Jimmie Johnson had not planned to participate in qualifying after wrecking his primary car in practice.
“I wasn’t comfortable putting Jimmie in a position where he would have to hustle a car that he hasn’t turned a lap in yet,” crew chief Chad Knaus told ESPN. “We are all the way out here on the West Coast, and brought two race cars. If we were to crash this car, we would have to pull a car from a teammate and it would be a very difficult obstacle to overcome.”
Johnson will start 36th. Four drivers, Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, Gray Gaulding and Matt DiBenedetto did not run a qualifying lap as their cars did not clear inspection in time. They will start at the rear of the field with Johnson.
Denny Hamlin will start on the outside front row beside Larson. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver said he got a little loose in turns 1 and 2, but the car stuck the rest of the lap.
“I’m really happy… to get a pole is great,” he told FS1 afterward. “I haven’t gotten a pole since my rookie season (2014).”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will make his 600th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup start Sunday, is 18th on the starting grid.
Here is the starting lineup for the Auto Club 400 (200 laps, Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET).
- Kyle Larson2. Denny Hamlin3. Brad Keselowski4. Martin Truex Jr.5. Ryan Newman6. Matt Kenseth7. Kevin Harvick8. Jamie McMurray9. Kyle Busch10. Daniel Suarez11. Austin Dillon12. Kasey Kahne13. Chase Elliott14. Erik Jones15. Kurt Busch16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.17. Clint Bowyer18. Dale Earnhardt Jr.19. Ryan Blaney20. Chris Buescher21. Ty Dillon22. Danica Patrick23. Paul Menard24. AJ Allmendinger25. Michael McDowell26. Landon Cassill27. David Ragan28. Cole Whitt29. Reed Sorenson30. Corey LaJoie31. Aric Almirola32. Jeffrey Earnhardt33. Derrike Cope34. Timmy Hill35. Gray Gaulding36. Jimmie Johnson37. Trevor Bayne38. Joey Logano39. Matt DiBenedetto
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