(Story originally posted by the LA Times) Jimmie Johnson did Saturday what he does better than the rest: He stared down adversity to challenge Juan Pablo Montoya for the pole of Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Johnson, the four-time defending Sprint Cup champion, qualified second despite running into trouble in Turn 2. He’ll start on the front row here for the second time, as he attempts to tie Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon with a record fourth win here.
“We were proud of the lap that we ran today,” Johnson said. “We knew the Ganassi guys (Montoya and Jamie McMurray) were going to be real tough.”
Johnson put together a tidy but unspectacular qualifying lap on the 2 1/2-mile oval. He said he held back some because of a sometimes-unpredictable Turn 2.
“The wind was blowing from (Turns) 1 to 2,” he said. “Ideally, you want a headwind to plant the car. With the wind at your back, it kind of pushes the car off of its arc and creates more difficulty. I hit all four corners right.
“I didn’t make any big mistakes (Friday) in qualifying trim. I can get three of the four turns right but seem to mess up Turn 2. I focused on that and, as a result, I wasn’t as aggressive in 2 and 4.”
Johnson said track position is more important than ever at the Brickyard, mostly because of the addition of the rear spoiler. He predicts that alone will make it more difficult to pass today.
“I think the spoiler knocks the air higher in the sky, so there’s (more of) a hole behind each car that will be great down the straightaways,” he said. “I think we will see some slingshot moves because of the draft, but then you get to a flat turn with more turbulent air. You’re going to have less downforce, and it’ll be tougher to pass.”
Logano to rear again
Joey Logano was forced to the back of the 43-car grid for the second year in a row because of engine issues. He nearly earned a top-10 finish last year, placing 12th.
Logano experienced problems before having his engine repaired.
“We were just real loose,” he said. “We tightened it up, and it was still loose.”
Bad draw for JGR
On a hot day in which qualifying early was imperative, all three entries for Joe Gibbs Racing had bad qualifying draws. Denny Hamlin, Logano and Kyle Busch made their qualifying runs 31st, 32nd and 33rd.
Hamlin qualified 18th, while Busch starts today’s race 23rd. Logano qualified 34th but will start at the back of the field.
“The track was hot, and we struggled,” said Hamlin, who has a Cup-best five wins this season. “We have a new car here, and it’s extremely fast in race trim.”
This is the third consecutive year in which Mark Martin has started in the top three for the Brickyard. He won the pole in 2009 and qualified second in ’08 before grabbing third yesterday. Ryan Newman (fifth) has qualified in the top eight for nine of his 10 Brickyard 400 starts. Jacques Villeneuve, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner, joins Montoya as the only drivers to compete in all three major races at IMS: the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and United States Grand Prix. Fourteen drivers have started the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 after the addition of Max Papis and Villeneuve this year. The others: John Andretti, Geoff Brabham, A.J. Foyt, Larry Foyt, Robby Gordon, Sam Hornish Jr., Jason Leffler, Scott Pruett, Tony Stewart, Danny Sullivan, J.J. Yeley and Montoya. Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, Gordon and Martin are the only drivers to start all 17 Brickyard 400s.
