NASCAR: Johnson, Gordon will start at front of field

BY SAM JACKSON

BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Tenn. – There’s an old saying in auto racing that what you did last week doesn’t matter once the green flag drops.

That’s true. When they threw the red flag Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, what Jimmie Johnson did last week - or earlier that morning - didn’t prevent him from earning the pole for Sunday’s Food City 500.

Friday’s steady rainfall washed out the day’s activities at BMS after the morning practice session. With qualifying rained out and the exemptions given the top 35 drivers in owner points not yet taking effect, the starting lineup was determined by last year’s points standings, meaning the two-time defending Sprint Cup champion will take the inside line Sunday at BMS.

That’s good news to Johnson, who owns 33 career wins - none of which have come in Thunder Valley.

"This is one of the most important tracks that we have for qualifying position and pit-road pick," Johnson said. "It’s gonna be nice having that first stall, and I don’t really care how I got it."

Johnson turned a fast lap of 118.782 mph on his 56 turns around BMS, good for 28th quickest in the Friday-morning runs. Without the need to concentrate on qualifying setups, the No. 48 team might not have concerned itself with qualifying speed, so Johnson is not about to give back the top spot. After this week, the owner points standings will determine running order in case of a qualifying cancellation.

"It’s the last week of this luxury," Johnson said, "[so] we’ll take advantage of it and try to have a good race on Sunday."

Friday’s rainout served as a blessing to Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates as well. Jeff Gordon, a five-time winner at BMS, will start second, and Casey Mears will begin fifth.

"We didn’t think we were going to get qualifying in," Gordon said. "We got closer than we thought we were gonna get to the track getting dry, so we did nothing but race runs.

"I’m always optimistic qualifying here at Bristol because I love to qualify here, but the fact that we’re in the start by points is somewhat refreshing, and it makes me happy because we’re second in points, so it’s a great place to start."

Clint Bowyer’s position of third on the grid came as a relief, especially since his fastest lap in Friday’s practice was 117.812, 41st on the list.

"We weren’t the best in practice today, so certainly starting up front could go a long way," he said, then paused to ponder the thought. "It could be good - [or] it could be bad. If we don’t get it fixed, it will be bad."

Former BMS winners Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart will start fourth and sixth. Sam Hornish Jr. will start seventh, Jeff Burton eighth, and Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Dale Jarrett, making his final start in a Sprint Cup points race, made the field on a past champion exemption and will start 37th. Though it will be his final drive in a race that counts, Jarrett’s final race actually will be the May 17 Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, something he offered as a backup plan to sponsor UPS when deciding how to finish his driving career.

"If we would have qualifying here today and I would have gone out there and had some kind of a problem and not made this race, how do you want to finish like that?" he said. "I figured the all-star race I’m in, so that’s kind of an insurance policy."

BMS later canceled today’s Nationwide Series qualifying. Scott Wimmer will start on the pole, followed by Denny Hamlin, Edwards and Bowyer.