NEXTEL CUP Gordon breaks qualifying record for race

Jeff Gordon won the 48th pole of his career with a fast lap of 190.865 mph.
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) -- In his 13 years in NASCAR's top series, Jeff Gordon has learned when to use finesse and when to charge.
So, making that call Friday was no sweat for the four-time champion. He charged -- and the pole was his for the DHL 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
"You know when to push it and when to hold it back," Gordon explained. "Today was a day to push it because the car was just about perfect. When the car's getting through the corners and down the straight-aways like that, it certainly makes my job easy."
Gordon's fast lap of 190.865 mph broke the race qualifying mark of 190.365 set last year by Bobby Labonte. But it fell short of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s track qualifying record of 191.149 at the August race in 2000.
It was Gordon's second pole of the season and the 48th of his career.
Hendrick in sweep
He led a sweep of the top three spots by Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets, with rookie Brian Vickers second at 190.169 and Jimmie Johnson at 190.164.
"I'm really proud of the way these teams have worked together, the open-book policy, the chemistry," Gordon said.
The 20-year-old Vickers might have had a second career pole if he had listened to Gordon.
"I'm always seeking advice when I go to Jeff Gordon," Vickers said. "He told me one thing not to do and that was to ask too much out of the car and go to the gas too soon. He said the car would get tight.
"I did that anyway in turns three and four, and that's probably what cost us the pole. Obviously, he applied that wisdom a little better than I did."
Johnson was disappointed, too.
"Your first goal is the pole," said Johnson, coming off a victory last Sunday at Pocono and heading into Sunday's race just 58 points behind series leader Earnhardt in the standings.
"Today, we felt we had a shot at the pole and we thought our lap would hold up," he added. "We came close but, if you don't win it, you re-evaluate and think about the race."
Newman is fourth
Ryan Newman's Dodge was fourth on Friday at 190.064, followed by the Chevy of Robby Gordon at 189.954, the Dodge of rookie Brendan Gaughan at 189.868 and the Ford of defending race winner Kurt Busch at 189.833.
Earnhardt will start 11th in Sunday's race, alongside Bobby Labonte, who qualified 12th after winning both poles here in 2003.
The series leader loves the two-mile, high-banked Michigan oval, but he is still struggling to get his car handling as well as he'd like.
"This track is real nice -- just as long as you get a good car," Earnhardt said. "No place is any fun unless your car is handling real good and driving real good. We'll work on race trim tomorrow and, hopefully, I'll get that lucky this weekend."
Kahne has sub-par day
Rookie Kasey Kahne, who leads the series with four poles this season, had a rare off day, qualifying 34th.
"The track was hotter for qualifying, but that's just part of it," Kahne said. "We just got a lot too loose. I couldn't turn the wheel. We just missed it. I couldn't carry enough speed into the corners."
Kerry Earnhardt, Junior's older half brother, failed to make the 43-car field, coming up short on speed with a lap of 185.242.
The elder Earnhardt is running a limited Cup scheduled with Richard Childress Racing, the team for which his late father won six of his seven Cup championships.