California drivers played spoilers in qualifying (AP Photo/Glenn Smith)
Jimmie Johnson will begin Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup finale from the pole position with fellow California native, Scott Speed, starting shotgun. Marcos Ambrose and Mark Martin begin in row two, with Tony Stewart and Bakersfield’s Kevin Harvick in row three. The top-ten is rounded out by Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Bill Elliott, and Clint Bowyer.
To many fans’ chagrin, Jimmie Johnson took the pole from Mark Martin, who had held the provisional pole for a large part of the qualifying session. Johnson does not need to win to have his date with NASCAR history. He needs only to finish in 25th position or better.
California has a strong showing in Homestead qualifying
Scott Speed was probably the greatest surprise of the Friday afternoon qualifying session. Speed is outside of the top-35, which means that he must qualify in on time. He posted a 31.269, just 0.22 slower than Johnson.
Other California drivers in Sunday’s season finale include: AJ Allmendinger in 13th position and Casey Mears in 15th. David Gilliland is driving the 02 for Joe Gibbs Racing this weekend and qualified 17th. Jeff Gordon, who will be officially eliminated from the title, ended up in 20th spot.
Tulare’s, Matt Crafton, who drives the No. 88 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, practiced and qualified Robby Gordon’s No. 7. Gordon is currently competing in the Baja 1000 and will be in Homestead for Sunday’s event to wheel the Toyota to the checkered flag on the 2009 season.
For more information on Southern California Motorsports, check out:
Calling all dark horses: Jimmie Johnson is smart money, not a sure thing
Jimmie Johnson put on a clinic: Let's talk legacy
Janelle Jalbert is a fan of a variety of racing formats and equally enjoys the history of the sport. Janelle grew up in an auto mechanic’s family and swears that there is carb spray running through her veins. She can be reached via email for both comments and story ideas. You can follow Janelle as the Southern California Motorsports Examiner on Twitter as @SoCalMotorsport.
Janelle also serves as the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner. Feel free to join the discussion about the hard racing in the CWTS at the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner fan page on Facebook
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