NASCAR notes: Johnson claims pole at Dover

Jimmie Johnson led a career-high 298 laps in winning at Dover International Speedway in May.

Johnson on pole, eyes Dover sweep

DOVER, Del. -- Jimmie Johnson will go for the Dover sweep from the pole.

Johnson turned a lap of 157.356 mph yesterday at Dover International Speedway and will start first for only the second time this season. He led a career-high 298 laps in May to win at the Monster Mile.

"A pole today will make the start of the weekend much better and give us a lot of direction and momentum moving into (Sunday)," Johnson said. "It does carry you, and there is an aspect of momentum. But at the same time, you've got to go out and perform."

The top four qualifying spots for tomorrow's race all went to Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers. Juan Pablo Montoya was second, Ryan Newman third and Greg Biffle fourth.

"When Jimmie ran those laps in practice, I knew unless he did a huge mistake, we're not going to get that pole," Montoya said. "There was no way I was going to get any more out of the car. I didn't have anything else."

Johnson has four career victories at Dover.

Stewart doesn't fret standings shuffle

Tony Stewart understands losing his regular-season points lead is part of Chase racing. He's just puzzled why so many critics want to change the points system.

"The system is a simple system," Stewart said. "It is easy to understand, it doesn't need to be complicated by trying to throw more numbers in there to confuse the fans."

Stewart's lead after the first 26 races was wiped out before the first Chase race last week at New Hampshire. He finished 14th and is in sixth place entering tomorrow's AAA 400.

Kurt Busch: Team forced to focus

Kurt Busch says preparation for tomorrow's race went "maybe better than normal" because having only one day to meet with his crew chief forced his team to focus.

Pat Tryson was asked by Penske Racing to only visit the race shop during the weekly competition meeting because he's leaving at the end of the season. The team doesn't want him to be part of the planning for 2010.

Busch is fifth in the Chase for the championship standings. Tryson is moving to Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the year. Tryson, who said his decision has nothing to do with his relationship with Busch, will become the crew chief for Martin Truex Jr.

-- From Wire Reports