Chase drivers take seven of top 11 qualifying positions

The Camping World RV 400 at Dover International Speedway is run on Sunday, but the battle for the top spot began on Friday.

The better the qualifying lap, the better the pit choice, and given Dover's tight, busy pit road, that might be the biggest factor of all in determining how Sunday will turn out.

Jeff Gordon wanted that first pit stall, and he got it. After leading practice at better than 156 mph, he posted a lap at 22.921 seconds (157.061 mph) to knock Greg Biffle off the pole and destroy a string of what had been four Fords at the top of the lineup.

"It all starts on Friday -- getting a good run and a good pit stall is the key," Gordon said after his run. "Getting a good spot helps keep you out of trouble, especially that No. 1 stall."

Seven of the Chase drivers put their cars in the top 11, while the remaining five were 20th or worse.

Denny Hamlin, the next car out after Gordon, promptly booted Biffle back to third with a lap at 23.001, 156.515 mph in his Toyota.

Gordon is the active leader in victories at Dover with four in 31 starts, but he hasn't won since 2001, his last championship season. He's been in the top five 14 times and the top 10 on 19 occasions, and Friday's pole was his fourth. Gordon also tops the active drivers in laps led at Dover with 2,201.

Hamlin has just five starts at Dover, two of them ending up with top-10 finishes including a fourth-place in the June race last year. His average finish, however, is a Chase-worst 21.0, and he'll start third on Sunday.

Biffle took the top spot early as the eighth car out during the session. His lap at 23.035 seconds, 156.284 mph was quite a bit quicker than his practice lap, which was good for fifth-fastest overall. He wound up fifth at the end of the session.

"It was a really great lap," Biffle said. "I screwed up a little on the first lap -- normally that's your fastest lap, so when you can pick up a little on your second lap, that's pretty good."

Biffle won at Dover during his breakout 2005 season, and he has four top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 12 starts. His finishing average of 12.1 is fourth-best among Chasers.

Clint Bowyer posted the sixth-fastest time in qualifying at 23.125, 155.676 mph in his Chevrolet. Bowyer has two eighth-place finishes in five starts and his average finish of 16.2 is eighth of the 12 Chasers.

Matt Kenseth is not a great qualifier, and he needs a solid run Sunday to gain back some of the points he lost at New Hampshire. The Wisconsin driver launched a lap at 23.145, 155.541 mph in the No. 17 Ford, which put him third at the time and eighth at the end. (Continued)