Johnson wins 1st pole of the season at New Hampshire

Gordon could be in that spot next week if he is needed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson turned a lap of 133.971 miles per hour and won his first pole of the season Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“The auto was half a second faster on scuffed tires than it was when we put the stickers on to go at the end and I couldn’t even stay on the racing line”, Johnson said Friday at the “Magic Mile”, site of Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 (1:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Keselowski will attempt to become the fourth driver in the Chase era to win three consecutive races in Sunday’s New Hampshire 301.

(4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 132.697 miles per hour.

Hendrick Motorsports announced it will bring future Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon out of retirement as a full-time substitute for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Last weekend’s victory at Kentucky was a fuel mileage gamble and this weekend could feature the same strategy. “I think we put a lot of emphasis on this race, as do all the Chase-eligible teams so far”. He sits sixth in the Sprint Cup driver standings, 78 points behind leader Kevin Harvick. He has three wins and 10 top-5 finishes on the year. In 29 trips to NHMS, the six-time Sprint Cup champion had never won a pole until Friday. Kyle Busch 3. Martin Truex Jr. 4. Friday at New Hampshire was a first.

Doug Durchardt, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, told reporters the decision whether Gordon will or will not drive the No. 88 Chevy at Indy will be made by Wednesday, July 20. I’m a huge race fan and have been going to the races in Loudon for the last 10 years. It’s also the place where he scored his first Cup win and has added another victory since then.

“As I driver, it’s like, ‘Now I’ve got four wins, just make sure I don’t [tick] anyone off before the Chase starts”, Keselowski joked.

Second fastest in qualifying was Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Trevor Bayne hasn’t finished out of the top 25 since the beginning of April. Bayne’s best finish in two races at New Hampshire is 16th. Johnson has nine top-10 starts this season.

(17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 131.678 miles per hour. It is up to Bayne to climb into the Chase and there is no better time to start than now.

That combination of ingredients served to lower downforce from approximately 2,700 pounds to 1,800 when compared with the package used in 2015. “We need to sober him up and get him back”. The practical on-track effect for drivers has been more off-throttle time, with a resulting decrease in speed through the centers of the corners and a consequent increase in the number of passing zones.

The Michigan native has been one of the fastest drivers in the XFINITY Series all season.

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