Jimmie Johnson will start the first race of the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup from pole position after clocking the fastest time around Chicagoland Speedway in qualifying.
Johnson towards the middle of the 47 car line-up, setting a 29.53s lap that would not be beaten by the 24 contenders that followed.
Richard Petty Motorsports’ Aric Almirola came closest, missing out on a second pole for the year by just 0.037s.
Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Carl Edwards completed the top five, although Earnhardt Jr will be forced to start the race from the rear of the field after his Hendrick Chevrolet underwent a post-qualifying engine change.
For team-mate Johnson, a 27th career pole is a perfect start to his assault on a sixth title.
“It’s a great start obviously for the weekend, track position is so important and pit road is as everyone knows,” he said.
“We did everything good today, which I’m excited about. We’ve been saying all along that we’re ready for this Chase to start and to go out and prove it today was a step in the right direction.”
Australian Marcos Ambrose meanwhile will start his second race alongside crew chief Mike Ford from 17th position.
See below for the full qualifying result
|
POS |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
TIME |
BEHIND |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools | 29.530 | Leader |
| 2 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Farmland | 29.567 | -0.037 |
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Best Buy | 29.616 | -0.086 |
| 4 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | AMP Energy / 7-Eleven / National Guard | 29.659 | -0.129 |
| 5 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal | 29.663 | -0.133 |
| 6 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 29.675 | -0.145 |
| 7 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 29.678 | -0.148 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 29.682 | -0.152 |
| 9 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 29.694 | -0.164 |
| 10 | Joey Logano | Toyota | Dollar General | 29.731 | -0.201 |
| 11 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Menards / Libman | 29.733 | -0.203 |
| 12 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | McDonald’s | 29.748 | -0.218 |
| 13 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 29.751 | -0.221 |
| 14 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Good Sam Club / Camping World | 29.776 | -0.246 |
| 15 | Mark Martin | Toyota | LG Partner of the Year / Aaron’s | 29.792 | -0.262 |
| 16 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 29.793 | -0.263 |
| 17 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 29.826 | -0.296 |
| 18 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 29.836 | -0.306 |
| 19 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 29.855 | -0.325 |
| 20 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Gene Haas Foundation Workshops | 29.879 | -0.349 |
| 21 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Wrigley | 29.883 | -0.353 |
| 22 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Scotch Blue | 29.913 | -0.383 |
| 23 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Bubba Burgers | 29.923 | -0.393 |
| 24 | Michael McDowell | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing | 29.954 | -0.424 |
| 25 | Scott Speed | Ford | Jordan Truck Sales | 29.965 | -0.435 |
| 26 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King | 29.980 | -0.450 |
| 27 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 29.992 | -0.462 |
| 28 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 30.010 | -0.480 |
| 29 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 30.018 | -0.488 |
| 30 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction | 30.055 | -0.525 |
| 31 | David Stremme | Toyota | Inception Motorsports | 30.071 | -0.541 |
| 32 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 30.072 | -0.542 |
| 33 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 30.077 | -0.547 |
| 34 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | Plinker Tactical | 30.078 | -0.548 |
| 35 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser Designate a Driver | 30.091 | -0.561 |
| 36 | Cole Whitt | Chevrolet | Little Joes Autos.com | 30.094 | -0.564 |
| 37 | David Ragan | Ford | Distraction.gov | 30.123 | -0.593 |
| 38 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 30.170 | -0.640 |
| 39 | T.J. Bell+ | Ford | U.S. Chrome | 30.508 | -0.978 |
| 40 | David Gilliland+ | Ford | 1-800LoanMart | 30.560 | -1.030 |
| 41 | Danica Patrick+ | Chevrolet | GoDaddy.com | 30.649 | -1.119 |
| 42 | Dave Blaney+ | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing | 30.676 | -1.146 |
| 43 | Josh Wise* | Ford | MDS Transport | 30.140 | -0.610 |
| 44 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 30.291 | -0.761 |
| 45 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | Plinker Tactical | 30.343 | -0.813 |
| 46 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | Max Q Workforce / Bradley University | 30.347 | -0.817 |
| 47 | Jason Leffler | Toyota | Robinson-Blakeney Racing | 30.386 | -0.856 |
