Jeff Gordon wins pole at Michigan with record lap of 206 miles per hour

BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 15: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, celebrates with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 15, 2014 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 15:  Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, celebrates with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 15, 2014 in Brooklyn, Michigan.  (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 15: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, celebrates with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 15, 2014 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Robert Reiners/Getty Images)

Following up last week, Jeff Gordon won his second pole of the season and his second in a row with blistering lap at the 2 mile Michigan International Speedway Friday.  The lap of 34.857 seconds, 206.558 mph bested the previous record of 204.557 mph set by Kevin Harvick this past June.

“I don’t know how to make it much better than that,” Gordon said. “Our first qualifying effort today, and practice, was not good. I’ve been hearing a lot about tire chatter and we had it big-time. The next run out we made some adjustments and it was better. That whole qualifying session, from the first one, second one, and third session, the car was just near perfect.”

Joey Logano held the top spot first during the final session with a lap of 206.381, until Gordon’s lap relegated him to second.

“Close but didn’t quite make it. Once again ,” Logano said. That is our seventh front row start this year, which we are very proud of don’t get me wrong. It takes a lot of effort to do that but we only have one pole. That is frustrating. That means that is a lot of second place starting positions. We were close again and just weren’t able to do it.” MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.