Johnson wins All-Star pole
Jimmie Johnson has a history of dominance at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., but he had never started from the pole in the All-Star race.
After a speedy, mistake-free performance Friday, the decorated driver can check off that accomplishment, too.
The three-time defending Sprint Cup points champion won five of six points races at Lowe’s from 2003-05. He’s in position to return to the top spot after being the star of the unusual qualifying format.
Teams had to go three laps and make a four-tire pit stop without speeding down pit road or leaving loose lug nuts.
Time penalties for those infractions cost several drivers, but not Johnson. He had a speedy first lap, but shot to the front by being the fastest out of the pits – 119 mph.
He finished in 2 minutes, 1.416 seconds, then held off all challengers. Kurt Busch will start second in the 100-lap, non-points shootout tonight that pays the winner $1 million.
“I think with track position as important as it’s going to be in the race, to be where we are is a great situation,” Johnson said. “We focused on it hard today and everybody did their jobs.
Busch finished in 2:02.187. Matt Kenseth will start third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin.
Hornaday triumphs
Ron Hornaday Jr. raced to his first NASCAR trucks victory of the season and the 40th of his career, holding off Kyle Busch over the final laps at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Hornaday passed 2008 winner Matt Crafton for the lead shortly after the restart on lap 106 of the 134-lap race.
Busch, who had an eventful night that included wrecking then-leader Colin Braun, couldn’t catch Hornaday over the closing laps and failed to win for the ninth time this season in NASCAR’s top three series.
Crafton was third, followed by Ryan Newman and Terry Cook.
Mayfield chastised
NASCAR chairman Brian France called Jeremy Mayfield’s positive drug test “a serious violation” of the sport’s toughened new drug policy.
France said he considers performance-enhancers and recreational drugs to be serious violations. But a person familiar with Mayfield’s test results told the Associated Press that Mayfield did not test positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
That means Mayfield tested positive for a narcotic or a controlled substance, such as cocaine, marijuana or methamphetamine.
Indy crews tinker
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was busy with most of the drivers already qualified for the Indy 500 on the track working on their race setups and 13 others trying to find the speed to qualify in time trials this weekend.
“At this point in the month, it’s not so much about the speed on one lap,” said 2007 Indy winner Dario Franchitti, one of 22 drivers who qualified last weekend. “It’s about balance and how the car handles in traffic and how it runs through a full tank of fuel.”
Indy rookie Stanton Barrett, hoping to fill one of the remaining 11 positions in the 33-car field, was focused on getting comfortable enough on the 2.5-mile oval to do a solid, four-lap qualifying run when time trials reopen today.
F-1 dispute lingers
Formula One teams failed to resolve the dispute over a proposed budget cap in a meeting in London with FIA president Max Mosley, and Ferrari took legal action in a French court to stop the measure.
Team owners met with Mosley and F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to discuss a proposal that many teams believe will create a two-tier championship.
Petty CEO steps down
Tom Reddin resigned as CEO of Richard Petty Motorsports for what the team called personal reasons.