Jeff Gordon ended a 47-race streak without a pole win by capturing the top spot for Sunday’s Dover 400 Nextel Cup race at the Dover International Speedway. The No.24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver circled the one-mile “Monster Mile” in 23.053 seconds (156.162 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Gordon’s first of the season and 55th of his Nextel Cup career tying Bill Elliott for sixth all-time. His last pole win was on the road course at the Infineon Raceway in 2005.

“We’ve just been getting better and better at qualifying,” said an excited Gordon. “It’s awesome to get our first pole this year. Momentum starts on Friday.”

Qualifying second was Scott Riggs in a time of 23.068 seconds. But Riggs missed a shift on his second lap and the engine shot up to over 11,000 rpm so the team will likely want to change engines before the race begins and he would then have to start at the back of the field.

Matt Kenseth (23.079) and Ryan Newman (23.096) will start in row two.

Following Kevin Harvick’s win in Loudon, the No.29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team took first place in the “Chase.” Harvick will start deep in the field this time around (25th) after winning the pole last week.

Harvick leads rookie Denny Hamlin (starting 23rd) by 35 points and 2003 Nextel Cup champion Matt Kenseth by 41 points. Nine points further back is four-time Nextel Cup champion Gordon with Burton (starting 19th), 64 points behind his teammate.

wciv.com

Pos # Driver Sponsor Car

1 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet
2 10 Scott Riggs Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge
3 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford
4 12 Ryan Newman Alltel Dodge
5 01 Joe Nemechek U.S. Army Chevrolet
6 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford
7 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge
8 16 Greg Biffle National Guard Ford
9 6 Mark Martin AAA Ford
10 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
11 49 Kevin Lepage whatsonline.com Dodge
12 14 Sterling Marlin Waste Management Chevrolet
13 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevrolet
14 7 Robby Gordon Menards Chevrolet
15 25 Brian Vickers GMAC Chevrolet
16 07 Clint Bowyer DirecTV Chevrolet
17 45 Kyle Petty Wells Fargo Dodge
18 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
19 31 Jeff Burton Cingular Wireless Chevrolet
20 40 David Stremme Coors Light Dodge
21 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
22 20 Tony Stewart The Home Depot Chevrolet
23 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Chevrolet
24 42 Casey Mears Texaco/Havoline Dodge
25 29 Kevin Harvick GM Goodwrench Chevrolet
26 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge
27 5 Kyle Busch Kellogg’s Chevrolet
28 66 Jeff Green Best Buy Chevrolet
29 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Dodge
30 32 Travis Kvapil Tide/Downy Chevrolet
31 74 Derrike Cope Sundance Vacations Dodge
32 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford
33 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
34 88 Dale Jarrett UPS Ford
35 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge
36 21 Ken Schrader Little Debbie Ford
37 06 David Ragan Sharp Aquos Ford
38 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Dodge
39 38 David Gilliland M&M’s Ford
40 61 Stanton Barrett Oak Gloves Dodge
41 96 Tony Raines DLP HDTV Chevrolet
42 18 J.J. Yeley Interstate Batteries Chevrolet
43 4 Scott Wimmer Lucas Oil Chevrolet