Auto racing : Johnson takes pole at Kansas

Jimmie Johnson will start his next race at Kansas Speedway where he thought he should have finished the last one.

Johnson, who Friday earned the pole for Sunday’s Lifelock 400 at Kansas City, Kan., was leading late in the 2006 race when he pitted for a splash of gas with four laps to go. He was hit with a penalty for speeding on pit road, dropped to 14th and watched as Tony Stewart ran out of fuel and crawled across the finish line for the victory.

“I’ve put the majority of it behind me,” said Johnson, who went on to win last year’s Nextel Cup title and sits third in the Chase standings going into this weekend.

It was the second straight pole and the 12th of his career for Johnson, who started first but finished 14th last week at Dover, Del. He has one pole but no top-five finishes in five previous races at Kansas Speedway.

Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet went around the 1.5-mile tri-oval at a top speed of 175.063 mph. Ryan Newman’s Dodge qualified second at 174.893 mph, but the car failed inspection because the roof was too low.

Newman will start Sunday’s race from the back, moving Matt Kenseth’s Ford to the outside front after a quick lap of 174.284 mph.

Kenseth, who won the last pre-Chase Cup in 2003, is 10th going into Sunday’s race.

Scott Riggs will start third, followed by Chase leader Jeff Gordon. They were followed in the top 10 by Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer.

“Denny Hamlin had five days to think about his garage-area confrontation with Kyle Petty, which ended with Petty swiping at his helmet and Hamlin vowing to continue the fight.

Hamlin wrecked Petty last week at Dover as the Nextel Cup title contender tried to pass Petty’s lapped car.

“You never want to be involved in an incident, especially with Kyle because he’s respected a lot … so, really, I’ve just got to learn to grow up as far as that’s concerned,” Hamlin said.