Montoya stays hot at Indy as he wins the Cup pole

INDIANAPOLIS -- Juan Montoya took advantage of an early qualifying draw and a slightly conservative approach from Jimmie Johnson to win the pole for Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as Chevrolets claimed nine of the first 10 starting spots.

With a lap at 182.278 mph (49.375 seconds) Saturday morning, Montoya earned his second pole of the season and the fourth of his career. He'll start Sunday's Cup race beside Johnson (182.142 mph), whose desire to avoid mistakes during time trials may have cost the three-time Brickyard winner a shot at the pole.

Brickyard 400

Lineup

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet
2.	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
3.	Mark Martin	Chevrolet
4.	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet
5.	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet

• Race Lineup | Photo Gallery

Qualifying Video

• Montoya grabs the pole
• Johnson to start on front row

"It was a good lap," said Montoya, who lost an excellent chance to win last year's race when NASCAR busted him for speeding on pit road. "I think in [Turn] 2, I got a little bit tight and had to brake a little bit coming off, but I don't think it was a major deal. ... Everywhere else was pretty good.

"We came here and [tire] tested, and when we got off the truck, it was good; put it in the truck, it was good -- brought it here, it was good. So I've just got to make sure to do everything right [Sunday] and see what happens."

Despite a late draw and a racing surface that grew hotter as the session progressed, Mark Martin qualified third at 181.803 mph. Jamie McMurray, Montoya's teammate, claimed the fourth starting spot with a lap at 181.748 mph.

A pair of later qualifiers took the third row: Ryan Newman (fifth at 181.741 mph) and Clint Bowyer (sixth at 181.517 mph). Greg Biffle, the only non-Chevy driver in the top 10, put his No. 16 Ford in the seventh starting position with a lap at 181.353 mph. Jeff Gordon, Cup points leader Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton completed the top 10.

Johnson was intent on avoiding the sorts of mistakes he had made during Friday's practice.

"I was really proud of what I did, because [Friday] I continued to make mistakes," Johnson said. "I was getting three of the four corners right and couldn't get all four right. So I made sure [Saturday] that I did my job -- and maybe left a little bit on the table, because I wanted to be very line-specific and not make a mistake."

Jacques Villeneuve earned the final starting spot among those required to qualify on speed. He, Montoya and Sam Hornish Jr. (who starts 25th) are former winners of the Indianapolis 500.

David Gilliland, Casey Mears, David Stremme and J.J. Yeley failed to qualify for the 43-car field. Yeley failed to complete his lap after spinning and smacking the outside wall.