Montoya disqualified after earning pole at Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Juan Montoya's misfortune was serendipity for Jimmie Johnson, who will start from the pole in Sunday's Camping World RV 400 at Kansas Speedway after Montoya's qualifying speed was disallowed.

Montoya turned a lap in 31.368 seconds (172.150 mph) Friday to knock Jimmie Johnson (172.007 mph) out of the top starting spot for Sunday's race -- only to see his time disallowed because the nitrogen gas pressure in the rear shock absorbers of his No. 42 Dodge exceeded the 75 pounds per square inch allowed under NASCAR rules.

As a consequence, Montoya will start 42nd Sunday on an owner points provisional. The pole is the 18th of Johnson's career, his fifth of the season and his third at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Mark Martin (171.761 mph) will take the green flag in second position, followed by Matt Kenseth (171.668 mph), Elliott Sadler (171.527 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (171.331 mph). Paul Menard, Bill Elliott, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers and Casey Mears will start from positions six through 10.

Before NASCAR found the violation on Montoya's car, the Colombian driver expressed satisfaction with the improvement his team has shown in recent weeks.

"I think our whole organization's getting better," said Montoya, who was in line to win the first Cup pole of his career. "At Dover we were running top 10 at the end of the day and blew out a right front tire. ... There's been a lot of things that really frustrate us from really good finishes.

"We've changed our cars a lot this year, and it takes time. It takes time to build cars, it takes time to develop them. [Crew chief] Brian Pattie is doing an amazing job with the guys, working so hard, and it's exciting. The engine department keeps finding horsepower over and over again. To know how where we're running now, and to know how much more there is to come from the team in the next few weeks -- it's pretty exciting."

Other than Johnson and Kenseth, Chase drivers turned in qualifying runs that ranged from mediocre to abysmal. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 11th, Jeff Gordon 13th, Greg Biffle 18th, Clint Bowyer 24th, Kyle Busch 27th and Denny Hamlin 30th.

Points leader Carl Edwards qualified 34th, with Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress racing teammate Jeff Burton in 36th and 37th positions, respectively. Tony Stewart was 44th-fastest of 45 drivers who attempted qualifying and will start 41st on an owner points provisional.

With the rest of the Chase competitors behind him, Johnson will enjoy an obvious track position advantage over his rivals.

"It doesn't mean it's a layup weekend and we're going to pick up points on the other Chase competitors, but every little bit helps," Johnson said. "The clean air that we'll have starting on the front row -- it's something we can't emphasize enough as drivers, how important that is and how helpful that is."

Notes: Joey Logano qualified on speed in a Cup race for the first time. Two weeks ago at New Hampshire, he made the field for his Cup debut when qualifying was rained out. He'll start 28th on Sunday. ... Michael McDowell and Johnny Sauter failed to qualify for the race. ... Johnson will start in the top 10 for the 22nd time in 29 races this season.