Johnson gets top spot after Talladega rain

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Bud Pole Qualifying was rained out Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, handing points leader Jimmie Johnson his second straight pole at Talladega and a Winston Cup-best fifth overall.

	Jimmie Johnson garnered his third restictor plate pole after a rainout at Talladega. Credit: Autostock

Friday's good fortune landed Johnson on the pole for the third time in four restrictor plate events this season. Alongside the Talladega sweep, he led the field to the green flag in the Daytona 500. Johnson has also earned poles at Charlotte and Richmond in 2002.

Johnson ranked 12th in Friday's only practice, which was paced by Michael Waltrip at 186.028 mph. Johnson's clocked in at 184.583.

"Practice went well. We had a transmission problem and I thought our Friday demons were back, but we still ended up 12th," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. "I don't think we'd have been on the pole, we were probably top-10, though. We'll take this perk for being the points leader and start up front."

Mark Martin, who trails Johnson by 11 points heading into Sunday's EA Sports 500, will start on the front row for the second time this season. Tony Stewart (36 points behind Johnson), Jeff Gordon (190) and Jamie McMurray -- making his Winston Cup debut in relief of injured driver Sterling Marlin, who is out for the year with a fractured vertebra in his neck -- round out the top five.

Scott Wimmer, substituting for Kenny Wallace in the No. 23 Dodge, will also make his series debut.

Ryan Newman, Gordon, Johnny Benson and Matt Kenseth posted Friday's second through fifth-place speeds in practice.

Though qualifying at restrictor plate tracks usually means virtually nothing, Johnson is still keen on starting out front. There's always the prospect for the "Big One," after all.

"It definitely helps to be towards the front of the pack," Johnson said. "If you're near the middle, it seems like that's where the big one starts. If the (fuel cell) strategy works out like NASCAR's trying and we have a single file race, maybe we'll get strung out and get away and be able to avoid a big wreck.

"I think it's going to turn into a typical speedway race. one caution's going to bunch it all up. My gut feeling says it'll be a race we're always used to seeing."

Kerry Earnhardt, Geoffrey Bodine, Morgan Shepherd and Robert Pressley failed to make the race.