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Marcos Ambrose continues NASCAR Sprint Cup pole run at Sears Point

Marcos Ambrose claimed his second consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole in qualifying for Sunday's race at Sears Point

The Richard Petty Motorsports driver, who had taken Michigan pole at a record pace last week, was once again the benchmark in qualifying, this time at a track where he has excelled in the past but where he has yet to win for the first time.

The Australian set a time of 1m15.203s, improving around seven tenths from his best in practice.

"I don't know if I got it all, but I got a lot of it," said Ambrose following his pole-setting lap, which underlined his status as favourite to claim victory.

Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon, a five-time pole and race-winner at the Sonoma track, came closest to Ambrose's time having led practice earlier on Friday, with his team-mate Jimmie Johnson also quick in third.

Roush Fenway Racing Fords excelled in qualifying, sweeping the top three for a while and all finishing among the top 11 on the grid, led by Greg Biffle in fourth.

The Michael Waltrip Racing Toyotas also enjoyed a solid session, finishing fifth and sixth with Martin Truex Jr and Clint Bowyer respectively, followed by Kyle Busch in seventh for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Last year's winner Kurt Busch was an impressive eighth for the underfunded Phoenix Racing, while Roush's Matt Kenseth and Stewart Haas' Ryan Newman rounded out the top 10.

2007 Sears Point race-winner Juan Pablo Montoya (Earnhardt Ganassi) qualified 12th, his best in six outings at the 1.99-mile road course.

Scott Speed was the fastest of the non-guaranteed drivers in 22nd, while Brian Simo failed to make the field.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                     Time       Gap
 1.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                   1m15.203s
 2.  Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet           1m15.357s  + 0.154s
 3.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet           1m15.574s  + 0.371s
 4.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford            1m15.632s  + 0.429s
 5.  Martin Truex Jr     Waltrip Toyota               1m15.661s  + 0.458s
 6.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota               1m15.666s  + 0.463s
 7.  Kyle Busch          Gubbs Toyota                 1m15.704s  + 0.501s
 8.  Kurt Busch          Phoenix Chevrolet            1m15.764s  + 0.561s
 9.  Matt Kenseth        Roush Fenway Ford            1m15.790s  + 0.587s
10.  Ryan Newman         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       1m15.802s  + 0.599s
11.  Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford            1m15.807s  + 0.604s
12.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  1m15.955s  + 0.752s
13.  Brad Keselowski     Penske Dodge                 1m15.995s  + 0.792s
14.  Joey Logano         Gibbs Toyota                 1m16.044s  + 0.841s
15.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet           1m16.046s  + 0.843s
16.  Denny Hamlin        Gibbs Toyota                 1m16.052s  + 0.849s
17.  AJ Allmendinger     Penske Dodge                 1m16.064s  + 0.861s
18.  Bobby Labonte       JTG Daugherty Toyota         1m16.129s  + 0.926s
19.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet           1m16.192s  + 0.989s
20.  Casey Mears         Germain Ford                 1m16.220s  + 1.017s
21.  Brian Vickers       Waltrip Toyota               1m16.254s  + 1.051s
22.  Scott Speed         Leavine Ford                 1m16.283s  + 1.080s
23.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet          1m16.343s  + 1.140s
24.  Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       1m16.356s  + 1.153s
25.  Jamie McMurray      Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  1m16.431s  + 1.228s
26.  Kevin Harvick       Childress Chevrolet          1m16.434s  + 1.231s
27.  David Gilliland     Front Row Ford               1m16.601s  + 1.398s
28.  Boris Said          FAS Lane Ford                1m16.811s  + 1.608s
29.  David Ragan         Front Row Ford               1m16.895s  + 1.692s
30.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford                   1m16.906s  + 1.703s
31.  Regan Smith         Furniture Row Chevrolet      1m16.979s  + 1.776s
32.  Dave Blaney         Baldwin Chevrolet            1m17.062s  + 1.859s
33.  David Mayhew        Parsons Ford                 1m17.171s  + 1.968s
34.  Robby Gordon        Gordon Dodge                 1m17.396s  + 2.193s
35.  Jeff Burton         Childress Chevrolet          1m17.483s  + 2.280s
36.  Joe Nemechek        NEMCO Toyota                 1m17.751s  + 2.548s
37.  Chris Cook          Humphrey Smith Toyota        1m17.805s  + 2.602s
38.  JJ Yeley            Robinson-Blakeney Toyota     1m17.931s  + 2.728s
39.  Travis Kvapil       BK Toyota                    1m18.009s  + 2.806s
40.  Josh Wise           Front Row Ford               1m18.100s  + 2.897s
41.  Tomy Drissi         Baldwin Chevrolet            1m19.091s  + 3.888s
42.  Landon Cassill      BK Toyota                    1m20.187s  + 4.984s
43.  Stephen Leicht      Circle Sport Chevrolet       1m18.136s  + 2.933s

Did not qualify:

     Brian Simo          Inception Toyota             1m18.658s  + 3.455s

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