bigbadbrother
05-23-2014, 12:41 AM
foxsports
Jimmie Johnson hasn't had a great season far, but the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ looked right at home at Charlotte Motor Speedway as he won the pole for Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the schedule.
Johnson ran a blistering lap of 194.911 miles per hour to put his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the pole ahead of the Team Penske Ford of Brad Keselowski, who went 195.567 mph. Kasey Kahne and Danica Patrick will start on Row 2, ahead of Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin.
Patrick was the fastest in the second round, busting off a lap of 194.585 miles per hour in her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Her boss, Tony Stewart, was just 18th, while the drivers 22nd to 24th were all from Roush Fenway Racing, as Carl Edwards was best in the group, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Greg Biffle.
Only 24 drivers advanced out of the first of three rounds of qualifying and several well-known drivers didn't make it out of the opening 25-minute stanza.
Hungry at home: Dale Jr. covets first Coca-Cola 600 victory
Chip Ganassi teammates Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson were 25th and 26th, respectively, followed immediately by Jeff Gordon and man of the hour Kurt Busch. Ryan Newman initially went out with three left-side tires and ended the session 42nd.
"The track is definitely different than we expected," said McMurray, the winner of last Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race here. "Some guys made the right adjustments, but we just couldn't get the front end to cut."
With 45 drivers entered, two failed to make the 43-car field. The two pilots who will miss the show are J.J. Yeley and Ryan Blaney.
Jimmie Johnson hasn't had a great season far, but the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ looked right at home at Charlotte Motor Speedway as he won the pole for Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the schedule.
Johnson ran a blistering lap of 194.911 miles per hour to put his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the pole ahead of the Team Penske Ford of Brad Keselowski, who went 195.567 mph. Kasey Kahne and Danica Patrick will start on Row 2, ahead of Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin.
Patrick was the fastest in the second round, busting off a lap of 194.585 miles per hour in her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Her boss, Tony Stewart, was just 18th, while the drivers 22nd to 24th were all from Roush Fenway Racing, as Carl Edwards was best in the group, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Greg Biffle.
Only 24 drivers advanced out of the first of three rounds of qualifying and several well-known drivers didn't make it out of the opening 25-minute stanza.
Hungry at home: Dale Jr. covets first Coca-Cola 600 victory
Chip Ganassi teammates Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson were 25th and 26th, respectively, followed immediately by Jeff Gordon and man of the hour Kurt Busch. Ryan Newman initially went out with three left-side tires and ended the session 42nd.
"The track is definitely different than we expected," said McMurray, the winner of last Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race here. "Some guys made the right adjustments, but we just couldn't get the front end to cut."
With 45 drivers entered, two failed to make the 43-car field. The two pilots who will miss the show are J.J. Yeley and Ryan Blaney.