Johnson Captures Pole Position for 600
Jimmie Johnson ranked first and last on Thursday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The final driver of 52 to make an attempt, he claimed the pole position for Sunday’s 600-mile race by outhustling the Cup series’ best qualifying hustler with a record run. Johnson averaged 187.052 miles per hour as he streaked to the fastest stock-car racing lap ever at the 1.5-mile asphalt speedway while knocking Ryan Newman from the track record book on two counts.
Newman, who was the fourth driver on the track, blasted to a then-record lap of 186.948 in his Dodge that topped his Cup mark of 186.657 and his overall mark of 186.780 set in an ARCA car in October of 2000. Jeff Gordon was third in a Chevrolet at 186.922, followed by Elliott Sadler at 186.619 in a Ford. Brian Vickers was fifth at 186.265, joining Johnson and Gordon in the top five in Hendrick Motorsports cars.
Newman went out before sunset, while the third and fourth turns were baking. Johnson qualified well after twilight, when the track wasn’t as slick, and didn’t bother with his second lap when told he had the record. Gordon and Vickers were among the early qualifiers.
“When we picked 52nd, my confidence soared,” said Johnson, who won the 600 last year. “When Ryan made his run, my confidence dropped. Then when Jeff and Brian made their runs, my confidence picked up again. I expected to have an advantage going later, but it wasn’t as great as in past years.”
Johnson’s seventh career pole was his first since Kansas City last October, but was unsure if he went fast enough to deny Newman his 22nd pole in 92 tries.
“I had to feather the gas some,” Johnson said. “It felt good, but I didn’t know if I beat Ryan. When I came off turn four, I told the crew to let me know if I had it.”
Source: High Point Enterprise, free reg req’d
