Backstretch Motorsports

Qualifying Fast Facts
Auto Club Speedway
Pepsi 500

Coors Light Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Age: 32
Team : No. 48 - Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation
Owner: Jeff Gordon
Crew Chief: Chad Knaus

Jimmie Johnson won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Pepsi 500 with a lap of 39.912 seconds, 180.397 mph.
This is his 17th pole in 244 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his fourth pole and 19th top-10 start in 2008.
This is his first pole in 12 races at Auto Club Speedway.
AJ Allmendinger (second) posted his sixth top-10 start of 2008 and his first in two races at Auto Club Speedway. This is his best career start.
Jeff Gordon (third) posted his ninth top-10 start at Auto Club Speedway. It is his 17th in 25 races this season.
Patrick Carpentier (fifth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Johnson, a native of El Cajon , Ca. was happy with the lap he posted at mid-session but knew A.J. Allmendinger was a serious threat to take the top spot. ” We went out kind of at the peak of the heat when things were just starting to break.” said the No. 48 Lowe’s/ Jimmie Johnson Foundation Impala SS driver. “And there were a few cars we were worried about, including A.J. (Allmendinger, qualified 2nd) and I think he did a great job putting down a good smooth lap, and certainly had us scared throughout the afternoon. So all in all, I’m just extremely pleased with the lap and progress we made throughout the day to make the car faster. We’re happy to start up front and hopefully we can take advantage of that.”

Allmendinger will take the green on Sunday in his No. 84 Red Bull Toyota from the outside front-row starting spot, his best ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start. “I thought we won something for how excited everybody is.” said the driver from Los Gatos, Ca. “It was a great run. I knew the .91 lap that Jimmie (Johnson) put down was a pretty solid lap. Everybody at Red Bull builds solid cars. This whole 84 crew is coming together. We’ve had a few tough couple of weeks but we’ve been running strong at least when we’re doing it. This is a good way to start the weekend and hopefully we can finish it off the same way.”

Starting Line Up by Row
Auto Club Speedway
Pepsi 500

Driver Date Time Speed
Track Race Record: Jeff Gordon 06/22/97 03:13:32 155.012
Pos Car Driver Team Time Speed
Row 1: 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet 39.912 180.397
2 84 AJ Allmendinger Red Bull Toyota 40.076 179.659
Row 2: 3 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet 40.097 179.565
4 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 40.188 179.158
Row 3: 5 10 Patrick Carpentier # Sears Auto Center Dodge 40.255 178.860
6 19 Elliott Sadler McDonald’s Dodge 40.338 178.492
Row 4: 7 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 40.351 178.434
8 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 40.363 178.381
Row 5: 9 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 40.412 178.165
10 8 Aric Almirola U.S. ARMY Chevrolet 40.419 178.134
Row 6: 11 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 40.421 178.125
12 44 David Reutimann UPS/Toys For Tots Toyota 40.446 178.015
Row 7: 13 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 40.448 178.006
14 20 Tony Stewart Subway/Home Depot Toyota 40.482 177.857
Row 8: 15 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 40.507 177.747
16 5 Casey Mears Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet 40.537 177.616
Row 9: 17 12 Ryan Newman Kodak Dodge 40.566 177.489
18 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet 40.574 177.454
Row 10: 19 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 40.588 177.392
20 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 40.635 177.187
Row 11: 21 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 40.636 177.183
22 6 David Ragan AAA Insurance Ford 40.648 177.130
Row 12: 23 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco/Havoline Dodge 40.682 176.982
24 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerois Racing/Betty Crocker/Totinos Dodge 40.692 176.939
Row 13: 25 01 Regan Smith # DEI/The Principal Financial Group Chevrolet 40.697 176.917
26 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 40.726 176.791
Row 14: 27 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 40.742 176.722
28 96 Ken Schrader DLP HDTV Toyota 40.817 176.397
Row 15: 29 15 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet 40.818 176.393
30 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Toyota 40.831 176.337
Row 16: 31 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 40.839 176.302
32 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Penske Truck Rental Dodge 40.913 175.983
Row 17: 33 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 40.937 175.880
34 28 Travis Kvapil Hitachi Power Tools Ford 40.964 175.764
Row 18: 35 00 Mike Skinner Affliction Clothing Toyota 41.009 175.571
36 7 Robby Gordon Monster Energy Dodge 41.043 175.426
Row 19: 37 17 Matt Kenseth R&L Carriers Ford 41.059 175.357
38 45 Kyle Petty Wells Fargo Dodge 41.059 175.357
Row 20: 39 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 41.081 175.264
40 21 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie Ford 41.099 175.187
Row 21: 41 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 41.136 175.029
42 38 David Gilliland CitiFinancial Ford Owner Points
Row 22: 43 08 Johnny Sauter FUBAR All Natural Dodge 41.233 174.617
Did Not Qualify: # 70 Tony Raines.
Manufacturer Starting Lineup DNQs
Chevrolet 13 1 Ford 8 0
Dodge 12 0 Toyota 10 0