Qualifying: Gordon storms to pole
Jeff Gordon claimed his third career pole position at the bruising Bristol Motor Speedway half-mile oval, but only after waiting for over an hour because of a heavy thunderstorm
The four-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion was one of 27 runners to complete his qualifying run before the rain started falling. After waiting for the rain to subside, Gordon was forced to watch as Mark Martin came agonisingly close to stealing pole. The Roush Racing driver, who hasn't started from the front since May 2001, set a best time of 15.039s, a meagre 0.001s slower than Gordon.
Michael Waltrip qualified third, ahead of Mike Skinner. Kurt Busch, on probation following his run-in with Jimmy Spencer after the recent race at Michigan, qualified fifth. Intriguingly Ted Musgrave, standing in for the suspended Spencer at Ultra Motorsports, will start seventh - directly behind the Roush Racing star on the grid.
Michigan winner Ryan Newman split Busch and Musgrave with the sixth fastest time. Ricky Rudd starts eighth, ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr and championship leader Matt Kenseth.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Brake issues hindered Rosenqvist’s chances of IndyCar victory in Long Beach
Ayrton Senna's famous Honda NSX up for sale
Yamaha to test completely new MotoGP bike at Jerez
Krack: Aston Martin frustrated by inconsistent F1 penalty decisions
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments