Jimmie Johnson previously started from the pole at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama in 2002, as the points leader, lined up next to Mark Martin.

He didn't even make it to the first lap.

In a bizarre pre-race mishap as the drivers were warming up their tires, a problem with Martin's steering box caused him to run into Johnson. The two cars skidded into the infield grass, Johnson suffered damage to the front of his Chevrolet, and had dropped to the back of the field when the race began.

"Did you bring that same steering box back?" Jeff Gordon asked Martin yesterday after rain washed out qualifying at Talladega.

The inclement weather led NASCAR to cancel the qualifying session and set the field for the race today on points -- which put Johnson and Martin side by side again, with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Gordon right behind them in the second row.

Gordon was only joking when he hinted at potential sabotage, but both he and Martin know they need something catastrophic to happen to Johnson today for either to have a chance of challenging him for the Sprint Cup title. The three-time defending series champion has a commanding points lead with only four races remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, with Talladega as the final remaining obstacle in his path toward a record fourth consecutive title.

The fastest track in NASCAR is the worst of the 10 Chase venues for Johnson, who has one victory but an overall average finish of just 17.7 at Talladega. The rain means all 12 Chase drivers will start at the front of the field, exactly where they want to be.

"The safest place really is leading," Johnson said.

And NASCAR is trying to ensure that safety.

Michael Waltrip pulled up to the back of Johnson's car, settled in on his bumper and shoved him around the track as the two drivers worked on a strategy for NASCAR's fastest race track.

"We ... started flying," Johnson said. Only problem? NASCAR doesn't want to see such aggressive drafting anymore, and when Waltrip didn't heed a warning to back off, he was yanked out of the final practice session.

It was NASCAR's way of sending a message to the drivers: They can police themselves or NASCAR will do it for them. It's all part of a concerted effort to avoid a repeat of the spectacular last-lap accidents that marred the previous two restrictor plate races this season. Carl Edwards went airborne into the Talladega safety fence on the final lap of April's race, and Kyle Busch sailed hard into an outside wall at Daytona in July.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton has claimed the pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix today in United Arab Emirates. Hamilton set a time of 1:40.948 on the final qualifying lap, edging Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel by almost 0.6 seconds.

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