Jeff Gordon drew the final qualifying spot (and that usually means cooler temps and quicker times) and captured the Bud Pole for Sunday’s 3M Performance 400 with a time of 38.090 (189.026 mph). He welcomed back crew chief Steve Letarte with his sixth Bud Pole of the season and 62nd of his Nextel Cup career. Greg Biffle (2nd) drew the second to last spot today, resulting in his best starting spot since he had the outside pole at Darlington in May. Kasey Kahne (3rd) has his best starting spot since he had the outside pole at Bristol in March. Bobby Labonte (4th) has his best starting spot since he lined up 3rd at Dover in June. Elliott Sadler (5th) has his best starting spot since he timed in 3rd at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Michael Waltrip (11th) has his best starting spot since he qualified 3rd at the Brickyard in August of 2005 David Reutimann (12th) has his career-best starting spot this week. His previous best was 14th three times earlier this season….at Talladega, Richmond, and Darlington. Brian Vickers (18th) has his best starting spot since he lined up 16th when we were here in June. David Gilliland (24th) has his best starting spot since he timed in 20th when we were here two months ago. STREAKIN….Denny Hamlin has 4 Top-10 starts in a row. Jimmie Johnson has 6 Top-10 starts in the last 7 races. Kyle Busch has 4 Top-10 starts in the last 5 races.(Stock Car Fans)(8-17-2007)
