Jimmie Johnson wins pole for NASCAR race at Pocono Raceway

Jimmie Johnson, shrugging off a misstep that cost him last week’s Sprint Cup Series race in Indianapolis, won the pole position for the next race Sunday at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.

Johnson, the five-time Cup champion, turned a lap in his No. 48 Chevrolet of 180.654 mph on the 2.5-mile, triangular Pocono track. Kyle Busch was second at 180.639 mph and will start alongside Johnson on the front row.

Carl Edwards qualified third, Ryan Newman -- who won last week’s Brickyard 400 -- was fourth and Kurt Busch was fifth.

Johnson had the dominant car at the Brickyard 400. But on his final pit stop, his Hendrick Motorsports crew struggled to get Johnson out quickly, opening the door for Newman to earn the victory.

Before making his qualifying run, Johnson -- who leads the Cup title standings again this year -- told reporters at Pocono that his pit crew had shaken off the Indy setback.

“I asked them also to be fearless when they hopped off the wall this weekend and just do their jobs,” Johnson said. “The worst thing any of us can do that have to go out and perform is to carry something in the back of your mind.”

Among other notable drivers, reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski qualified 11th, Tony Stewart was 20th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 25th and Danica Patrick qualified 34th in the 43-car field at 175.860 mph.

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