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CUP: Gordon Claims Michigan Pole
Written by: Tom Jensen   
08/16/2007
Brooklyn, Mich.
 
Buoyed by the return of his crew chief from suspension, Jeff Gordon soared to to the top in qualifying. (LAT photo) MORE NASCAR PHOTOS » More Photos

Jeff Gordon went out last, but finished first, using a late qualifying draw to claim the pole position for Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway with a lap of 189.026 miles per hour in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

"We didn't get the best lap, but I thought we really communicated well on adjustments that we needed and obviously they worked very well for qualifying," said Gordon.

Gordon was the 48th and final car attempting to qualify at the 2-mile MIS oval, and he knocked Greg Biffle off the pole, a position he held for about a minute, as Biffle was the 47th of 48 drivers to qualify. Still, the 188.684 mph Biffle ran was enough to secure second position in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

"Of course, that late draw paid off big-time for us as well, just like Biffle stepped it up ahead of me. I was able to do the same thing. It didn't feel like a pole-winning lap," Gordon said, "… but it was a great lap."

The rest of the top five all carried Gillett Evernham Dodge engines under the hood: Kasey Kahne, third in a GEM Dodge at 188.516 mph; Bobby Labonte's Petty Enterprises Dodge, which ran 188.132 mph; and Kahne's teammate, Elliott Sadler, qualifying at 188.024 mph.

Gordon's teammates, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson, qualified sixth and seventh, respectively, directly ahead of the Joe Gibbs Racing Chevy of Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer in a Richard Childress Racing Chevys and Mark Martin in a Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevy.

Matt Kenseth, one of the pre-race favorites, apparently broke a rear-end gear
in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford on his warm-up lap. He took the car into the garage without making an attempt. After the team made repairs, he went out and qualified 21st.

Jeff Burton qualified his Richard Childress Racing Chevy in 19th place, but because he blew a motor in the morning practice, he'll start the race at the back of the field on Sunday.

Of the drivers who had to make it in on speed, the most surprising on the list was "Front-Row" Joe Nemechek, who got John Carter's unsponsored EM Motorsports Dodge in the field in 32nd place. John Andretti, newly installed in the BAM Motorsports Dodge, also got into the race (16th), as did the Bill Davis Racing Toyota of Dave Blaney (17th), Ward Burton (27th) in the Morgan-McClure Chevrolet and Brian Vickers (18th) in his Red Bull Racing Toyota. Michael Waltrip got his Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 Toyota into the field for a season-high fifth consecutive race, three with Waltrip behind the wheel and two with Terry Labonte. Waltrip qualified 11th, by far his best effort of the season and one spot ahead of teammate David Reutimann, who also had his best qualifying run of the season.

Failing to qualify were Kevin Lepage, Dale Jarrett, who missed his eighth race of the season, and A.J. Allmendinger, who missed his eighth consecutive race. Scott Wimmer, in his first race behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevy, was also a DNQ, as was Jeremy Mayfield.


3M PERFORMANCE 400 QUALIFYING RESULTS