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Jeff Gordon needed a boost in his Chase for another NASCAR Sprint Cup title and he got it Friday by winning the pole for Sunday’s Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Gordon turned a lap of 191.117 mph to edge fellow Chaser Kasey Kahne for the front spot and the front row will be followed by Chasers Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart. AHN
The pole was the 68th of Gordon’s career and his first since the fall race at Texas last year.
It was particularly gratifying to Gordon, who had struggled at the 1.5-mile track before winning earlier this year.
“We’ve been very close,” Gordon said. “There were times when I really thought we had a pole. It’s like a win. You hope you get it early and accomplish it and get it out of the way so you don’t think and worry about it—it doesn’t build—especially when you’ve done 16 years in a row.
“To finally get it, it doesn’t matter to me if it happens the first race or the last race—it just takes a little bit of heat off you to get it early—but the fact that we did get it, and to do it here in Texas, a track that we have struggled at until recently, this is a great place to do it. NASCAR
Only David Pearson and Richard Petty have longer streaks than Gordon of seasons with a pole. Pearson went 20 consecutive seasons (1963-82) and Petty had 18 (1960-77).
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Dickies 500 at Texas - Race Line-Up
Gordon is third in points, 192 behind Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson, who drives the No. 48 Chevrolet on which Gordon is listed as the owner. Johnson is vying for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season title and needs only to average a 10th-place finish the last three races to get it.
Mark Martin, another Hendrick driver, is second, only eight points ahead of Gordon’s No. 24. Martin qualified seventh and Johnson 12th for Sunday’s race. The Associated Press
