RACING Kenseth conquers rare pole position

His team's weakness this season has been qualifying.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOUDON, N.H. -- Winston Cup points leader Matt Kenseth got his first pole of the season Friday when rain washed out qualifying at New Hampshire International Speedway.
The 43-car field for the New England 300 was set by car owner points. So Kenseth, who has led the series standings since March, was automatically awarded the top starting spot for Sunday's race.
"One of the benefits of being up in the points is it's a good place to start," Kenseth said. "So I'll love it when it rains on Fridays."
His Roush Racing team's one weakness this season has seemed to be qualifying -- Kenseth typically has found himself starting races in the middle of the pack in his Ford. He's only cracked the top 10 in qualifying twice this year when the field was set by time trials, and both times he qualified fourth.
In fact, Sunday will mark just the seventh time in Kenseth's 131 career starts he'll start in the top five. But by starting first on Sunday, Kenseth will try to earn the five-point bonus that goes with leading one lap.
"It's great to start up front, especially here -- well, actually, anywhere with the way I qualify," Kenseth said. "When you start up front, you've got a better chance of getting those five bonus points and leading a lap and getting a good pit position. We just need to figure out how to keep it there."
Jeff Gordon, who trails Kenseth by 165 points in the standings, will start second in a Chevrolet.
Busch Series
LOUDON, N.H. -- Kevin Harvick was awarded the pole for the Busch race at New Hampshire International Speedway when rain washed out qualifying on Friday.
Harvick, a Winston Cup regular, got the top spot because the No. 21 Chevrolet fielded by Richard Childress Racing is first in owner's points. Harvick splits time in that car with Johnny Sauter.
Scott Riggs will start second in the New England 200 today. Jamie McMurray, another Cup regular, will start third because his No. 1 Dodge is third in owner points.
Indy Racing League
GLADEVILLE, Tenn. -- Scott Dixon shattered the track record with a lap of 206.211 mph to win his third consecutive IRL pole in qualifying Friday at Nashville Superspeedway.
The effort left Dixon one short of Billy Boat's 1998 record of four straight poles. Dixon's top start in tonight's Firestone Indy 200 comes after he sat on the pole in Richmond and Kansas City.
Dixon erased Boat's year-old track record of 203.744, taking only 22.69 seconds to get around the 1.33-mile concrete oval for his fourth pole of the season. His lap was more than three seconds faster than Boat's 2002 pole run.