"After Jamie [McMurray] put up his lap," Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon said, "I told my guys, 'Sorry. That's four-tenths. We don't have that much.'" Coming into the race in the 37th of the 50-entrant field, Gordon had every reason to believe so. "But we did," he added, with as much surprise as he admittedly felt in turning laps of 133.136 mph Thursday to take pole position from McMurray at the Phoenix International Raceway.
On board the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet Impala SS, Gordon held off speed surges from perennial threats Denny Hamlin and Scott Riggs, putting him in front of the field in next week's �Desert Jewel� stage of the Nascar Nextel Cup Series. Saturday's one-mile Subway Fresh Fit 500 was Gordon's 59th career pole position, tying him with Darell Waltrip for fourth on the all-time best list.
"I've been on the pole here. We've been fast here. We've been consistent here. We've been everything but in victory lane here," said Gordon. "We're just going to work just as hard as we can�the same as we do everywhere and I'm going to try not to make the mistake we made last week because I felt like we had a good shot at winning last week in Texas and I blew that one.�
Odds, however, are against Gordon. In the 21 previous Desert Jewel race of the Nextel Cup, no pole sitter has gone on to win the race. More than tying with Waltrip on the all-time list, Gordon was set to make more history in the following Nextel stage.
"I was really surprised with the speed we got out of the car," said Gordon. "I've been a little skeptical on how these cars will run in traffic, but starting out front will definitely help."
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