Juan Pablo Montoya, in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, captured the Auto Club 400 Coors Light Pole Friday afternoon in qualifying at Auto Club Speedway. Montoya’s 38.99 time earned him his first pole at Auto Club Speedway and his fourth consecutive Top Five start at the track.
“We went out and found two ways to mess up the car and put it back,” Montoya said. “I think we’ve got a decent car. We always run well here. We’re in really good position in points and we have to take advantage of that.”
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, will join Montoya in the front row posting his first Top 10 start of 2011 and his fifth in 11 races at Auto Club Speedway.
“It’s been a good day really, just focusing on qualifying,” Hamlin said. “I’ve never really worked so hard to work on just one lap as much as I have this week. Last week we had issues at Bristol and that was because we qualified bad, so we can’t put ourselves in the middle of the pack every week.”
Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, took third, earning his third Top 10 start in five races this season.
“It felt like we weren’t very good after practice,” Logano said. “I was very nervous before qualifying. I didn’t think we’d be top three for sure. I actually thought we’d be like 20th or so but the guys with the Home Depot Center team did a great job at getting it faster and getting the grip on the corners. It still was loose but it was a lot better than I ended practice with.”
Andy Lally, No. 71 Eco-Fuel Saver Chevrolet, was the fastest qualifying rookie finishing 38th.
Auto Club Speedway
- Talladega Superspeedway Weekend Schedule - April 14, 2024
- Odd Tony Stewart Talladega Post Race Q&A - May 7, 2012
- Team Chevy Post Talladega Race Rundown - May 7, 2012