Tifton Gazette

Homepage

November 2, 2012

Jimmie Johnson makes another statement with pole run at Texas

NASCAR Wire Service

FORT WORTH, Tex. — He did it again.

After winning from the pole last Sunday at Martinsville and grabbing the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup lead, Jimmie Johnson started the eighth Chase weekend in exactly the same way.

Speeding around Texas Motor Speedway in 28.261 seconds, Johnson won the pole for Sunday's AAA Texas 500, edging Greg Biffle (190.382 mph) by .103 seconds.

The Coors Light pole award was Johnson's first at the 1.5-mile track, his fourth of the season and the 29th of his career. The 20th driver to make a qualifying attempt, Johnson picked up three-quarters of a second from practice earlier in the day.

After making his banzai run, Johnson sat in his car until the 26 drivers who followed him had completed time trials -- a "strategy" he employed with success last week at Martinsville.

"No way I'm superstitious," Johnson quipped after Martin Truex Jr., the 46th driver out, failed to top him. "Race car drivers are never superstitious. I've been doing this a long time, and more times often than not, the guy that sets the pace climbs out of the car to a microphone, and then, ‘Oh, just knocked off the pole.'

"I tried this philosophy at Martinsville, and I'm not sure if it worked, but it kind of worked, so I figured I would stay in there the whole time, and it played out again."

Kyle Busch (190.127 mph) qualified third, followed by Clint Bowyer (190.067 mph) and Truex (189.994 mph). Brad Keselowski, who trails Johnson by two points with three races left, claimed the eighth starting spot, his best effort in time trials in the Chase so far.

"It feels like a pole," said Keselowski, who had qualified 22nd, 20th, 25th and 32nd in the previous four races. "It may not be a pole, but it feels like a pole to us. Our car has had a ton of speed since we've been here, in race trim, but qualifying trim has been our weakness all year.

 

Text Only
Local News

Local Sports
Explore
Opinion
Obituaries
Police Reports
Your Agenda
Facebook
AP Video
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel? Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
House Ads
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Seasonal Content
Business Marquee
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Weather Radar
Video
Sen. Chambliss addresses farm bill in Tifton
Riding the Steam Train at Ga. Museum of Agriculture
Nature's Beauty in a Tifton parking lot
Peanut Prices Remain Strong