news-record.com

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Jimmie Johnson still could win Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway but it won't be a perfect weekend.

A week after Johnson was the fastest in every practice session, won the pole and won the race for his perfect weekend, he will start 15th Sunday.

Ryan Newman won the pole Friday. He circled the half-mile track at an average speed of 96.795 mph. Jeff Gordon (96.519 mph) starts second. Martin Truex Jr. (96.509 mph), Mark Martin (96.504) and David Reutimann (96.117) complete the top five.

His 45th career pole moved him into a tie for 11th on NASCAR's all-time list with Buck Baker. Tying Baker had added meaning for Newman, who was mentored by Baker's son, Buddy, early in his career.

"I definitely look forward to coming back to Martinsville," said Newman after his third pole at the track. "I've always said &ellipses; at short tracks, the driver has a little more of an impact on the end result then some of the bigger race tracks."

Johnson knows he won't have the best pit stall Sunday -- pit stalls are picked in order of how drivers qualify -- but he remains confident.

"I really think the way the car is going to be and how well I work traffic here, it shouldn't be too big of a problem," said Johnson, who has won five of the last six Martinsville races.

NEW CAR: Elliott Sadler will drive a Ford instead of a Dodge next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway as Richard Petty Motorsports begins its transition to Ford.

The team, which is in the process of merging with Yates Racing, will run Fords next season. This will be the first time the team has run a Ford. Its other three drivers, Kasey Kahne, AJ Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson, will remain in a Dodge next week.

Also, Allmendinger will drive a Ford at the open Goodyear tire test next week at Daytona. Robbie Loomis, executive vice president of race operations at Richard Petty Motorsports, says that team likely will use a Ford in some other races this season.

FIVE YEARS LATER: Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Hendrick plane crash on Bull Mountain. All 10 aboard the plane died, including car owner Rick Hendrick's son, his brother and two nieces, along with key team officials.

Although new to the team this year, Mark Martin understands what this day means.

"I feel the pain that radiates throughout the organization," Martin said.

LOOKING AHEAD: Carl Edwards qualified 29th Friday but it can't compare to last week at Charlotte when he was never competitive and finished 39th.

"We had a miserable race at Charlotte and we're at the point right now where we're just going to go try new things and take risks, maybe take gambles that we wouldn't on strategy," he said.

"I'm going to drive just maybe a little harder if it looks like that's what needs to be done. That's how we're approaching all these races."

Edwards, who won a series-high nine races a year ago, remains winless this season.

TRUCKS: Mike Skinner won the pole for today's Camping World Truck race with a lap of 95.733 mph. It's his 50th career pole. He's making his 200th career start in the series.

Ron Hornaday Jr. qualified second at 95.617 mph with teammate/boss Kevin Harvick third at 95.583 mph. Denny Hamlin will start fourth after a lap of 95.405 mph.

PIT STOPS: Matt Kenseth and David Ragan are scheduled to debut the new Ford engine next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. &ellipses; Kasey Kahne will again use the new Dodge engine this weekend. He started the Chase with it but problems forced the team to go back to the older version. They returned to the newer engine last weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway where Kahne finished third.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com