Gordon wins pole for NASCAR season finale

Jeff Gordon has come back from his disappointing elimination from the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field by winning pole for Sunday’s NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

He turned a lap at 290.884km/h in Friday qualifying to earn the top starting spot for a race that became meaningless to his season after he crossed the finish line last week at Phoenix.

Gordon came second and was in the field of four drivers for the championship race but was knocked out seconds later by Ryan Newman.

Using an aggressive pass of Kyle Larson coming out of the final turn, Newman picked up the one position he needed to knock Gordon from the championship race by one point.

Gordon will race only for the trophy on Sunday, while Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Newman will compete for the title.

“It hit me hard when I crossed the line at Phoenix. I think I was just really in disbelief for a good 24 hours that we did everything so right and didn’t make it. That disappointment was definitely there throughout the week.

“I think even if we win this race on Sunday, that’s only going to make it hurt a little bit more in some ways because we could have won the championship if we were here.”

Gordon, a four-time winner this season and the points leader for most of the year, was seeking his fifth championship. Now he’s just trying to close out the season on a high note for his Hendrick Motorsports team.

The first step was winning the 200th pole for the Hendrick organisation. Kurt Busch qualified second and was followed by Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski.

“I think the way we’re looking at this weekend is we want to finish this season on the best note possible,” Gordon said. “It’s been a tremendous season for us.”

Harvick will lead the title contenders on Sunday by starting fifth. Hamlin will start eighth and Logano is 12th. Newman was the worst qualifier at 21st.

The champion will be the highest-finishing driver among the four on Sunday, and it will be the first Cup title for whoever wins.

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