Kahne leads all-Evernham front row
Kasey Kahne boosted his previously waning NASCAR Nextel Cup championship chances by taking pole position for Sunday's Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway
After crashing out in company with Tony Stewart at Dover last weekend, Kahne had dropped to ninth in the standings.
But he bounced back on Friday by leading his Evernham Dodge teammate Scott Riggs to a front row sweep at Kansas.
"I feel like I got just about everything out of it," said Kahne. "I could have used more race track off turn four, but it was turning so good you didn't really have to.
"You look at the points and there's definitely a chance. Jimmie Johnson came from a bunch of points down in '04 to just about win the championship.
"It's something that can be done. It's going to be tough to be done, but it's possible if all the teams have hard luck.
"You never know what's going to happen."
Johnson completes the top three, while points leader Jeff Burton and nearest challenger Jeff Gordon will start 10th and 11th respectively.
Qualifying positions:
Pos Driver Make Speed
1. Kasey Kahne Dodge 178.377
2. Scott Riggs Dodge 177.936
3. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 176.887
4. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 176.846
5. J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 176.800
6. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 176.771
7. Kurt Busch Dodge 176.344
8. Matt Kenseth Ford 176.177
9. Elliott Sadler Dodge 176.137
10. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 176.022
11. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 175.942
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 175.919
13. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 175.530
14. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 175.308
15. Ryan Newman Dodge 175.273
16. Bobby Labonte Dodge 175.194
17. Dave Blaney Dodge 175.103
18. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 174.961
19. Mark Martin Ford 174.774
20. David Gilliland Ford 174.735
21. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 174.729
22. Todd Kluever Ford 174.543
23. Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 174.526
24. Kyle Petty Dodge 174.436
25. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 174.390
26. Reed Sorenson Dodge 174.267
27. Carl Edwards Ford 174.165
28. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 174.087
29. Greg Biffle Ford 174.020
30. Terry Labonte Chevrolet 173.784
31. Jeff Green Chevrolet 173.661
32. Dale Jarrett Ford 173.656
33. Casey Mears Dodge 173.645
34. Chad Chaffin Dodge 173.639
35. Michael Waltrip Dodge 173.472
36. Ken Schrader Ford 173.410
37. Travis Kvapil Chevrolet 173.305
38. Tony Raines Chevrolet 173.038
39. Bill Elliott Dodge 172.999
40. David Stremme Dodge 172.474
41. Jamie McMurray Ford 172.447
42. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 172.414
43. Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 172.491
Did not qualify:
Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 172.035
Kevin Lepage Dodge 170.616
Chad Blount Chevrolet 170.342
Carl Long Dodge -
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