Chase hopefuls scattered throughout Fontana field

On a weekend where nine drivers could potentially clinch a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, there were few surprises at Auto Club Speedway in Pepsi 500 qualifying.

Jeff Gordon, fresh off a solid run last weekend at Bristol, was the best of those for whom the Chase is not yet a certainty, putting his Chevrolet in third place for Sunday's event.

Gordon led the bubble brigade with a lap at 40.097 seconds, 179.565 mph. Gordon has won three times at ACS and half his 16 starts there have ended up with him finishing in the top five. As at most tracks, Gordon is the active lap leader at 525.

Kevin Harvick, like Gordon on the cusp of clinching a berth, will start 33rd in his Chevrolet, 15 spots worse than his average starting spot.

In between, the drivers who must do well on Sunday to even get a chance at the Chase next week at Richmond did their best to get a solid starting spot.

Kasey Kahne, whose disastrous crash at Bristol dropped him 56 points out of the Chase, will start next to Gordon on the outside of the second row Sunday after his lap at 40.188 seconds, 179.158 mph.

Kahne, who won this race in 2006, qualified better than his average of 8.6, and he has six top-10 finishes in nine starts on the 2-mile oval. His average finish is a respectable 13.7.

Martin Truex Jr., for whom the Chase bell likely will toll on Sunday, put in a strong effort for seventh place on the grid in his Chevrolet, clocking in at 40.357 seconds, 178.434 mph.

Truex is in the "I need a miracle" category, trailing 13th place by 263 points with just ACS and Richmond to go, but if enough of those in front of him have trouble, he can climb high enough to take his quest to Virginia. Two of his five starts at ACS have resulted in sixth-place finishes, so the potential is there.

Tony Stewart, another of those who can clinch this weekend, needs to add 20 points to his lead over 13th to get in. He posted the 14th-quickest time, 40.482 seconds at 177.857 mph, to put his Toyota in the field near the front.

Stewart has never won at California in 14 starts, but has a pair of fourth-place finishes to his credit. He has led 225 laps there, and his average finish is 16.0.

Greg Biffle, who trails Stewart by 29 points for sixth place overall, put his Ford next in line with a lap at 40.507 seconds, 177.747 mph. Biffle, like the rest of his Roush Fenway Racing teammates, is deadly at ACS, winning there in 2005 and adding another top-five finish in 11 starts.

Ryan Newman, still hanging on in 15th place with 181 points to make up on 12th-place Clint Bowyer, came 17th at 40.566 seconds, 177.489 mph in his Dodge. Despite his prowess at big speedways like ACS, Newman has never won there; his best finish a third-place effort back in 2004. His average finish is a modest 18.6. He'll need significantly more than that to stay inside the cutoff.

Brian Vickers, just two points behind Newman in 16th, put his Toyota in 19th with a lap at 40.588 seconds, 177.392 mph. Like Newman, he'll need to better his average finish of 17.1 by a bunch to make it to Richmond with a chance. He has a pole and a third-place finish in nine starts at ACS.

Johnson on pole

Jimmie Johnson won his fourth pole of the season as he was the only driver to turn a sub-40 lap Friday in Fontana.

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Denny Hamlin, who rallied to finish third last week at Bristol, has 56 points in hand over 13th place heading into Sunday's race, and he put his Toyota in 21st with a lap at 40.636 seconds, 177.183 mph.

Hamlin has a sixth-place run in this race two years ago as his best finish, and he averages 17.8 in five starts.

David Ragan, hanging 12 points out of the Chase in 13th-place, will roll off 22nd Sunday after his lap at 40.648 seconds, 177.130 mph in his Ford. That's a lot better than his average start of 32.0 in three starts, and he finishes at a 14.0 clip. He'll need every bit of that as well as some trouble from the top 12 to get in heading to Richmond.

Clint Bowyer, who somehow managed to finish in the top 10 at Bristol despite tripping over nearly every accident, will start 31st in his Chevrolet. Bowyer finished third here two years ago, and he might need that again this week to clear some space over Ragan. In his five starts at ACS, Bowyer averages 12.4 per finish.

Harvick, 41 points out of sixth place, is Tail End Charlie of the bubble brigade. He put his Chevrolet in 33rd with a lap at 40.937 seconds, 175.880 mph. Harvick, despite his speed on big tracks, has not finished well at ACS. His average finish of 19.1 is better than Biffle's (19.6), but next to last among those on the bubble.

As is usually the case, most of the bubble boys were faster in qualifying than in practice, with the exception of Vickers and Harvick.

Truex will likely exit bubble status after Sunday, which leaves only Vickers, Newman, Kahne and Ragan on the outside of the Chase with a chance of getting in. Point leader Kyle Busch and second-place Carl Edwards have already clinched their berths.