Rain puts Johnson on pole with Chasers right behind

CONCORD, N.C. -- Mother Nature handed points leader Jimmie Johnson the pole position for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, raining on the parade of the 11 other drivers hoping to keep the two-time and defending champion from adding to his Chase lead.

Of course, Johnson on the pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway is like handing him the keys to Bank of America's vault: Johnson has five victories, eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 14 starts on the 1.5-mile oval.

He's the points leader, and by virtue of owner points, he'll start on the pole for Saturday's race due to persistent rain and mist over the speedway. The last time he started from the pole, he led 334 of 400 laps in winning the Coca-Cola 600 back in 2004. As such, his average finish is 9.1.

Next to him on the front row will be Carl Edwards, who is pretty good here as well, but not in Johnson's league. Edwards has seven career starts at Lowe's and he's brought it home in the top 10 six times. The best he's been able to do, however, is third place, which he's done twice. Edwards' average finish is better than Johnson's, at 7.6, but he's had half as many starts.

Greg Biffle will line up third on Saturday, and he's run well at Lowe's in the past. In 11 starts, Biffle has a pair of top-fives, including a second-place run in May, and four top-10s. His average finish is 19.3.

Jeff Burton will take off from outside the second row on Saturday, and he'll be looking to add a third victory at Lowe's to his Chase resume. Burton has won twice here, the last coming back in May of 2001, and he's on a run of four top-10 finishes in the past five races.

Burton has 29 starts at Lowe's in his career, and nearly half those (14) have wound up in the top 10. An average finish of 14.9 is way up among the Chasers, especially given his number of starts.

Clint Bowyer was second in this race last year, and that's his best performance in five career starts. His fifth-place start Saturday will help improve a 25.6 starting average, and his finishing average is 19.6. (Continued)