Johnson Grabs Pole at NASCAR Event

DOVER, Delaware (Ticker) -- Jimmie Johnson continued to make a serious run towards defending his NASCAR Nextel Cup Series championship. The series points leader, Johnson posted the fastest time in Friday afternoon's qualifying session and will start from the pole Sunday in the Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway.

It was the second pole this season and 11th career for Johnson, whose Chevrolet Impala lapped the one-mile oval in 23.261 seconds, clocking 154.765 miles per hour. "It was a great lap, we knew we had a great car unloading," Johnson said. "It's a great car and it was fun because it was handling so well - I could challenge myself lap after lap to go faster, push harder, find speed."

Rookie Juan Pablo Montoya ran over one-tenth of a second behind Johnson, qualifying his Dodge Avenger second in 23.402 seconds at 153.833 mph. The second row for the second race in the "Chase for the Championship" is comprised of Chase participants Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch. Hamlin posted a lap of 23.442 in a Chevrolet while Busch's Dodge was fourth in 23.450. "Our car was really good for most of the day," Hamlin said. "We were about a second- to third-place car in qualifying trim, and that's where we ended up." Martin Truex Jr., who posted his first career victory here in June, qualified fifth in 23.497. Jeff Gordon, who is tied with teammate Johnson atop the standings but would lose the tiebreaker based on season wins, qualified his Chevrolet 27th in 23.813. He is joined in the 14th row by Tony Stewart, who is third in the standings, 10 points out of the lead. Stewart qualified his Chevy 28th in 23.814. Last week's winner at New Hampshire, Clint Bowyer posted the slowest lap among the 49 qualifiers in his Chevy at 24.318 and will roll off 42nd based on owner points.