Jeff Gordon Wins NASCAR Pole in New Hampshire

Jeff Gordon won NASCAR’s pole in New Hampshire.

It was the 72^nd career pole position for the four-time NASCAR champ. Gordon will be joined in the front row by Kyle Bush, with Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers s behind them.

''I think we surprised ourselves a little bit with this pole,'' said Gordon. ''This is something we didn't expect. Think we expected to be strong in the race here, but for qualifying, we haven't sat on the pole at a non-restricted track in quite some times. So, this was a big one. And, certainly good timing.''

Gordon ran a lap at 134.911 mph to claim the top spot in qualifying Friday. He heads into Sunday’s race ranked 12^th in the Sprint Cup standings. Busch was second, at 134.753 mph, and defending series champion Tony Stewart was third.

''Qualifying is important. But, there are no points for the pole,'' Gordon said. ''Doesn't guarantee anything for the race. Certainly it is a nice boost and something to build on. ... At this point, we have a lot of work to do, and it's not going to happen all in one race. It's going to happen over nine races.''

Points leader Brad Keselowski qualified 15th. Denny Hamlin was 32nd in qualifying.