In less then seven days Missouri native Jamie McMurray has gone from winning the Daytona 500 to sitting on the pole in California.

Courtesy: Associated Press/NASCAR Media Services

After a whirlwind week of appearances and interviews as the champion of NASCAR’s season opener and biggest race, McMurray got back into the cockpit of his No. 1 Chevrolet and qualified first with a lap of 183.744 mph at the two-mile superspeedway in Fontana, Calif.

Earnhardt Ganassi teammate Juan Pablo Montoya will start alongside McMurray on the front row after a lap of 183.477 mph. Clint Bowyer is third in another Chevy, with Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Ford qualifying fourth.

Matt Kenseth, who won at California the last two Februarys, qualified 20th.

Qualifying Fast Facts
Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club 500

Provided by NASCAR Statistics
Coors Light Pole Winner: Jamie McMurray
Age: 33
Team : No. 1 - Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet
Owner: Teresa Earnhardt
Crew Chief: Kevin Manion

Jamie McMurray won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Auto Club 500 with a lap of 39.185 seconds, 183.744 mph.
This is his fourth pole in 260 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and first top-10 start in 2010.
This is his first pole in 14 races at Auto Club Speedway.

Juan Pablo Montoya (second) posted his second top-10 start of 2010 and his third in seven races at Auto Club Speedway. This marks the first time that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has claimed both front row starting positions.

Clint Bowyer (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Auto Club Speedway.  It is his second in two races this season.

Kevin Conway (38th) was the fastest qualifying rookie.

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