CONCORD, N.C. -- Jeff Gordon won his first pole of the season Thursday night, besting the Fords driven by Carl Edwards and A.J. Allmendinger with a lap of 191.544 mph around the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway. His No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet will lead the field to the green flag for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 -- the fifth race in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship run. Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammates Mark Martin (fourth), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (eighth) and four-time defending series champ Jimmie Johnson (10th) will join him near the front of the grid. It is Gordon's eighth pole at this track but his first there in 10 years. It is his 69th career pole position, tying him with Cale Yarborough for third best all-time.
Gordon, Edwards and current points leader Johnson are the only Chase contenders among the top-14 qualifiers. Last week's winner, Tony Stewart, will start 29th, well off his top-six run in opening practice.
"This was huge and a huge shock,'' Gordon said smiling. "We just haven't been qualifying well lately. We used to be the kings of qualifying at Charlotte, but with the competition changing and different cars, we kinda lost our way here. I'm shocked we're here on the pole. But it's awesome timing here in the Chase. It's a small momentum and confidence booster for us.''
Although he's not among those vying for a championship -- for the second straight year -- Earnhardt was encouraged with his qualifying effort in the No. 88 Amp Energy Chevrolet. It is his best since a third-place start at Pocono, Pa., in June and is his second consecutive top-10 start.
"I think it's a roller coaster every week in this sport for teams like us, anyways,'' Earnhardt said. "We unloaded comfortable and fast. And our car had more speed than that (lap). I'm happy. We had a chance to go tire testing at Homestead and just having the chance to run a little bit, test a little bit, might have helped us, at least for this qualifying here tonight."
"Time's running out on the season and time's running out from sitting on our asses not doing nothing for a couple months so I'm trying to get all the racing I can out of these last few races."
-- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
It's a vast upturn for Earnhardt compared to a year ago when he arrived at Charlotte full of doubt, frustration and disappointment. He told reporters last October that he was "about at the end of my rope,'' regarding the up-and-down season and dismal championship run after joining the uber-champion Hendrick organization in 2008.
He was decidedly more upbeat Thursday night even though he is ranked 18th in the standings with only one top-10 finish since July. Last year he was 22nd in points entering the Charlotte fall race.
"I feel pretty good about what we're thinking, we'll just see how it works out on the race track,'' Earnhardt said.
"Everybody in the garage has the same intentions but not everybody has the same results. A lot of things aren't necessarily in your control, but you just try to control what you can and try to stay focused and stay aggressive.
"Time's running out on the season and time's running out from sitting on our asses not doing nothing for a couple months so I'm trying to get all the racing I can out of these last few races.
"We're not only just preparing for next year, but we're trying to help our teammates win the championship and get all you can out of it. I think attitude is everything. If I falter or struggle in practice or the middle of the race or anyone else on the team has a mental hiccup or lapse in focus it can be tough on any team.
"We're just trying to keep our minds going in the right direction, doing what's right.''
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