Jeff Gordon won the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday, coming back from a 35th place finish during last week’s Chase opener.
The four-time NASCAR champion is no stranger to leading off in the pole position, as Friday’ was his 72nd career pole, reports ABC Local . Gordon, who will be joined on the front row by Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and Brian Vickers, stated that:
“I think we surprised ourselves a little bit with this pole. This is something we didn’t expect. Think we expected to be strong in the race here, but for qualifying, we haven’t sat on the pole at a non-restricted track in quite some times. So, this was a big one. And, certainly good timing.”
The driver of the number 24 will go into Sunday’s race last in the points for the Sprint Cup standings, ran a lap of 134.911 in qualifying for the pole on Friday. Busch was second place with a lap time of 134.753, while Tony Stewart, the defending series champion, was third. Stewart stated after qualifying that:
“We’ll have a good pit spot and hopefully we can keep that track position all day and not have to beat our car up trying to get up there.”
USA Today notes that, despite being given the number one pit stall at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Jeff Gordon will still need to be aggressive and stay in the lead to get as many points as possible. Gordon stated of the upcoming race that:
“I’m optimistic. This is one of those tracks I have a good feel for what I need. It’s like going to Martinsville. I really know what to tell the team I’m missing or when it’s right. I drive the track a certain way and haven’t stopped in 15 years. It’s about driving the car the same way and giving good feedback. I’m confident we can find it, but we didn’t find it (Friday) morning.”
Are you rooting for Jeff Gordon to win at New Hampshire this weekend? If not, tell us who you want to win in the comments below!
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