[media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”215″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson captured the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) with a lap of 191.076 MPH (28.261 SECS). This is Johnson’ first pole at TMS and the 29th of his career. Johnson also captured the pole last week at Martinsville and won the race.
“I knew I put down a good lap. Very proud of the effort my Lowe’s team put into this race car today. We didn’t unload like we wanted to. We made a lot of progress through the practice session, and then got it right there for qualifying.” Johnson said.
Greg Biffle qualified second with a lap of 190.382 MPH.
“I drove it down in there and committed but couldn’t hold it down from the center out. The car was sliding and skating and I probably carried too much speed on entry and paid the price on exit. I backed it up a little in three and four and got a better three and four but the 48 put down a heck of a lap going that early. I am sure some guys that are faster here are coming up but we will have to wait and see.” Biffle said of his qualifying run.
Kyle Busch qualified third, Clint Bowyer fourth and Martin Truex Jr. qualified fifth.
“It was really good in (turns) one and two and anytime you get in it like that. You know, you got one and two that’s got all that grip and the shade, and you get down to (turns) three and four.” Bowyer said.
Second place in the series points, Brad Keselowski qualified eighth.
“It feels like the pole. It may not be the pole, but it feels like the pole for us. Our car has had a ton of speed since we’ve been here in race trim. Qualifying trim has been our weakness all year. I think that bodes very well for us on Sunday.” Keselowski said.
Starting Lineup | |||||
AAA Texas 500, Texas Motor Speedway | |||||
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=34 | |||||
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Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
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1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 191.076 | 28.261 |
2 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 190.382 | 28.364 |
3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 190.128 | 28.402 |
4 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 190.067 | 28.411 |
5 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 189.994 | 28.422 |
6 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 189.76 | 28.457 |
7 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 189.607 | 28.48 |
8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 189.533 | 28.491 |
9 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 189.474 | 28.5 |
10 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 189.46 | 28.502 |
11 | 55 | Mark Martin | Toyota | 189.294 | 28.527 |
12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 189.274 | 28.53 |
13 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 188.99 | 28.573 |
14 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 188.976 | 28.575 |
15 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 188.923 | 28.583 |
16 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 188.798 | 28.602 |
17 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | 188.626 | 28.628 |
18 | 78 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 188.396 | 28.663 |
19 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 188.357 | 28.669 |
20 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | 188.337 | 28.672 |
21 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 188.042 | 28.717 |
22 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 187.996 | 28.724 |
23 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 187.78 | 28.757 |
24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 187.565 | 28.79 |
25 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | 187.435 | 28.81 |
26 | 51 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 187.389 | 28.817 |
27 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 187.35 | 28.823 |
28 | 37 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | 187.266 | 28.836 |
29 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | 187.227 | 28.842 |
30 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 186.858 | 28.899 |
31 | 195 | Scott Speed | Ford | 186.858 | 28.899 |
32 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 186.541 | 28.948 |
33 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | 186.477 | 28.958 |
34 | 119 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 186.471 | 28.959 |
35 | 26 | Josh Wise* | Ford | 186.413 | 28.968 |
36 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 186.368 | 28.975 |
37 | 98 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 186.066 | 29.022 |
38 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | 185.867 | 29.053 |
39 | 191 | Reed Sorenson | Toyota | 185.714 | 29.077 |
40 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | 184.906 | 29.204 |
41 | 83 | Landon Cassill+ | Toyota | 184.382 | 29.287 |
42 | 32 | Ken Schrader+ | Ford | 181.843 | 29.696 |
43 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 185.586 | 29.097 |