Kasey Kahne won the pole for Sunday’s 3M Performance 400 Nextel Cup race at the Michigan International Speedway.

The No.9 Evernham Dodge driver circled the two-mile, high-speed oval in 38.784 seconds (185.644 m.p.h.).The pole victory was Kahne’s fourth of the season and 10th of his Cup career.

“The track was pretty free, I think everybody out here was battling that and we were just able to get the throttle down a little quicker than the other guys,” said Kahne. “Hopefully the start of good things this weekend.”

Kahne has won three races this season, twice from the pole (Atlanta, Texas) and once from the ninth position (Charlotte).

Starting on the front row with Kahne will be Jeff Gordon who posted a second- best time of 38.805 seconds. Brian Vickers (38.920) and series points leader Jimmie Johnson (38.931), both teammates of Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports, will make up row two.

“I’m real proud of these guys,” said Vickers. “In qualifying practice the first run we were way too loose, the second it was too tight and we met in the middle.”

Like Carl Edwards last year, Denny Hamlin has exploded on the scene in a big way. With four top-10 finishes in the last five events, the rookie has climbed to ninth in the standings. On Sunday he collected his first Nextel Cup victory at Pocono of all places. A track unlike any other. A track that he had never been on. A track he learned by playing computer games. Yet late Sunday afternoon there he was in Victory Lane. He even had to overcome a left-rear tire blowout that sent him spinning across the grass. Over the last five races Hamlin has jumped from 19th to ninth overall. Hamlin was 21st quickest in qualifying.

While Hamlin has been rising, Gordon has been headed in the opposite direction. After Talladega, the No.24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver was sixth in the standings and solidly in the “Chase for the Nextel Cup.” But three DNFs (did not finish) at Richmond, Charlotte and last week at Pocono have sent the team reeling. Through 14 events, Gordon is 11th overall and looking in from outside at the “Chase” for possibly the second consecutive season.

Starting Lineup:

1 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge

2 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet

3 25 Brian Vickers ditech.com/GMAC Chevrolet

4 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet

5 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge

6 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevrolet

7 01 Joe Nemechek U.S. Army Chevrolet

8 6 Mark Martin AAA Ford

9 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniels Chevrolet

10 16 Greg Biffle National Guard Ford

11 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet

12 31 Jeff Burton Cingular Wireless Chevrolet

13 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge

14 18 J.J. Yeley Interstate Batteries Chevrolet

15 5 Kyle Busch Kellogg’s Chevrolet

16 10 Scott Riggs Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge

17 20 Tony Stewart The Home Depot Chevrolet

18 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge

19 29 Kevin Harvick Reese’s Caramel Cup Chevrolet

20 17 Matt Kenseth Carhartt Ford

21 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Chevrolet

22 21 Ken Schrader Motorcraft Ford

23 32 Travis Kvapil Tide Chevrolet

24 7 Robby Gordon Menards Chevrolet

25 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge

26 14 Sterling Marlin Ginn/Waste Management Chevrolet

27 66 Jeff Green Best Buy Chevrolet

28 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Dodge

29 49 Kevin Lepage Road Loans Dodge

30 40 David Stremme Lonestar Steakhouse Dodge

31 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford

32 38 Elliott Sadler M&M’s Ford

33 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Dodge

34 23 Bill Lester Waste Management Dodge

35 45 Kyle Petty Wells Fargo Dodge

36 4 Scott Wimmer AERO Exhaust Chevrolet

37 42 Casey Mears Texaco/Havoline Dodge

38 74 Derrike Cope Sundance Vacations Dodge

39 96 Tony Raines DLP HDTV Chevrolet

40 88 Dale Jarrett UPS Ford

41 26 Jamie McMurray Irwin Industrial Tools Ford

42 12 Ryan Newman Alltel Dodge

43 34 Mike Skinner Unsponsored Chevrolet