Jeff Gordon Wins Bud Pole at Phoenix for The Checker Auto Parts 500
Driver Page: Jeff Gordon
Three days after getting married Jeff Gordon won the Bud Pole for this weekends race at Phoenix. This was his second Bud Pole of the season.
Gordon won the pole with a lap time of 26.773 at 134.464 miles per hour. Kevin Harvick who went out last barely missed knocking off Gordon with a lap of 26.871, Harvick will start second for the Checker Auto Parts 500.
Qualifying at Phoenix was good to a number of Chase for The Nextel Cup drivers. Dale Earhardt Jr. (4th), Kyle Busch (9th) and Matt Kenseth (10th) will all start in the top 10 for Sunday’s race.
Jimmie Johnson had the worst qualifying effort of all the Chasers. Johnson’s early qualifying draw saw him fall victim to the hotter afternoon temperatures at Phoenix. As a result Johnson finds himself starting well back in the pack Sunday in 29th position with a lap of 27.299.
Here is how the rest of the Chasers qualified on Friday:
Kasey Kahne 11th (26.991)
Jeff Burton 18th (27.100)
Mark Martin (21st) 27.117
Denny Hamlin (22nd) 27.127
Drivers who failed to qualify for Sunday’s race were:
Todd Kluever
Tony Raines
Morgan Shepard
Brandon Ash
Kevin Lepage
Kenny Wallace
Derrick Cope
Jeremy Mayfield
The Checker Auto Parts 500 from Phoenix International Raceway starts this Sunday at 2:30pm Eastern Time. The race broadcast can be seen on NBC TV. Check back here at TheSpread.com for a recap of the race.
by Michael Cash – thespread.com – Email Us
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