Jimmie Johnson's run for his fourth consecutive Cup title starts from the pole.
Johnson turned a lap of 173.919 mph yesterday to top qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida, a big boost for this Hendrick Motorsports star as he tries to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win four consecutive championships.
"We did an awesome job, and I feel that the start will go smoothly," Johnson said.
The start could be tricky for the unflappable Johnson. Scott Speed qualified second and Marcos Ambrose third, two drivers who haven't spent very much time on the track racing up front and around Johnson.
Johnson crashed on the third lap at Texas two races ago when he was hit by Sam Hornish -- another non-Chase contender. The wreck spoiled Johnson's shot at possibly clinching his unprecedented fourth consecutive championship last week.
Speed and Ambrose don't want to be the drivers who take out Johnson and forever are tagged as the ones who spoiled history.
"Certainly you don't want to be the guy that takes out the 48," Speed said. "That doesn't look good on your resume. You give him room, you race him as hard as you can."
Ambrose, who has only six top-10 starts this season, has a similar fear.
"You don't want to be the guy that does that to him," he said. "He's not going to do it on his own."
Johnson goes into the Chase for the championship finale tomorrow with a 108-point lead over Mark Martin and needs only to finish 25th or better to win the title.
Kasey Kahne strongly will consider leaving Richard Petty Motorsports after next season because of the instability surrounding the organization. Kahne has been unhappy with many parts of RPM this season, including a planned merger with Yates Racing that has yet to happen.
Banned from driving by NASCAR after testing positive for methamphetamines, Jeremy Mayfield held an auction at his home in Catawba, N.C., selling his own stuff, ranging from a second home, land, cars, dirt bikes and bulldozers to weed-whackers, humidifiers and sunglasses. If it was all sold by the end of the day it would be worth about $5 million, money needed to help his ongoing court fight to be reinstated.
First Published: November 21, 2009, 5:00 a.m.
