Jimmie Johnson Blasts the Pole at Dover; Second Number One Starting Spot for Points Leader in the Chase in Last Three NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Races

Three Team Chevy Impala SS Drivers Will Start in Top Five on Sunday

Dover, DE - Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS, blasted his way to the pole for Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway. It is the second number one starting spot for the leader of the Chase for the Nextel Cup point standings in the last three events.

Johnson's lap of 23.261 seconds, 154.765 miles per hour bested second place by almost two-tenths of a second on the track known as the "Monster Mile."

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEX Ground Impala SS, will roll off third for Sunday's 400-lap/400-mile race. Hamlin sits ninth in the NNCS Chase.

Martin Truex, Jr., No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Impala SS, winner of the spring Dover race will start fifth in the field of 43 cars. He is sixth in the championship standings.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Impala SS, is the fourth Team Chevy driver to score a top-10 starting spot, qualifying in the seventh position. Harvick is currently 10th in the Chase.

A total of 18 Impala SS race cars qualified for the Dodge Dealers 400. The remaining five Team Chevy drivers involved in the Chase qualified as follows:
Kyle Busch, No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Impala SS, fifth in the standings will start 22nd
Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Impala SS, second in the standings will start 27th
Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Impala SS, third in the standings will start 28th
Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Impala SS, 11th in the standings will start 36th
Clint Bowyer, No. 07 DIRECTV Impala SS, fourth in the standings will start 42nd

Round two of the Chase and the 28th race of the 36-race season is scheduled to start Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EDT. ABC, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio will bring all the live action to fans beginning at 1:00 p.m.

BUD POLE WINNER: JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S IMPALA SS

ON QUALIFYING EFFORT: "It was a great lap. We knew we had a great car unloading, and stayed focused on qualifying trim because we knew that first pit stall was going to be awfully important. Luckily we were able to back that up running our fastest two laps and get the pole.

"It is a great car and it was fun because it was handling so well, I could challenge myself lap after lap to go faster, push harder, find speed. I am very proud of this Lowe's team, we are off to a great start this weekend.

"Track position is important but we were really focused on getting that first pit stall. Mission accomplished there but this is just one day of many long ones to come. We had a good day today but we have to wake up tomorrow and have another one.

"I have to catch my breath right now, it was two fun laps."

ON HAVING TWO POLES IN THREE RACES: "I don't know why they upturn. If you ask the crew chief, he is going to tell you I finally started trying (LAUGHS), I say it is the cars. No, just messing around with you there, qualifying has never been my strong suit. I think when we do qualify well, just shows you how good we are going to be in race trim."

JIMMIE JOHNSON'S POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
"We were hopeful that we could qualify first and take advantage of that first pit stall. The time we spent in qualifying trim today paid off and worked out. It was just a great performance. I was really impressed by Juan's (Pablo Montoya) lap and also the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) lap. It seemed that the trend was that most cars were slowing down. So to see Juan run a .40, which was much faster than what went on in practice, I knew that was a big mark and I was really committed to my lap and pulled it off."

COULD YOU SPEAK ABOUT THE SIGNIFIGANCE OF QUALIFYING WELL. IS IT A BIG DEAL OR NOT A BIG DEAL? ALSO YOU MENTIONED THE FIRST PIT STALL. HOW BIG A DEAL IS THAT? "It's tough to say how important the track position is going to be. Naturally you'd think it would be important but depending on pit cycles and strategy, you can lose track position here in the race pretty easily. So, I am excited about that. The start of the race will be a little easier for us, but the thing I'm most excited for is that first pit stall. You take a lot of risks on pit road here every time you're in and off pit road. I got hit here trying to leave my stall in the spring race and it did some damage. We spent most of the day just trying to recover from the damage on the car and trying to get that right. Hopefully with this first pit stall, we'll be able to avoid any of that stuff."

DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 11 FEDEX IMPALA SS, QUALIFIED 3RD:

ON HIS QUALIFYING EFFORT: "We kept the car pretty consistent from where we were in practice. Really didn't make too many mistakes on the race track. Just a little bit too tight and felt like we gave up the pole right there off of four. If a couple of those guys, the No. 48 and the No. 01, it will still be a pretty good starting spot for us."

DENNY HAMLIN'S POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
"Our car was really good for most of the day. We were about a second to third place car in qualifying trim. And that's where we ended up. So to not have a problem in qualifying like we usually have here is a good accomplishment for us and we're really excited the race on Sunday. We feel like our car seems even better in race trim."

ON SUNDAY'S RACE: "The cars really seem to be less affected on the track that has more banking than it does when it's a flat track. So, I'm really excited. Even if we got further back in qualifying, it wasn't going to be too big of a deal because we came from 30th or so here in the spring. The car seems like it does react a little bit better behind other cars at a track like here versus somewhere like Loudon."

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT JOEY LAGANO? "Well, they're kicking me out of my Busch car next year so he can run it. No, he's definitely the future of Joe Gibbs Racing by far. He's going to be the guy we're going to be chasing here soon; I'd say in the next three years or so, he'll be in Cup even though he's only 17 right now. He just is able to adapt. And that's where you can find a race driver that can go in a different series in a different car at a different race track and adapt. You can find guys who get good at one race track, but Joey has really adapted to a lot of these race tracks that he's never been to before. To accomplish what he has this year in the Busch East Series is really a big deal for Joe Gibbs Racing and I think I'm pretty sure he clinched the title last week. So, it's a great accomplishment for them."

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT IMPALA SS, QUALIFIED 28TH:

GREG BIFFLE SAID YOU LOOKED AWFULLY LOOSE OUT THERE. "Yeah, and it's hard when you're going out behind somebody and you see how free they are; you assume that the track has probably freed up a little bit. At least he put his on the pole doing it, I'm not quite as far up as he is right now."

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL-PENNZOIL IMPALA SS, QUALIFIED 7TH:

"Our Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was pretty good in race trim. We were pretty good in our qualifying run in practice first time out so we made a little bit of a wrong adjustment for the second time out. All in all, it has been pretty good for us. We ran good here in the first race this year and had some motor trouble. This place has kind of been like the rest of our year. We haven't had the best of luck here. But, if we can get some luck, the performance of our cars has been good. So we will see what happens here toward the end of the year.

"Turns three and four were my tough spots, as I got up off the corner, I really concentrated on the center of the corner from the last race here. I have been watching some tape and things, trying to get better. It hasn't been my strong suit here. Got a little bit excited, and didn't quite get all the way in the gas, but still a good lap for us."

JEFF GREEN- NO. 66 COMCAST / BEST BUY IMPALA SS, QUALIFIED 34TH:

"We struggled during practice. Harold (Holly, crew chief) threw a lot of changes at it, but it felt just about the same. We were pushing in the middle of the turns for the most part. We'll get it dialed in tomorrow. We were pretty fast in the race back in June, so maybe we can get it the same this time around and avoid the problems from June and we'll be good."