Gordon on pole in Ft. Worth

Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, poses in Victory Lane after qualifying for the first position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Dickies 500

John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

Jeff Gordon earned his first pole of the season with a lap speed of 191.117 mph during qualifying for Sunday's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. It's his second time qualifying on pole at the track in Fort Worth, Texas, and his 68th career pole. Gordon last won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole at TMS in the fall of 2008, but with this pole he has now won a pole in 17 consecutive seasons. He'll be starting on the front row for the fifth time in his last six starts at the track.

"We've been so close this year and just been getting beat on these poles by Mark Martin and Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson and a bunch of 'em," Gordon said. "That was a great lap. I didn't think that it was enough, I knew it was close but I didn't think it was enough."

Kasey Kahne earned the second starting spot.

"The engine is running awesome," Kahne said about the R6. "It just felt really good. I was on the track. I could feel the race track around the whole corner and down the straightaways. It was really about all I had."

Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer make up the top 10.

"Qualifying was pretty good," Edwards said of his sixth position. "It's not the pole, but, hopefully, it'll be a top 10. If it is a top 10, it'll be like a victory for us. We've worked pretty hard and I was real happy with the pickup there. We're competitive. I feel like we can hold our own against these guys today and that's big."

Points leader Jimmie Johnson will start 12th.

Gordon is coming off his career first victory at Texas Motor Speedway this spring. It was his only victory this season.

The Dickies 500 is set for 2:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday, Nov. 8.

Lineup

+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie