Team Chevy Drivers Capture Five of Top-10 Starting Positions at Fontana

California Native Jimmie Johnson Will Start Outside Front Row

Fontana, Calif. - Local favorite and California native Jimmie Johnson will lineup his No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Monte Carlo SS, on the outside of the front row Sunday in the Sharp AQUOS 500 at California Speedway.

A total of five Team Chevy drivers qualified their Monte Carlo SS race cars in the top-10 starting positions for the 250-lap/500-mile race.

Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Monte Carlo SS will start fifth. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Monte Carlo SS will roll off in the seventh starting spot with teammate Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Monte Carlo SS. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Monte Carlo SS captured the ninth starting spot.

The Sharp AQUOS 500 gets underway on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 5:00 p.m. EDT and will be aired live on ESPN.

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Monte Carlo SS Qualified 2nd - Post Qualifying Press Conference transcript:

ON HIS RUN TODAY: "It was a strong day across the board. We put in a great effort and came up way, way, way short. I'm not sure how I should put it. We were real close. I'm proud of the effort but disappointed. This is the second time I've been in this position and lost the pole by a thousandth. I really wanted to win the pole here with Jimmie Johnson Foundation on the side of the car and being my hometown track. But we still have a lot more to go. We still have Busch to go through and the Cup race on Sunday."

ON GOING FROM DAY TO NIGHTTIME ON SUNDAY, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT OF THE HEAT AND THE TRACK? "The heat inside the car isn't going to be that big of a deal. I think the track surface temperature will change and the track will pick up more speed as the night goes on. It's tough here. I was going through my notes. There is not a typical trend that takes place in that it always gets tighter because I've also been loose, as the sun has gone down. So, I don't have a game plan going into what's coming up for us other than just trying to get the car to drive as balanced as possible and hope that as the sun goes down and the track picks up speed that our balance stays the same and that we just go a little bit faster."

HOW HOT WAS IT TODAY IN YOUR MIND? "It's pretty warm inside the cars all the time. The difference here is that when you get out of the car, your body doesn't have a chance to recover before you get back in. But I've been training hard. I look forward to days like this and races like this and Bristol and hope that the time I've spent training pays off. I look forward to these opportunities and hopefully I can do that this weekend."

YOU ARE DISAPPOINTED IN LOSING THE POLE, BUT HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU WORK ON YOUR QUALIFYING SET UP TODAY? AND DO YOU EVER COME AWAY FROM IT THINKING YOU SHOULD HAVE PUT MORE EFFORT INTO IT, OR IS IT JUST BIG PICTURE SUNDAY NIGHT? "I guess what I'm about to say makes it worse. That's what we focused on all day today (laughs). We only made six or seven laps on track today. We had a quick, quick car through it all. Where do you find a thousandth? It's just such a small, small margin. But in all of it, I'm disappointed because a competitor wants to win a pole and I haven't won one this year. I felt like I had a great opportunity today. I just didn't get the job done. I'm certainly optimistic for what the rest of the weekend holds. We're off to a great start. We felt like working on qualifying trim today would be more important than going into race trim because the conditions are going to be so much different starting at 5pm and going into the evening that we'd just waste time today in chasing the track and chasing conditions that we wouldn't really see."

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. No. 8 Budweiser Monte Carlo SS Qualifying Comments

ON HIS FAVORITE OLD CARS: "I have several, mostly Chevrolets. I like old Camaros. I got a brand new '73 Camaro a couple of weeks ago we have been working on and building. Some guys in Detroit and Mooresville built it for me and I have been driving it a lot. It is a pretty car. I have a '67 I like a lot too. The '67 and '73 Camaros I have are my favorites."

ON QUALIFYING LAP: "I am real happy. That is a pretty good lap for us and for this tine of day. It is really, really hot today and my guys worked really, really hard in the heat at Bristol. To come here and keep a good attitude is all you can ask out of your team. My crew chief, Tony, Jr. (Eury) and the guys, they did a good job to give me a good car that was really, really good and I tried to do a good job with it. I am really happy with our result today."

ON HOW MUCH TIME HE HAS SPENT THINKING ABOUT CALIFORNIA RACE, RICHMOND RACE AND THE CHASE: "The new Tiger Woods game came out the other day and I been playing that a little bit. There are a lot of other things, let's see, I had tacos today and that is my favorite meals. I have been enjoying myself."

ON WHEN A DECISION WILL BE MADE ON NUMBER FOR NEXT YEAR: "When we announce the number, it will be the same day we announce the sponsor and that will be at a press conference, not standing on pit road after qualifying."

ON APPROACHING CALIFORNIA RACE: "Well, the car is running really good and we have been running great, so if Kurt keeps up as he is, it will be hard for us to do anything about it. If he has an unfortunate engine failure or something like that, maybe we can capitalize on that. It would make it exciting at Richmond. We had a great opportunity this year and I felt really confident that we would make the Chase, hands down. We went out and ran competitively like we should have, we just weren't able to finish some races and that really cost us a lot."

ON RECENT DEI ENGINE DEPARTMENT EFFORTS: "I don't really know, I haven't been over to DEI that often. They have been making great power and I keep praising them the best I can on the TV. When they are sitting at home, like this weekend, they hear us on TV talking about the motors, I have always told the truth, they have found some great power this year. We have had some reliability issues, that has been due to the new motor coming in, the change in the fuel and all of that. We broke a couple motors early in the year and then here lately and that was pretty crucial at times. It was unfortunate at times, but when they are together, they are fast."

ON ANY PREFERENCE ON A NUMBER: "I do have one or two that are on the top of the list. I don't think there is a reason to make a big deal out of it. The bigger deal to me is the people that we partner with and the sponsorship that we put together. That is where the main excitement lies for me in the next announcement we make. The number, it will be fun to have a new number and to being doing something different. I think the attention that has been placed on it is a little bit over the top. I am more excited on who the sponsor will be and what the car will look like, the color and design wise and what our approach will be as far as marketing that we are going to produce to try and market ourselves with our new partners. It is real real close, we are probably about two weeks away."

ON CREW CHIEF FOR NEXT YEAR: "We don't have any announcement yet, but Tony, Jr. is working in that direction."

ON RICHMOND: "I am looking forward to it I guess. The COT is making it tough to race hard and race side by side, the cars are real, real tight and the tires have been real hard this year. It has been hard to get a hold of the race track and race people. The outside groove have not been there at a lot of these race tracks with the COT. That is something I think would make the racing more exciting. That is something I enjoy and I think would make the racing more exciting. Some changes need to be made, but that is another story.

"Richmond has been a great track for me. I have had a lot of success there in the Busch Series and the Cup Series. I always look forward to going there. Especially this race, we have done really well at this race compared to the Spring race."

ON BRAD KESELOWKI STAYING IN THE NO. 88 CAR: "We have to talk to our sponsors really. We have to sit down with the Navy and come to an agreement. They have an equal share in that decision. Brad has done a great job, I would sign him right now. He has had his lawyer coming in a week or so. We are going to sit down, me, him, Kelly, and his lawyer and really go over what a contract will look like. I think Brad is real happy and with the new things we are going to do next year, with the merger. I think it would be a great opportunity for him, personally, as a person, I think we can give him everything he needs. He is really, really talented, he is a great driver for any time, in our situation especially. That is what I want, we just have to sit down and make sure the Navy is onboard.

"He is doing perfect, he is bringing the cars home in one piece and finishing well with them. We tore up a lot of our inventory in the middle of the season and that is the reason we made a change, we were down to our last car. Brad has helped us build that back up. WE have all of our cars repaired or replaced. He has taken great care of them and he is running up with them and that is really important. I want to be bonafide as an owner in this series and put a great a mark on it. As long as I can be an owner in the Busch Series, I want to lay down a lot of great stats and have a great performance and I think we can do that with Brad."