NASCAR: Gordon Approaches History with PIR Pole

The pole position is the third of 2007 for Gordon and 59th of his career, tying him with Darrell Waltrip for fourth on the all-time list.

Photo courtsey: phoenixintlraceway.com

PHOENIX - Jeff Gordon held off late challenges from Denny Hamlin and Scott Riggs to win the pole for Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500, his third career pole position at the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway.

Completing a self described "awesome" lap of 133.137 mph in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Impala SS, Gordon took the top spot for the third race featuring the Car of Tomorrow.

"I was really surprised with the speed we got out of the car," said Gordon. "I've been a little skeptical on how these cars will run in traffic, but starting out front will definitely help."

However, it may not be the best position for Gordon come Saturday night, as no polesitter has won an event at the "Desert Jewel" in 21 previous NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events.

The pole position is the third of 2007 for Gordon and 59th of his career, tying him with Darrell Waltrip for fourth on the all-time list.

If he wins Saturday's 312 lap race, Gordon would be making even more history this weekend.

A victory on Saturday night would be Gordon’s 76th of his career, tying Dale Earnhardt for sixth on the all-time wins list.

Also, it would leave only two current tracks, Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Gordon has yet to win a NEXTEL Cup Series event in his career.

"I've been on the pole here. We've been fast here. We've been consistent here. We've been everything but in victory lane here," said Gordon. "We're just going to work just as hard as we can - the same as we do everywhere and I'm going to try not to make the mistake we made last week because I felt like we had a good shot at winning last week in Texas and I blew that one.

"As long as this team continues to give me the race cars that they're giving me right now and the effort they're giving me, then we're going to win races. And I would love it if it would come here. I would love to finally be able to get this one checked off our list so I don't have to hear that question again."

A resurgent Jamie McMurray will start on the outside pole, with Denny Hamlin and Scott Riggs sitting just behind on row two.

Gordon’s teammate, Jimmie Johnson, rounds out the top five.

Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., defending race winner Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne complete the top 10.

A little further back, Phoenix native J.J. Yeley qualified 22nd for his home event. The Subway Fresh Fit 500 will be his 50th career NEXTEL Cup race.

With 50 teams attempting to qualify, a total of seven failed to make the field for Saturday night’s event. The list includes Jeremy Mayfield, Michael Waltrip, John Andretti, Brian Vickers, AJ Allmendinger, Mike Bliss and Brandon Ash.

Although he didn’t qualify by time into the event, Dale Jarrett will compete in the eighth race of the season because of his past champion's provisional. However, by using the provisional this weekend, he only has one more remaining for the rest of the season.

Should he exhaust his six provisionals, he would have to qualify for any further events if he remains outside the top-35 in owner’s points.

Saturday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 is scheduled to take the green flag at 8:30 PM (ET) with live coverage available on Fox (TV), MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.

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