Good news for Gordon fans: he's not only on pole, but he set a Sprint Cup track record for Las Vegas Motor Speedway doing it. According to USA Today, Gordon's car hit a speed of 194.679 mph in a 27.738-second lap of the 1.5-mile speedway. I wouldn't be surprised if the back end of his car is now plaid.
Gordon will start Sunday's Kobalt 400 alongside Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano. According to Autoweek, Gordon wasn't the only one who broke the old track record this weekend. Nine drivers who made it to the third and final round broke that record as well. The new aerodynamics/car package for 2015 reduces the car's horsepower, but also reduces the amount of downforce. The result? Lightning fast speeds.
The key to Gordon's success in qualifying? "There was a lot of wide-open throttle there," he explained after qualifying, as quoted by Autoweek.
This is the first time Gordon has ever won pole at Las Vegas, however, it was second pole Gordon has scored this year after winning pole at the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, he didn't get his car through tech in time to try for pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Similar inspection hang-ups hampered this week's qualifying session, however, all the cars were able to make it out onto pit road in time this week.
Can we not collect him in a big NASPILE this weekend? Let the man enjoy his last season in NASCAR already!
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