Catchfence

Bristol, TN – Starting from the fourth position, four-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, will head contingent of 15 Team Chevy drivers Sunday in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon will roll off fifth in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet with fellow Team Chevy driver Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, starting along side in the sixth position.

The pole was won by Joey Logano (Toyota) followed by Kurt Busch (Dodge) and Dave Blaney (Toyota).

The 500-lap/266.5-mile race is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX TV, PRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4th: “We had a game plan of what we thought the track would do and unfortunately it didn’t do that. The last two times we have been here it did. I am very proud of the effort today. We came with a plan, we made the car better, we followed our plan and have a good qualifying effort. Very pleased, can’t thank Chad (Knaus, crew chief) and these guys. It has been frustrating for all of us to try and learn this race track. But with great support from Kobalt Tools and Lowe’s and my great teammates for Chad and I getting there. Man, our deal is working together finally here and we hope to show that on Sunday.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET – Qualified 5^th: “We’ve made so many improvements to the car since the last time we were here; just things we been focusing on during the off-season, and Goodyear made a slight change in the tire that kind of threw us off a little bit, so we’ve been battling those things. But that’s a great effort. It’s definitely an improvement. All in all it was a good qualifying effort and I’m looking forward to getting on the track tomorrow and getting ready for the race.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 6th: “Our Target Chevy was really good. The second lap I tried a different line, a little bit of what I was running in practice. I don’t think they cleaned the track between the Nationwide practice and our qualifying and it is full of marbles up there. We we did it this morning in practice with the track clean, you could do it and I tried it now and didn’t get through there. But it is ok, it is a decent qualifying and I think it will get us a good place to start the race and I am pretty happy with that.”

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 13th:“I’m not that proud of that lap. I wish I was real proud of it. When we qualified it was almost 10 degrees hotter, that wasn’t a good enough lap. I didn’t get anything extra. I got what the car was wanting to give, but you need to get extra. That comes with a little bit of luck and I didn’t hit anything extra lucky out there and get anything extra. We’ll take that, it wasn’t a pole, but ok.”

Chevrolet is one of America’s best-known and best-selling automotive brands, and one of the fastest growing brands in the world. With fuel solutions that range from “gas-friendly to gas-free,” Chevrolet has nine models that offer an EPA-estimated 30 miles per gallon or more on the highway, and offers two hybrid models. More than 2.5 million Chevrolets that run on E85 biofuel have been sold. Chevrolet delivers expressive design, spirited performance and strives to provide the best value in every segment in which it competes. More information can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

- Team Chevy, Press Release