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BROOKLYN, Mich. - In 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 said. "Today was a day to push it because the car was just about perfect."
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. 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.
BUSCH: Martin Truex won the pole for the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway, topping a record-setting qualifying session.
Truex, the series points leader, reached a top speed of 180.102 mph in his Chevrolet around the 11/2-mile track in warm, humid conditions. He broke the track and event record held for barely 15 minutes by Kyle Busch, who turned in a lap of 179.832 mph in his Chevrolet.
Kenny Wallace, the first driver to qualify his car, initially broke the mark with an opening lap of 178.089 mph, also in a Chevrolet. But he eventually qualified only sixth, as defending race champion Bobby Hamilton Jr. (179.605 mph), Jason Leffler (178.992) and Robby Gordon (178.093) passed him after Truex and Busch qualified for today's race.
Stacy Compton set the former record of 176.384 mph last year. Thirteen drivers exceeded that speed in qualifying Friday.
CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS: Jack Sprague earned his 22nd career pole with a lap of 118.917 mph at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Sprague's Chevrolet Silverado was 0.02 seconds better than Ted Musgrave's Dodge at the .75-mile oval. Musgrave earned the second spot in today's O'Reilly 200. He was the pole winner and second place finisher last week at Texas Motor Speedway.
Sprague is the first driver to win more than one pole this season. He was the fast qualifier in April at Martinsville Speedway.
CHAMP CARS: Bruno Junqueira added a point to his slim series lead over Patrick Carpentier by winning the provisional pole for the Grand Prix of Portland.
Junqueira earned one point for his fast lap of 59.266 seconds, at an average speed of 119.603 mph, on the road course at Portland International Raceway.
With the provisional pole, Junqueira upped his series total to 77, two points ahead of Carpentier.
FORMULA ONE: Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello posted the best lap on the first day of practice - 1 minute, 10.365 seconds. His teammate, six-time world champ Michael Schumacher, had the fourth fastest time (1:11.036).
NHRA: Rookie Eric Medlen topped Funny Car qualifying in the SuperNationals, completing a quarter-mile run in 4.830 seconds at a top speed of 317.72 mph. Brandon Bernstein, Greg Anderson and Andrew Hines also topped their divisions.