bigbadbrother
03-07-2015, 03:27 AM
Despite a rough start to the year in actual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, Jeff Gordon is on a roll with the poles.
Gordon earned his second pole of the young 2015 season on Friday, capturing the honors at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time in his storied career.
In a session in which multiple drivers broke the previous track record, Gordon posted a blistering fast lap at 27.738 seconds (194.679 mph) to claim the new high mark.
Gordon knew right away he had posted the lap to beat.
"I didn't come off the throttle much, if any. I knew I had to blip it maybe the tiniest, tiniest bit," said Gordon. "The lap before in the second session I was a little conservative and the car just stuck so good. When I heard some of the lap times that were up there, I knew that we were going to go get the pole. You've got to be fully committed and just go for it. I just drove down into (Turn) 1 and I may have come off it a tiny bit, but it wasn't much, and it just stuck so good."
The pole marked Gordon's first pole at the 1.5-mile speedway, and his 79th career pole overall. It also marked third pole Gordon has earned in the last four Sprint Cup Series races, including two in the first three outings this season.
This latest pole comes comes one week after failing to make a qualifying lap due to inspection issues at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"What a turnaround from last week," he said, pointing to the No. 24 team's 41st-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "I'm just so proud of this team for keeping their heads up. Last week was a tough one. This is a great, great way to start our weekend here at Las Vegas."
Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano was second-fastest in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. With a lap of 27.790 seconds at 194.314, Logano will make his second straight front-row start.
"This Pennzoil Platinum Ford has a lot of speed in it it didn't in race trim, and then we switched over to qualifying trim and something came to life with it," said Logano. "That last run, I didn't lift much at all. I knew it was my fastest run. Jeff just laid down a super fast lap. I didn't really know how I could go much faster than that."
Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart rounded out the top 12 in qualifying.
Kenseth was the first driver to break the old track record in Round 2 with a lap of 27.937 seconds at 193.292 mph. That record did not last long, however, as McMurray's lap of 27.859 seconds at 193.833 mph took him to the top of the charts. The track record continued to fall through Round 2 and Round 3, with nine cars besting the previous mark.
The speeds continued to pick up as Larson ended Round 2 just behind his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate.
David Ragan, Carl Edwards, Aric Almirola, Greg Biffle, Casey Mears, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Danica Patrick, AJ Allmendinger, Brian Scott and Paul Menard failed to advance to the final round.
Friday's qualifying session was not without drama, as a number of teams barely made it to the grid after NASCAR technical inspection before the start of qualifying got underway.
Team Penske's No. 2 Ford was on the grid and Keselowski was preparing to climb behind the wheel of the car when a NASCAR official came to the car and ordered them back through the inspection line. A NASCAR official saw one of Keselowski's crew members pulling out the wheel wells, something that is not allowed.
As Round 1 of qualifying got underway, Keselowski's car was in the garage going through inspection once again. Once cleared, Keselowski took his first qualifying attempt with just over five minutes left in the round, posting the sixth-fastest lap.
With 48 cars entered, five cars failed to make the race: Reed Sorenson, Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, Mike Wallace and Matt DiBenedetto.
Kobalt 400
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 194.679
2 Joey Logano 22 Ford 194.315
3 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 194.287
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 194.091
5 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 193.959
6 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 193.632
7 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 193.507
8 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 193.389
9 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 193.334
10 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 193.112
11 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 192.555
12 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 192.287
13 David Ragan 18 Toyota 192.685
14 Carl Edwards 19 Toyota 192.527
15 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 192.472
16 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 192.424
17 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 192.294
18 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 192.280
19 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 191.782
20 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 191.768
21 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 191.523
22 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 191.340
23 Brian Scott 33 Chevrolet 190.564
24 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 189.994
25 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 190.355
26 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 189.967
27 Alex Bowman 7 Chevrolet 189.947
28 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 189.820
29 Sam Hornish Jr. 9 Ford 189.727
30 Ryan Blaney 21 Ford 189.447
31 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 189.354
32 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 189.314
33 Michael Annett 46 Chevrolet 189.228
34 Regan Smith 41 Chevrolet 189.215
35 Trevor Bayne 6 Ford 189.003
36 Brett Moffitt 34 Ford 188.488
37 David Gilliland 38 Ford 187.078
38 Cole Whitt 35 Ford 186.541
39 Josh Wise 98 Ford 186.400
40 J.J. Yeley 23 Toyota 186.156
41 Jeb Burton 26 Toyota 185.720
42 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 183.418
43 Brendan Gaughan 62 Chevrolet 182.939
44 Mike Bliss 32 Ford DNQ
45 Reed Sorenson 129 Toyota DNQ
46 Travis Kvapil 44 Chevrolet DNQ
47 Mike Wallace 66 Chevrolet DNQ
48 Matt DiBenedetto 83 Toyota DNQ
Gordon earned his second pole of the young 2015 season on Friday, capturing the honors at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time in his storied career.
In a session in which multiple drivers broke the previous track record, Gordon posted a blistering fast lap at 27.738 seconds (194.679 mph) to claim the new high mark.
Gordon knew right away he had posted the lap to beat.
"I didn't come off the throttle much, if any. I knew I had to blip it maybe the tiniest, tiniest bit," said Gordon. "The lap before in the second session I was a little conservative and the car just stuck so good. When I heard some of the lap times that were up there, I knew that we were going to go get the pole. You've got to be fully committed and just go for it. I just drove down into (Turn) 1 and I may have come off it a tiny bit, but it wasn't much, and it just stuck so good."
The pole marked Gordon's first pole at the 1.5-mile speedway, and his 79th career pole overall. It also marked third pole Gordon has earned in the last four Sprint Cup Series races, including two in the first three outings this season.
This latest pole comes comes one week after failing to make a qualifying lap due to inspection issues at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
"What a turnaround from last week," he said, pointing to the No. 24 team's 41st-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "I'm just so proud of this team for keeping their heads up. Last week was a tough one. This is a great, great way to start our weekend here at Las Vegas."
Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano was second-fastest in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. With a lap of 27.790 seconds at 194.314, Logano will make his second straight front-row start.
"This Pennzoil Platinum Ford has a lot of speed in it it didn't in race trim, and then we switched over to qualifying trim and something came to life with it," said Logano. "That last run, I didn't lift much at all. I knew it was my fastest run. Jeff just laid down a super fast lap. I didn't really know how I could go much faster than that."
Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart rounded out the top 12 in qualifying.
Kenseth was the first driver to break the old track record in Round 2 with a lap of 27.937 seconds at 193.292 mph. That record did not last long, however, as McMurray's lap of 27.859 seconds at 193.833 mph took him to the top of the charts. The track record continued to fall through Round 2 and Round 3, with nine cars besting the previous mark.
The speeds continued to pick up as Larson ended Round 2 just behind his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate.
David Ragan, Carl Edwards, Aric Almirola, Greg Biffle, Casey Mears, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Danica Patrick, AJ Allmendinger, Brian Scott and Paul Menard failed to advance to the final round.
Friday's qualifying session was not without drama, as a number of teams barely made it to the grid after NASCAR technical inspection before the start of qualifying got underway.
Team Penske's No. 2 Ford was on the grid and Keselowski was preparing to climb behind the wheel of the car when a NASCAR official came to the car and ordered them back through the inspection line. A NASCAR official saw one of Keselowski's crew members pulling out the wheel wells, something that is not allowed.
As Round 1 of qualifying got underway, Keselowski's car was in the garage going through inspection once again. Once cleared, Keselowski took his first qualifying attempt with just over five minutes left in the round, posting the sixth-fastest lap.
With 48 cars entered, five cars failed to make the race: Reed Sorenson, Mike Bliss, Travis Kvapil, Mike Wallace and Matt DiBenedetto.
Kobalt 400
Qualifying
Pos Driver Car # Make Qual. Speed
1 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 194.679
2 Joey Logano 22 Ford 194.315
3 Kasey Kahne 5 Chevrolet 194.287
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 194.091
5 Kyle Larson 42 Chevrolet 193.959
6 Matt Kenseth 20 Toyota 193.632
7 Ryan Newman 31 Chevrolet 193.507
8 Martin Truex Jr. 78 Chevrolet 193.389
9 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 193.334
10 Jamie McMurray 1 Chevrolet 193.112
11 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford 192.555
12 Tony Stewart 14 Chevrolet 192.287
13 David Ragan 18 Toyota 192.685
14 Carl Edwards 19 Toyota 192.527
15 Aric Almirola 43 Ford 192.472
16 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 192.424
17 Casey Mears 13 Chevrolet 192.294
18 Kevin Harvick 4 Chevrolet 192.280
19 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 191.782
20 Clint Bowyer 15 Toyota 191.768
21 Danica Patrick 10 Chevrolet 191.523
22 AJ Allmendinger 47 Chevrolet 191.340
23 Brian Scott 33 Chevrolet 190.564
24 Paul Menard 27 Chevrolet 189.994
25 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet 190.355
26 Justin Allgaier 51 Chevrolet 189.967
27 Alex Bowman 7 Chevrolet 189.947
28 Brian Vickers 55 Toyota 189.820
29 Sam Hornish Jr. 9 Ford 189.727
30 Ryan Blaney 21 Ford 189.447
31 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 17 Ford 189.354
32 Michael McDowell 95 Ford 189.314
33 Michael Annett 46 Chevrolet 189.228
34 Regan Smith 41 Chevrolet 189.215
35 Trevor Bayne 6 Ford 189.003
36 Brett Moffitt 34 Ford 188.488
37 David Gilliland 38 Ford 187.078
38 Cole Whitt 35 Ford 186.541
39 Josh Wise 98 Ford 186.400
40 J.J. Yeley 23 Toyota 186.156
41 Jeb Burton 26 Toyota 185.720
42 Landon Cassill 40 Chevrolet 183.418
43 Brendan Gaughan 62 Chevrolet 182.939
44 Mike Bliss 32 Ford DNQ
45 Reed Sorenson 129 Toyota DNQ
46 Travis Kvapil 44 Chevrolet DNQ
47 Mike Wallace 66 Chevrolet DNQ
48 Matt DiBenedetto 83 Toyota DNQ