0.316 |
| 20 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | 132.993 | 27.069 | -0.348 |
| 21 | 01 | Regan Smith* | Chevrolet | DEI / Principal Financial Group | 132.959 | 27.076 | -0.355 |
| 22 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | Siemens | 132.846 | 27.099 | -0.378 |
| 23 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | Bad Boy Mowers | 132.846 | 27.099 | -0.378 |
| 24 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | AT&T Mobility | 132.836 | 27.101 | -0.380 |
| 25 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | NAPA AUTO PARTS | 132.792 | 27.110 | -0.389 |
| 26 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Dodge | Texaco / Havoline | 132.787 | 27.111 | -0.390 |
| 27 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Jim Beam / Operation Homefront | 132.690 | 27.131 | -0.410 |
| 28 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's | 132.636 | 27.142 | -0.421 |
| 29 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Toyota | The Home Depot | 132.621 | 27.145 | -0.424 |
| 30 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | AAA Insurance | 132.567 | 27.156 | -0.435 |
| 31 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M / Red Cross | 132.543 | 27.161 | -0.440 |
| 32 | 96 | Ken Schrader | Toyota | DLP HDTV | 132.489 | 27.172 | -0.451 |
| 33 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr.* | Dodge | Mobil 1 | 132.387 | 27.193 | -0.472 |
| 34 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | DEWALT | 132.280 | 27.215 | -0.494 |
| 35 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | Wells Fargo | 132.120 | 27.248 | -0.527 |
| 36 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull | 132.110 | 27.250 | -0.529 |
| 37 | 109 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | Miccosukee Resort & Gaming | 131.989 | 27.275 | -0.554 |
| 38 | 84 | Scott Speed | Toyota | Red Bull | 131.926 | 27.288 | -0.567 |
| 39 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Ford | Little Debbie | 131.873 | 27.299 | -0.578 |
| 40 | 28 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | All Sport | 131.815 | 27.311 | -0.590 |
| 41 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Cheerios / Betty Crocker | 131.776 | 27.319 | -0.598 |
| 42 | 38 | David Gilliland+ | Ford | Digital TV Transition | – | – | – |
| 43 | 70 | Johnny Sauter | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | 131.839 | 27.306 | -0.585 |
| Did Not Qualify | |||||||
| 44 | 78 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | – | – | – |