bigbadbrother
11-15-2014, 02:44 AM
Tom Jensen
Homestead, Fla. —
Jeff Gordon, who missed racing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title by a single point, won the pole for Sunday's season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The pole was the 200th for Hendrick Motorsports and 77th of Gordon's career, a total that trails only Richard Petty and David Pearson.
Gordon had a lap of 180.747 miles per hour to claim the No. 1 starting spot over Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski. Championship favorite Kevin Harvick qualified fifth, while title rivals Denny Hamlin (eighth) and Joey Logano (ninth) were close by.
But the night belonged to Gordon, who despite two second-place finishes in the prior three races, failed to be one of the four drivers to qualify for the Championship Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
"I'm really excited about the pole. I don't know that I've ever been on the pole here and to get the 200th for Hendrick is cool," said Gordon. "Yeah, I'm just blown away right now.
"To me this has been one of the toughest places for qualifying for me over the years, and that's why we've never sat on a pole. … I knew we had a pretty good race car when we ended practice today because we made a qualifying run, and it was pretty decent during the day like that. Backed that up during qualifying."
Still, Gordon said it pained him not to be racing for the championship.
"I think even if we win this race on Sunday, that's only going to make it hurt a little bit more in some ways because we could have won the championship if we were here," said Gordon. "I think it's not that I'm over it yet, but I've definitely -- getting to the racetrack, it allows all of us to focus on what we do best, which is go and compete, and when you're fine-tuning the setup of the car and making laps, especially at this place, right up an inch off the wall every lap, that takes your mind off of it."
Harvick, the championship favorite, said he was happy with how his run went.
"It's all about adjustability," said Harvick. "This is going to be a race where you're going through some changing conditions."
Ryan Newman was the only one of the four title contenders who didn't get out of the second round, ending the session in 21st place.
"Just a little bit tight getting in … struggled a little bit there," said Newman, adding what mattered most was where he finishes on Sunday, not where he starts. The starting position will be Newman's worst since the second Pocono race.
Failing to advance out of the first of three rounds were Kyle Larson (27th), Tony Stewart (28th) and Danica Patrick (32nd).
Ford EcoBoost 400
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 180.747
2 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 180.632
3 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 180.294
4 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 179.994
5 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 179.946
6 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 179.593
7 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 179.480
8 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 179.348
9 Joey Logano 22 Ford 179.259
10 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 179.069
11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 178.336
12 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 176.684
13 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 179.004
14 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 178.938
15 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 178.802
16 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 178.796
17 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 178.778
18 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 178.601
19 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 178.601
20 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 178.477
21 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 178.241
22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 177.959
23 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 177.778
24 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 177.678
25 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 178.230
26 Trevor Bayne 21 Ford 178.136
27 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 178.130
28 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 178.024
29 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 177.690
30 Brian Scott 33 Chevrolet 177.189
31 David Ragan 34 Ford 177.113
32 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 177.072
33 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 176.344
34 J.J. Yeley 83 Toyota 176.304
35 David Gilliland 38 Ford 176.056
36 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 175.638
37 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 175.553
38 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 175.479
39 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 174.887
40 Blake Koch 32 Ford 174.859
41 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 174.565
42 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 174.143
43 Brett Moffitt 66 Toyota 173.807
Homestead, Fla. —
Jeff Gordon, who missed racing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title by a single point, won the pole for Sunday's season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The pole was the 200th for Hendrick Motorsports and 77th of Gordon's career, a total that trails only Richard Petty and David Pearson.
Gordon had a lap of 180.747 miles per hour to claim the No. 1 starting spot over Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski. Championship favorite Kevin Harvick qualified fifth, while title rivals Denny Hamlin (eighth) and Joey Logano (ninth) were close by.
But the night belonged to Gordon, who despite two second-place finishes in the prior three races, failed to be one of the four drivers to qualify for the Championship Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
"I'm really excited about the pole. I don't know that I've ever been on the pole here and to get the 200th for Hendrick is cool," said Gordon. "Yeah, I'm just blown away right now.
"To me this has been one of the toughest places for qualifying for me over the years, and that's why we've never sat on a pole. … I knew we had a pretty good race car when we ended practice today because we made a qualifying run, and it was pretty decent during the day like that. Backed that up during qualifying."
Still, Gordon said it pained him not to be racing for the championship.
"I think even if we win this race on Sunday, that's only going to make it hurt a little bit more in some ways because we could have won the championship if we were here," said Gordon. "I think it's not that I'm over it yet, but I've definitely -- getting to the racetrack, it allows all of us to focus on what we do best, which is go and compete, and when you're fine-tuning the setup of the car and making laps, especially at this place, right up an inch off the wall every lap, that takes your mind off of it."
Harvick, the championship favorite, said he was happy with how his run went.
"It's all about adjustability," said Harvick. "This is going to be a race where you're going through some changing conditions."
Ryan Newman was the only one of the four title contenders who didn't get out of the second round, ending the session in 21st place.
"Just a little bit tight getting in … struggled a little bit there," said Newman, adding what mattered most was where he finishes on Sunday, not where he starts. The starting position will be Newman's worst since the second Pocono race.
Failing to advance out of the first of three rounds were Kyle Larson (27th), Tony Stewart (28th) and Danica Patrick (32nd).
Ford EcoBoost 400
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 180.747
2 Kurt Busch 41 Chevrolet 180.632
3 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 180.294
4 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 179.994
5 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 179.946
6 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 179.593
7 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 179.480
8 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 179.348
9 Joey Logano 22 Ford 179.259
10 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 179.069
11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 178.336
12 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 176.684
13 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 179.004
14 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 178.938
15 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 178.802
16 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 178.796
17 Marcos Ambrose 9 Ford 178.778
18 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 178.601
19 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 178.601
20 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 178.477
21 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 178.241
22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 177.959
23 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 177.778
24 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 177.678
25 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 178.230
26 Trevor Bayne 21 Ford 178.136
27 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 178.130
28 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 178.024
29 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 177.690
30 Brian Scott 33 Chevrolet 177.189
31 David Ragan 34 Ford 177.113
32 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 177.072
33 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 176.344
34 J.J. Yeley 83 Toyota 176.304
35 David Gilliland 38 Ford 176.056
36 Reed Sorenson 36 Chevrolet 175.638
37 Josh Wise 98 Chevrolet 175.553
38 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 175.479
39 Michael Annett 7 Chevrolet 174.887
40 Blake Koch 32 Ford 174.859
41 Alex Bowman 23 Toyota 174.565
42 Cole Whitt 26 Toyota 174.143
43 Brett Moffitt 66 Toyota 173.807