NASCAR notes: Daytona is Hendrick's track: Johnson claims 500 pole

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
Hendrick Motorsports continued its Daytona dominance. Michael Waltrip found redemption.
A night after teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Budweiser Shootout, Jimmie Johnson won the pole for next Sunday's Daytona 500 with a lap of 187.075 mph Sunday. Waltrip earned the second starting spot at 186.734.
They are guaranteed starting spots for the 500. David Reutimann and Joe Nemechek also are guaranteed spots for being among the fastest cars not in the top 35 in car owner points. The rest of the lineup will be set by Thursday's two qualifying races.
Johnson won his second Daytona 500 pole in a car that was not tested at Daytona International Speedway last month.
"I am just real excited to see everything from the offseason come together," Johnson said.
Waltrip is excited about the new season. In testing, Toyotas have shown they are much stronger than they were last year. The feeling at Daytona for him is better this time, too.
A year ago, NASCAR penalized Waltrip's team after it found an illegal substance in his car's fuel.
"I had to work really, really hard over the last year in order to prove that we are worthy of this opportunity," he said. "I think we are slowly but surely starting to prove that."
 
A NEW DAY FOR BLANEY

Dave Blaney could be a driver to watch the rest of Speedweeks. The Bill Davis Racing driver finished seventh in Saturday's Budweiser Shootout and was fifth-fastest in qualifying Sunday.
His starting spot will be based on where he finishes in his qualifying race Thursday. Even so, this has been a good weekend for him.
"We're having fun this week," the 45-year-old said. "It's a lot nicer to have something that's pretty speedy. Lot more peace of mind knowing that you can race up front."
Blaney did that at Talladega last fall in the first restrictor-plate race with these cars. He finished third.
 
QUALIFYING RACES SET

Hendrick Motorsports teammates Johnson, Earnhardt and Casey Mears will compete in Thursday's first qualifying race. Teammate Jeff Gordon will run in the second qualifying event.
Also in the first race, teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch, along with Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Bobby Labonte and Juan Pablo Montoya. The second race features all three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates: Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.
Defending Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick and teammate Jeff Burton also are in the second race.
 
NO PENALTY FOR MEARS

NASCAR cleared Casey Mears' car Sunday after originally finding it was too low in a post-race inspection Saturday.
At the time, series officials said they would check to see if the problem came from on-track damage. Mears finished sixth.