Points leader Jimmie Johnson was clutch once again as he scored a crutial pole for Sunday’s Advocare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
It was Johnson’s third pole of 2013, the 32nd of his career, and his 2nd at Phoenix.
Today marked the 19th time that the Generation-6 car has set a new track record. Johnson said, “Track records are awesome, but we still have to come out here Saturday morning and work on our race car.”
There have been many fans counting Matt Kenseth out already as we come to Phoenix. Johnson was quick to drop the notion that Kenseth didn’t have a shot at the championship. “Matt isn’t known as a great qualifier, but he’s always there when the checkered falls. We’ve got to expect that to happen here.”
The rest of the top 10 is filled mostly with Chase drivers. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano all broke the track record, before Johnson put the rest of the competition to rest. Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick round out the rest of the top 10 qualifiers in the Chase field, with Martin Truex Jr. taking the 10th position.
Three of Johnson’s four victories have come in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Can he do it again on Sunday? Kenseth may need Johnson to have an off day to make any ground. According to Denny Hamlin, he’ll need Johnson to have an off day, but an off day for Johnson according to Hamlin is “around fifth.” Hamlin has had a rough 2013 season, but will be on the front row for the chance of scoring another Phoenix win. He said, “Passing will very very difficult. We need to figure out what will keep us up front on Sunday.”
