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22nd
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Jeff Gordon bounced back from a stuck throttle in Chicago onto the pole in New Hampshire.
Last week the four-time Champion finished 35th and he dropped to 12th and last in the points of the Chasers.
That didn't change about how he felt about his car and his Chevrolet team.
“My confidence wasn't the issue. We were running when we wrecked (last week). That's the thing that got us through the season, but, our cars were really fast. That's what kept our confidence up,” said Gordon.
“I surprised myself with the pole something we didn't expect. We haven't sat on the pole since a restricted track,” he added after turning a lap of 134.911mph.
It was Gordon's fourth pole at New Hampshire and 72nd in his career.
“We were quite a ways behind the 11 (Hamlin) the three-time Gordon said.
“I wasn't sure what to expect in (in qualifying). Then you see Kyle put up a great lap. The car did everything I asked it to do. The second lap I got off (turn) four good. That's what my goal was; to get on the rev chip[.] I thought I was pretty good, but didn't know if it was enough.”
Kyle Busch, not in the Chase, is racing more for pride than points and was second fastest at 134.753mph in a Toyota.
After a slow start Busch surprised himself. “Practice didn't go the way we wanted it to,” Busch said.
“We sort of struggled early and didn't quite get the draw we had hoped for, and had to go out a little bit early today. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and the guys made some really nice changes from practice to qualifying to get the car a lot better -- and it reacted well and was really fast.
“I was actually shocked by the time it ran, but pleased with it at the same time and would have hoped it held up.”
But, Jeff (Gordon) had a really good draw at the end and beat us by a little bit. Still it's good for track position to be able to start up front like that here at Loudon.
Tony Stewart, the winner here last year, was third fastest in a Chevrolet. Brian Vickers jumped into the MWR Toyota for fourth spot.
Josh Wise's time was disallowed after a post-qualifiying inspection revealed a problem with a rear shock. Scott Riggs, Jason Leffler and Jeff Green failed to make the 43 car field.
Last week the four-time Champion finished 35th and he dropped to 12th and last in the points of the Chasers.
That didn't change about how he felt about his car and his Chevrolet team.
“My confidence wasn't the issue. We were running when we wrecked (last week). That's the thing that got us through the season, but, our cars were really fast. That's what kept our confidence up,” said Gordon.
“I surprised myself with the pole something we didn't expect. We haven't sat on the pole since a restricted track,” he added after turning a lap of 134.911mph.
It was Gordon's fourth pole at New Hampshire and 72nd in his career.
“We were quite a ways behind the 11 (Hamlin) the three-time Gordon said.
“I wasn't sure what to expect in (in qualifying). Then you see Kyle put up a great lap. The car did everything I asked it to do. The second lap I got off (turn) four good. That's what my goal was; to get on the rev chip[.] I thought I was pretty good, but didn't know if it was enough.”
Kyle Busch, not in the Chase, is racing more for pride than points and was second fastest at 134.753mph in a Toyota.
After a slow start Busch surprised himself. “Practice didn't go the way we wanted it to,” Busch said.
“We sort of struggled early and didn't quite get the draw we had hoped for, and had to go out a little bit early today. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and the guys made some really nice changes from practice to qualifying to get the car a lot better -- and it reacted well and was really fast.
“I was actually shocked by the time it ran, but pleased with it at the same time and would have hoped it held up.”
But, Jeff (Gordon) had a really good draw at the end and beat us by a little bit. Still it's good for track position to be able to start up front like that here at Loudon.
Tony Stewart, the winner here last year, was third fastest in a Chevrolet. Brian Vickers jumped into the MWR Toyota for fourth spot.
Josh Wise's time was disallowed after a post-qualifiying inspection revealed a problem with a rear shock. Scott Riggs, Jason Leffler and Jeff Green failed to make the 43 car field.