But before climbing into the No. 48 Chevrolet for his final qualifying lap of the 2009 Sprint Cup season, the man on the cusp of winning a record fourth consecutive championship paused in front of the mirror inside his motor home and said something akin to: "I'm good enough, I'm fast enough, and gosh darn it, people like me."

"I had a talk with myself to do what I could today and don't freak out if it's not as good as what Mark (Martin) ran," Johnson said. "I kept my emotions in check and drove the car with the right touch and feel, and that comes from being relaxed, so it went well."

Apparently so.

Johnson will start first in Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway after capturing his fourth pole position of the season. The 173.919-mph lap bumped Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin from the top spot late in the session. Scott Speed and Marcos Ambrose also turned faster qualifying laps Friday than Martin, who will start fourth as the only driver who can keep Johnson from the title in the season finale.

Johnson's lap was more than a full mph faster than Speed (172.695) on the 1.5-mile track, which is one of only five where the Hendrick Motorsports star hasn't won. The El Cajon, Calif., native, who heaved a big sigh and flashed a wide smile after removing his helmet following qualifying, nearly crashed during a mock qualifying run in practice.

"(Turns) 1 and 2 went really, really well, and I went down into 3 a little too confident," he said. "I slid up high, got into the dirty part of the track and almost hit the wall."

That, coupled with the strong qualifying effort by teammate Martin, led to the daily affirmation. Johnson said he's had a few over the years, most recently after finishing 15th at Texas Motor Speedway in last year's Chase.

"Last year between Texas and Phoenix, we went on a little trip with some friends to Mexico, and people heard some yelling," he said. "I was in the bathroom midday having a little conversation with myself in the mirror because I didn't like what I did in Texas. I came out and everyone was like, 'What is going on in there?' I was cussing myself out because I wasn't happy with the week before."

It worked then, too: Johnson won at Phoenix.

He doesn't need to do nearly as well to sew up his fourth South Florida coronation Sunday. A 25th or better would assure him of the points lead, regardless of Martin's result.

The pole will do plenty to help Johnson, who likely will lead the first lap for a five-point bonus. He also gets first pick of a pit stall at a track where pitting can be very tricky as the sun sets (Sunday's race starts at 3:15 p.m. ET).

"We can control pit road a lot better now," he said. "Track position is so important, it's going to be very difficult here. It seems everybody is going to fight for the top lane. The closer to the front, the better off we're going to be."

Johnson also figures to have help from Speed and Ambrose, who both implied they'd tip-toe around the points leader. Johnson lost 111 points at Texas two weeks ago when he was crashed on the third lap after a bump from Sam Hornish Jr.

"I'll be following (Johnson) into Turn 1," Ambrose said. "He has a halo bar around him. He deserves his championship."

Said Speed, who likely will start on the outside of Johnson at the green: "Certainly you don't want to be the guy who takes out (Johnson). That doesn't look good on your resume."

Starting lineup

1. (48) Jimmie Johnson (FSY), Chevrolet, 173.919.

2. (82) Scott Speed (FSY), Toyota, 172.695.

3. (47) Marcos Ambrose (FSY), Toyota, 172.678.

4. (5) Mark Martin (FSY), Chevrolet, 172.353.

5. (14) Tony Stewart (FSY), Chevrolet, 172.243.

6. (29) Kevin Harvick (FSY), Chevrolet, 172.144.

7. (39) Ryan Newman (FSY), Chevrolet, 172.035.

8. (16) Greg Biffle (FSY), Ford, 172.024.

9. (21) Bill Elliott (FSY), Ford, 171.86.

10. (33) Clint Bowyer (FSY), Chevrolet, 171.838.

11. (26) Jamie McMurray (FSY), Ford, 171.838.

12. (2) Kurt Busch (FSY), Dodge, 171.794.

13. (44) AJ Allmendinger (FSY), Ford, 171.75.

14. (1) Martin Truex Jr. (FSY), Chevrolet, 171.647.

15. (07) Casey Mears (FSY), Chevrolet, 171.63.

16. (78) Regan Smith (FSY), Chevrolet, 171.576.

17. (02) David Gilliland (FSY), Toyota, 171.461.

18. (36) Michael McDowell (FSY), Toyota, 171.434.

19. (71) Bobby Labonte (FSY), Chevrolet, 171.396.

20. (24) Jeff Gordon (FSY), Chevrolet, 171.336.

21. (19) Elliott Sadler (FSY), Dodge, 171.331.

22. (00) David Reutimann (FSY), Toyota, 171.276.

23. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya (FSY), Chevrolet, 171.162.

24. (99) Carl Edwards (FSY), Ford, 170.994.

25. (9) Kasey Kahne (FSY), Dodge, 170.967.

26. (31) Jeff Burton (FSY), Chevrolet, 170.967.

27. (12) Brad Keselowski (FSY), Dodge, 170.816.

28. (37) Travis Kvapil (FSY), Chevrolet, 170.805.

29. (77) Sam Hornish Jr. (FSY), Dodge, 170.794.

30. (18) Kyle Busch (FSY), Toyota, 170.648.

31. (96) Erik Darnell (FSY), Ford, 170.53.

32. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (FSY), Chevrolet, 170.455.

33. (83) Brian Vickers (FSY), Toyota, 170.412.

34. (17) Matt Kenseth (FSY), Ford, 170.379.

35. (20) Joey Logano (FSY), Toyota, 170.272.

36. (98) Paul Menard (FSY), Ford, 170.266.

37. (7) Matt Crafton (FSY), Toyota, 169.881.

38. (11) Denny Hamlin (FSY), Toyota, 169.715.

39. (55) Michael Waltrip (FSY), Toyota, 169.353.

40. (34) John Andretti (FSY), Chevrolet, 169.274.

41. (6) David Ragan (FSY), Ford, 169.072.

42. (43) Reed Sorenson (FSY), Dodge, Owner Points.

43. (08) Terry Labonte (FSY), Toyota, Past Champion.

Failed to qualify

44. (87) Joe Nemechek (FSY), Toyota, 170.708.

45. (66) Dave Blaney (FSY), Toyota, 168.94.

46. (70) Mike Skinner (FSY), Chevrolet, 168.66.

47. (13) Max Papis (FSY), Toyota, 168.529.

48. (09) David Stremme (FSY), Chevrolet.

Enlarge By Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire Jimmie Johnson has reason to smile after qualifying first at Homestead-Miami Speedway.