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Johnson Leads Hendrick Qualifying Sweep At Richmond

Richmond, Va. ? Jimmie Johnson qualified early and laid down a rapid qualifying lap that made the other 47 competitors very envious. The reigning Nextel Cup champion toured the .75-mile track at a speed of 126.298 miles per hour and was the only driver to exceed the 126 mph mark.

?I was really aggressive in qualifying and the car stuck well,? Johnson said of his second Bud Pole of the 2007 season. ?Qualifying is not our strong suit and I figured we would be in the top five today. I figured out how to drive this track during the May race, a race he won.

Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch were the second and fastest drivers. Gordon?s speed was 125.342 mph and Busch?s was 125.331 mph. ?Today was a good day for us,? Gordon said. ?We were fast in practice even though we were working on our race set-up. Jimmie (Johnson) laid down a heckuva lap. I could tell by watching the gap between him and everyone else. For me, I felt like I left a little on the table.?

Fourth through tenth fastest qualifiers were Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, rookie David Ragan, Elliott Sadler and Bobby Labonte, who will be making his 500th career start Saturday evening.

Rookie Juan Pablo Montoya qualified 15th and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. timed 20th fastest.

Kenny Wallace, substituting for the injured Ricky Rudd, qualified 22nd fastest.

Bill Elliott will start the race by virtue of owner points and John Andretti will bring up the rear of the 43-car field in the LifeLock Dodge.

Failing to qualify were Michael Waltrip, Jeremy Mayfield, home-stater Ward Burton and Kevin LePage.

The Chevy Rock & Roll 400 will start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening.

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