Jeff Gordon has his first pole of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season.
Gordon’s lap at 191.544 mph Thursday night gave him the top starting spot in Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 and his first pole since November at Texas Motor Speedway.
Gordon, a four-time series champion in the thick of the hunt for a fifth this season, is immersed in a career-long 59-race winless streak. His last win came in April 2009 at Texas.
The pole is the 69th of Gordon’s career, which ties Cale Yarborough for third all-time. Seven times, Gordon has started a Cup race at CMS from the pole; he’s won three times. But his last pole at the 1.5-mile speedway came in October 2000. Charlotte Observer
“I’m just in shock,” Gordon said. “You look at our practice speeds and how hard we were trying to run fast laps. I actually think it was a blessing that we weren’t good in practice today, because we were really hoping the track would come to us.”
Edwards will start on the outside pole after posting a lap of 191.455 m.p.h. Gordon and Edwards were the only drivers to top the 191 m.p.h. mark.
“That’s a great starting spot for us,” said Edwards, who presently is seventh in points. “This is what we need, because last week was very frustrating.”
Edwards finished 34th last Sunday at Fontana, CA.
A.J. Allmendinger qualified third, followed by Mark Martin and Paul Menard. MiamiHerald.com
Only four Chase drivers qualified in the top 10: Gordon, Edwards, Kyle Busch (sixth) and Johnson (10th). Denny Hamlin, second in the standings and 36 points behind Johnson, starts 23rd, one position ahead of third-place Kevin Harvick.
Chase driver Kurt Busch began his quest for a three-race sweep at Charlotte with a 15th-place qualifying effort. Other Chasers start as follows: Matt Kenseth (17th), Jeff Burton (18th), Clint Bowyer (20th), Greg Biffle (22nd) and Tony Stewart (29th). NASCAR.com
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Bank of America 500 at Charlotte - Race Line-Up
Interview WIth Charlotte Sprint Cup Race Pole Winner - Jeff Gordon
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