Gordon Continues Hot Streak With Martinsville Pole

Martin Truex turned in his best qualifying effort ever at Martinsville, nailing down the second spot for Sunday's race.

Photo courtesy: NASCAR.com

MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Jeff Gordon continued his hot streak Friday afternoon, winning the pole for Sunday's Subway 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.

Gordon turned the historic half-mile track in 19.938 seconds (94.974 mph) for his sixth Martinsville pole and his 63rd career pole victory.

Gordon has captured the past two NASCAR Nextel Cup races, two weeks ago at Talladega and last week at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He comes into Sunday's Subway 500 with a 68-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Martin Truex turned in his best qualifying effort ever at Martinsville, nailing down the second spot for Sunday's race, followed by Kevin Harvick and Johnson. The top four qualifiers were all driving Chevrolets. Kasey Kahne qualified fifth in a Dodge.

Gordon's pole run was his seventh of the 2007 season.

"I'm excited we qualified so good," said Gordon. "I was honestly beating myself up. I knew what we ran in practice and I knew what it would take to be on the pole and so I went out and over drove it and slid up the race track. I felt like I had blown it. The second lap, I just wanted to make sure I got into the corner good, so I backed the pace down an and pulled out a good second lap."

Weather was a factor on Friday with practice shortened by rain showers and qualifying finishing under the threat of darkness. No driver got in more than 23 laps of practice while Gordon took only three laps of practice.

"It was a tricky day with the weather and the limited practice," said Gordon. "We practiced on a qualifying set up and I'm glad we did." Kyle Busch was sixth fastest in time trials, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., J.J. Yeley, Jamie McMurray and Tony Raines.

Subway 500 Starting Lineup:

Pos. No. Driver Sponsor/Make Time Speed

1. 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 19.938 94.974

2. 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 19.988 94.737

3. 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 19.999 94.685

4. 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 20.013 94.619

5. 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 20.020 94.585

6. 5 Kyle Busch Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet 20.025 94.562

7. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevrolet 20.026 94.557

8. 18 J.J. Yeley Interstate Batteries Chevrolet 20.039 94.496

9. 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 20.050 94.444

10. 96 Tony Raines DLP HDTV Chevrolet 20.066 94.369

11. 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 20.068 94.359

12. 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge 20.072 94.340

13. 70 Johnny Sauter HAAS CNC Chevrolet 20.084 94.284

14. 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 20.097 94.223

15. 49 John Andretti Paralyzed Veterans of America Dodge 20.101 94.204

16. 43 Bobby Labonte Goody's Headache Powder Dodge 20.113 94.148

17. 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 20.120 94.115

18. 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 20.126 94.087

19. 0 David Reutimann # Dominos.com Toyota 20.127 94.083

20. 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 20.130 94.069

21. 7 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel's Chevrolet 20.138 94.031

22. 25 Casey Mears National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet 20.150 93.975

23. 88 Ricky Rudd Combos/Snickers Ford 20.150 93.975

24. 17 Matt Kenseth R&L Carriers/DeWalt Ford 20.170 93.882

25. 84 AJ Allmendinger # Red Bull Toyota 20.175 93.859

26. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya # Texaco/Havoline Dodge 20.182 93.826

27. 1 Aric Almirola U.S. Army Chevrolet 20.184 93.817

28. 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 20.184 93.817

29. 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 20.184 93.817

30. 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Chevrolet 20.185 93.812

31. 66 Jeff Green HAAS CNC Machine Tools/Best Buy 20.205 93.719

32. 10 Scott Riggs Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge 20.206 93.715

33. 44 Dale Jarrett UPS Toyota 20.225 93.627

34. 20 Tony Stewart The Home Depot Chevrolet 20.241 93.553

35. 15 Paul Menard # Menards/Pittsburgh Paints Chevrolet 20.263 93.451

36. 4 Ward Burton ITT Night Vision Chevrolet 20.271 93.414

37. 16 Greg Biffle Dish Network Ford 20.284 93.354

38. 40 David Stremme Target House Dodge 20.364 92.988

39. 7 Robby Gordon MAC Tools Ford 20.390 92.869

40. 38 David Gilliland M&M's Ford 20.405 92.801

41. 6 David Ragan # AAA Ford Owner Points

42. 45 Kyle Petty Marathon Dodge Owner Points

43. 21 Bill Elliott Little Debbie Snack Cakes Ford Past Champion

# Rookie

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