Lowe's qualifying: Hendrick trio in top five

CONCORD, N.C. (May 21, 2009) -- Jeff Gordon, who currently sits atop the driver standings, will line up ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates when the green flag drops in Sunday's 600-mile event at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, locked up the third position. Teammate Mark Martin will start fourth in his No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, while Jimmie Johnson will roll off fifth. Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, will start 27th. Coverage of Sunday's 600-mile event -- the longest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season -- will start at 5 p.m., ET on FOX. The green flag will drop at 5:45 p.m. This weekend will mark the 13th time that Gordon has lined up in the top three at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In 32 Cup starts at the 1.5-mile racetrack, Gordon has five wins, 15 top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. “A good starting position is certainly important," Gordon said. "This is a big weekend for racing in general around the world and we’re really looking forward to what NASCAR has to offer in the motorsports world and this is a big event and one that we’re really looking forward to competing at. This being a points event we’re hoping that we get some better results than what we had the other night.” Johnson, who also has five wins at Lowe's Motor Speedway, said his team learned some things during Thursday's qualifying session. "Oddly enough, this qualifying session we've learned some things," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. "We had some issues in the All-Star Race that we couldn't adjust around. It seems as if we have fixed them, so, we aren't on the pole tonight, but I think there are some good things to come for the race."