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Jimmie Johnson's campaign for a sixth Sprint Cup got off on the right foot winning the pole at Chicagoland at a speed of 182.865; his 27th career pole.
Yet after winning the pole at the 1.5 mile oval he wasn't overly emotional,” said the five-time Chjampion “It's too early in the Chase to be over-the-top excited or down-and-out if you didn't qualify like you wanted to today. Qualifying makes the race so much easier for you. You know you're pit stall is going to be right and clearly track position at the start of the race is going to be in your favor. It's not a ‘must' to win the race or be a threat for the championship but again it just makes life so much easier.”
In contrast Johnson's teammate, NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., might have gotten off on the wrong foot when he over-revved his engine after qualifying fourth. That required an engine change which will send him to the back of the 43-car grid for the start.
Earnhardt's crew chief, Steve Letarte, said “Yes, we have to change the engine and go to the back of the field. I don't think we are super concerned. We had a great car in practice and qualified really well so we showed we have good speed. Fortunately, this is a race track that there are multiple pit strategies and it's not a really simple straight forward pit strategy to call. I think there will be a lot of opportunities to use our good pit stops and place on pit road to get back towards the front.”
Aric Almirola, a non-Chase driver, was second fastest in a Ford at 182.636mph.
This week his RPM team swapped crew chiefs. Almirola got Todd Parrott and Marcos Ambrose got Mike Ford.
Matt Kenseth, will start third in a Roush Fenway Ford at 182.334 mph, while another non-Chaser, Carl Edwards was fifth fastest.
Other Chasers fared moderately well with Kasey Kahne (sixth), Denny Hamlin (eighth), Clint Bowyer (ninth), Brad Keselowski (13th). Others did not with Martin Truex Jr. (18th), Jeff Gordon (19th), Greg Biffle (22nd), defending Cup champion Tony Stewart (29th) and Kevin Harvick (35th).
Yet after winning the pole at the 1.5 mile oval he wasn't overly emotional,” said the five-time Chjampion “It's too early in the Chase to be over-the-top excited or down-and-out if you didn't qualify like you wanted to today. Qualifying makes the race so much easier for you. You know you're pit stall is going to be right and clearly track position at the start of the race is going to be in your favor. It's not a ‘must' to win the race or be a threat for the championship but again it just makes life so much easier.”
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| Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet Impala. (Photo: NASCAR) |
In contrast Johnson's teammate, NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., might have gotten off on the wrong foot when he over-revved his engine after qualifying fourth. That required an engine change which will send him to the back of the 43-car grid for the start.
Earnhardt's crew chief, Steve Letarte, said “Yes, we have to change the engine and go to the back of the field. I don't think we are super concerned. We had a great car in practice and qualified really well so we showed we have good speed. Fortunately, this is a race track that there are multiple pit strategies and it's not a really simple straight forward pit strategy to call. I think there will be a lot of opportunities to use our good pit stops and place on pit road to get back towards the front.”
Aric Almirola, a non-Chase driver, was second fastest in a Ford at 182.636mph.
This week his RPM team swapped crew chiefs. Almirola got Todd Parrott and Marcos Ambrose got Mike Ford.
Matt Kenseth, will start third in a Roush Fenway Ford at 182.334 mph, while another non-Chaser, Carl Edwards was fifth fastest.
Other Chasers fared moderately well with Kasey Kahne (sixth), Denny Hamlin (eighth), Clint Bowyer (ninth), Brad Keselowski (13th). Others did not with Martin Truex Jr. (18th), Jeff Gordon (19th), Greg Biffle (22nd), defending Cup champion Tony Stewart (29th) and Kevin Harvick (35th).