Johnson knocked off pole, will lead Chase to green

CONCORD, N.C. -- With temperatures falling and time running out, Jimmie Johnson was sweating one last driver in a bid to win another pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

That driver was Ryan Newman, and Newman knocked Johnson off the pole for Saturday night's Bank of America 500.

Not that it seems to matter all that much.

Johnson, who will lead the Chase drivers to the green flag from the outside of the front row, is the king of Lowe's Motor Speedway, winning five times in a span of six races and finishing third in the other. In 12 career starts, he has one finish worse than 10th (39th in his first race back in 2001). He was 10th here in May, which was a major upset at the time.

The stats just keep on coming for Johnson, who has two Bud Poles and has led 1,039 laps in 12 races. It doesn't seem to matter where he starts, either. His first victory here in 2003 came from 37th, and the effort was his 21st top-10 start this season in 30 races. He was fastest in practice earlier Thursday.

Johnson led four Chasers in the top 10, and the spread among them was second to 32nd.

Jeff Gordon let fly the words "we've got a good one!" during his qualifying lap and put down a 28.678-second, 188.299 mph lap to give it credence. He was the seventh car out for qualifying, knocking Matt Kenseth off the pole at the time. He will start fourth on Saturday.

Gordon has four Lowe's victories in 29 starts, backed up by 13 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. His average finish, however, is seventh-best in the Chase at 17.345, and he hasn't won here since 1999. He crashed out of the Coca-Cola 600 in May.

Kenseth, who was just a tick off Johnson's fast time in practice, was the first Chaser out and he laid down a lap at 28.721 seconds, 188.016 mph. That earned him a seventh-place starting spot, his third in the past four Lowe's races.

One of five Chasers to have won at Lowe's, Kenseth has the one victory, in the 2000 Coca-Cola 600, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes. His average finish in 16 starts is 14.6, fifth among the 12 Chasers. He's also fifth in laps led among the top-12 drivers at Lowe's.

Kurt Busch went out right behind Gordon and put in a lap at 28.739 seconds, 187.898 mph. Busch has been gaining on the intermediate tracks, and his record at Lowe's is 14 starts, two top-five and two top-10 finishes with a best run of second back in 2005. (Continued)