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NASCAR : 2011 Fontana - Juan Pablo Montoya to start on pole for Auto Club 400

Juan Pablo Montoya will start on the pole for his 150th career NASCAR race after setting the fastest time in Friday's qualifying at the Auto Club Speedway by turning a lap in 38.992 seconds, the only driver to break 39 seconds, and hitting 184.653 mph on the 2 mile oval.

The former Formula 1 driver, who drove for the Williams and McLaren teams, improved dramatically on his 23.5 average starting position this season by winning the Coors Light pole award at the 2 mile California track and will be seeking his first NASCAR win on an oval after winning his first two career races on road courses.

The Colombian will start Sunday's 400 mile race on the front row alongside Denny Hamlin who claimed the second starting spot with a lap at 184.270 mph followed by Joey Logano and Regan Smith right behind them.

Montoya acknowledged the importance of the benefits of winning the pole, the selection of pit stall No. 1 among them, but said that his mid-pack qualifying average hasn't bothered him this year.

Montoya, who is eighth in the Cup standings, said: "As long as we have the race pace that we've had this year, I don't mind qualifying in the back. If you have a good car, you can always come back, but this will make pit selection better. There's a lot of things that are better by qualifying good. I think you can look after the car more during the race, and I think that always helps."

(source)