Newman, Gordon head field at Martinsville; Johnson qualifies 15th

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Ryan Newman won the pole for Sunday's race with a lap at 96.795 mph. AP Tums Fast Relief 500 qualifying 1.(39) Ryan Newman Chevrolet 96.795 2.(24) Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 96.519 3.(1) Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 96.509 4.(5) Mark Martin Chevrolet 96.504 5.(00) David Reutimann Toyota 96.117 6.(07) Casey Mears Chevrolet 96.054 7.(20) Joey Logano Toyota 96.034 8.(96) Bobby Labonte Ford 96.01 9.(43) Reed Sorenson Dodge 95.995 10.(29) Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 95.908 11.(12) David Stremme Dodge 95.903 12.(88) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 95.83 13.(14) Tony Stewart Chevrolet 95.825 14.(6) David Ragan Ford 95.815 15.(48) Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 95.777 16.(44) AJ Allmendinger Dodge 95.772 17.(11) Denny Hamlin Toyota 95.762 18.(82) Scott Speed Toyota 95.607 19.(33) Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 95.578 20.(16) Greg Biffle Ford 95.574 21.(42) Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 95.545 22.(31) Jeff Burton Chevrolet 95.501 23.(26) Jamie McMurray Ford 95.477 24.(83) Brian Vickers Toyota 95.429 25.(37) Travis Kvapil Dodge 95.381 26.(9) Kasey Kahne Dodge 95.371 27.(34) John Andretti Chevrolet 95.333 28.(87) Joe Nemechek Toyota 95.304 29.(99) Carl Edwards Ford 95.275 30.(98) Paul Menard Ford 95.271 31.(77) Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 95.242 32.(17) Matt Kenseth Ford 95.232 33.(7) Robby Gordon Toyota 95.223 34.(47) Marcos Ambrose Toyota 95.194 35.(71) David Gilliland Chevrolet 95.07 36.(55) Michael Waltrip Toyota 94.984 37.(2) Kurt Busch Dodge 94.889 38.(09) Sterling Marlin Dodge 94.789 39.(66) Dave Blaney Toyota 94.689 40.(19) Elliott Sadler Dodge 94.661 41.(18) Kyle Busch Toyota 94.652 42.(36) Michael McDowell Toyota 94.637 43.(64) Derrike Cope Toyota 93.539

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson finally wasn't flawless at Martinsville.

The points leader and winner in five of the past six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races on the smallest, tightest oval in the series qualified 15th Friday.

Ryan Newman won the pole for Sunday's race with a lap at 96.795 mph, followed by Jeff Gordon at 96.519. Mark Martin, who trails Johnson and Gordon at the midpoint of the 10-race playoff, will start fourth, giving Hendrick Motorsports two cars in the front two rows.

The pole is Newman's second of the season and 45th of his career.

"It's the place to be, no doubt, and it's the place to finish," Newman said.

Newman downplayed Johnson's poor showing, saying he noticed the three-time defending series champion spent very little time in practice working on his setup for the two-lap run.

In all, only four of the 12 participants in the Chase for the championship qualified ahead of Johnson. Most chose to focus on their racing setup with prospects for additional practice sketchy. Heavy rain fell early at the speedway, and more is forecast for Saturday.

The results, still, were a source of hope for Johnson's Hendrick teammates and closest pursuers, especially Gordon, with only five races left to close a 90-point gap.

"Any time we can put a gap in between us, as well as the pit selection, that's a step in the right direction for us, and we're going to take anything good that comes our way and try to take advantage of it," said Gordon, a seven-time pole-sitter on the 0.526-mile track.

Johnson said he isn't concerned with where he will start.

"It'll hurt us on pit road for sure, but I really think that the way the car's going to be and how well I can work traffic here, that it shouldn't be too big of a problem," he said.

The top 10 also includes Martin Truex Jr., starting third, and David Reutimann, Casey Mears, Loey Logano, Bobby Labonte, Reed Sorenson and Kevin Harvick.

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