Kahne takes Pocono pole
Rookie Kasey Kahne, who never had made a lap in anger at peculiar Pocono Raceway, calmly turned a lap in record time Friday to win the pole for Sunday's Pocono 500. The pole was Kahne's fourth of the season and the first by a NASCAR rookie at the 2.5mi right triangle
Kahne, 0.6sec off the fast practice pace at mid-day, burst out of the pack with a lap in 52.164sec (172.533mph).
Only Brian Vickers (52.232) came close during the rest of the interminable session. This is just the second time that rookies have started side-by-side on the front row; Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman turned the trick at Richmond in 2002.
Neither Kahne nor Vickers had run a competitive lap at Pocono, a flat course usually requiring an upshift and a downshift per lap. Both tested here last week ago, however.
Joe Nemechek qualified third at 52.270, followed by Dover winner Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson. Kahne's heart has been broken at least three times this season, with two impossibly close second-places (Las Vegas and Texas), and a crash while leading at Dover when his car skidded in oil from another car.
This weekend, Kahne is committed to races at two venues. He will race Saturday in the Busch Series race at Nashville, then will return here to race the 500 miles Sunday.
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