Auto Racing | Gordon wins his 6th pole
BROOKLYN, Mich. — NASCAR Nextel Cup Series qualifying has provided Jeff Gordon with some surprises this season.
The four-time Cup champion had another one Friday, winning his series-leading sixth pole of 2007 after having to wait for all the rest of the cars entered in Sunday's 3M Performance 400 to make their qualifying runs.
Jeff Gordon had a lap of 189.026 mph. Vancouver, Wash., native Greg Biffle qualified second at 188.684 and Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw was third at 188.516.
"Wow! Wow!" Jeff Gordon said into his radio after crew chief Steve Letarte, back at the track after a six-race suspension from NASCAR, told him he had won another pole. "We were decent in practice, but we didn't get the best lap. But, obviously, we communicated well on the adjustments we needed. It just didn't feel like a pole-winning lap.
"Obviously, I've got to thank this team and welcome back Steve Letarte. Man, that's awesome. We've got good chemistry and I think that late draw really, really played out for us."
Biffle went out immediately ahead of Jeff Gordon in the 48-car qualifying line, knocking Kasey Kahne off the top spot.
"I probably could have got into [turns] three and four a little bit better, and that was the difference," Biffle said. "But the thing is, we've got a great car for this weekend, and that's what we're excited about."
Of waiting to qualify, Jeff Gordon said, "The biggest thing is, you get the opportunity to watch everybody, listen to what they have to say on their radios and talk with your teammates to find out what they think about their qualifying runs."
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