Jeff Gordon was the last driver to make a qualifying run for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte and he made it count with the fastest time.
Gordon edged Kevin Harvick for the top spot with a time over the 1.5-mile distance of 27.791 seconds (312.709 km/h).
The Hendrick Motorsport driver claimed his ninth Coors Light pole award at Charlotte and his second of the season and the 74th of his career.
Gordon sits fourth in the Chase standings, 32 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.
“I can tell you, I’m feeling better every race,” Gordon said.
“I thought that we really started making ground up the week prior to Richmond… Every week that we perform well and lead laps and run up front builds the confidence that we can win races and put together some great runs and get the points that we need.
“At this point, we’re just going all-out, giving it everything we have. We’re not really thinking about points. We’re just trying to win races and get the best finishes that we can. Right now we’re just having fun.”
Eighth-place qualifier Juan Pablo Montoya was the only non-Chase driver to crack the top 10, with brothers Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch in ninth and 10th, respectively. Kenseth, who holds a three-point lead over Jimmie Johnson, will start 20th.
Australia’s Marcos Ambrose will once again be looking to move forward, after qualifying in 29th.
QUALIFYING: Bank of America 500 – Charlotte Motor Speedway
|
POS |
driver |
Car # |
Make |
Sponsor |
MPH |
Best Time |
Behind |
|
1 |
Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | Axalta | 194.308 | 27.791 | Leader |
|
2 |
Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | Jimmy John’s | 194.203 | 27.806 | –0.015 |
|
3 |
Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 3M | 193.959 | 27.841 | –0.050 |
|
4 |
Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | Lowe’s Dover White | 193.791 | 27.865 | –0.074 |
|
5 |
Kasey Kahne | 5 | Chevrolet | Quaker State | 193.694 | 27.879 | –0.088 |
|
6 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr | 88 | Chevrolet | Time Warner Cable | 193.535 | 27.902 | –0.111 |
|
7 |
Ryan Newman | 39 | Chevrolet | Quicken Loans | 193.458 | 27.913 | –0.122 |
|
8 |
Juan Pablo Montoya | 42 | Chevrolet | Target | 193.417 | 27.919 | –0.128 |
|
9 |
Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota | M&M’s | 193.403 | 27.921 | –0.130 |
|
10 |
Kurt Busch | 78 | Chevrolet | Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet | 193.112 | 27.963 | –0.172 |
|
11 |
Aric Almirola | 43 | Ford | Smithfield | 192.995 | 27.980 | –0.189 |
|
12 |
Joey Logano | 22 | Ford | Shell Pennzoil / Hertz | 192.974 | 27.983 | –0.192 |
|
13 |
Paul Menard | 27 | Chevrolet | Menards / Duracell | 192.754 | 28.015 | –0.224 |
|
14 |
Clint Bowyer | 15 | Toyota | Raspberry 5-Hour Energy benefiting Living Beyond Breast Cancer | 192.719 | 28.020 | –0.229 |
|
15 |
Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | Fastenal | 192.575 | 28.041 | –0.250 |
|
16 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 17 | Ford | My Best Buy | 192.362 | 28.072 | –0.281 |
|
17 |
Martin Truex Jr | 56 | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 192.232 | 28.091 | –0.300 |
|
18 |
Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 192.123 | 28.107 | –0.316 |
|
19 |
Brian Scott | 33 | Chevrolet | Shore Lodge | 192.020 | 28.122 | –0.331 |
|
20 |
Matt Kenseth | 20 | Toyota | Dollar General | 191.993 | 28.126 | –0.335 |
|
21 |
Kyle Larson | 51 | Chevrolet | Target | 191.959 | 28.131 | –0.340 |
|
22 |
Mark Martin | 14 | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 | 191.782 | 28.157 | –0.366 |
|
23 |
Brad Keselowski | 2 | Ford | Miller Lite | 191.748 | 28.162 | –0.371 |
|
24 |
Bobby Labonte | 47 | Toyota | Scott Products | 191.632 | 28.179 | –0.388 |
|
25 |
Jamie McMurray | 1 | Chevrolet | McDonald’s | 191.564 | 28.189 | –0.398 |
|
26 |
Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 191.469 | 28.203 | –0.412 |
|
27 |
Brian Vickers | 55 | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 190.961 | 28.278 | –0.487 |
|
28 |
Casey Mears | 13 | Ford | No. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion | 190.590 | 28.333 | –0.542 |
|
29 |
Marcos Ambrose | 9 | Ford | BOSTITCH | 190.550 | 28.339 | –0.548 |
|
30 |
David Ragan | 34 | Ford | Taco Bell | 190.349 | 28.369 | –0.578 |
|
31 |
Cole Whitt | 30 | Toyota | Swan Energy | 190.342 | 28.370 | –0.579 |
|
32 |
Landon Cassill | 40 | Chevrolet | Moon Shine Attitude Attire | 189.673 | 28.470 | –0.679 |
|
33 |
Josh Wise | 35 | Ford | MDS Transport | 189.195 | 28.542 | –0.751 |
|
34 |
David Gilliland | 38 | Ford | Long John Silver’s | 189.069 | 28.561 | –0.770 |
|
35 |
Danica Patrick | 10 | Chevrolet | GoDaddy Breast Cancer Awareness | 188.923 | 28.583 | –0.792 |
|
36 |
David Reutimann | 83 | Toyota | Burger King-Dr. Pepper | 188.607 | 28.631 | –0.840 |
|
37 |
Michael McDowell | 98 | Ford | Phil Parsons Racing | 188.422 | 28.659 | –0.868 |
|
38 |
Joe Nemechek | 87 | Toyota | TBA | 187.885 | 28.741 | –0.950 |
|
39 |
Dave Blaney | 7 | Chevrolet | Breast Cancer Awareness | 187.852 | 28.746 | –0.955 |
|
40 |
Timmy Hill | 32 | Ford | U.S. Chrome | 187.350 | 28.823 | –1.032 |
|
41 |
Travis Kvapil | 93 | Toyota | Dr. Pepper | 186.696 | 28.924 | –1.133 |
|
42 |
J.J. Yeley | 36 | Chevrolet | United Mining Equipment | 185.893 | 29.049 | –1.258 |
|
43 |
Blake Koch | 95 | Ford | SupportMilitary.org | 180.572 | 29.905 | –2.114 |
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