Kahne sets bar early for pole position at Infineon

SONOMA, Calif. -- Kasey Kahne, a driver who's never had a top-10 finish in a Sprint Cup race on a road course, will have a leg up on breaking that drought Sunday, having claimed the pole for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Lineup

Toyota/Save Mart 350

Pos.	Driver	Speed	Time
1.	K. Kahne	92.153	77.740
2.	J. Johnson	92.040	77.836
3.	Ku. Busch	92.005	77.865
4.	B. Labonte	91.943	77.918
5.	J. Gordon	91.923	77.935
6.	E. Sadler	91.843	78.003
7.	M. Ambrose	91.819	78.023
8.	R. Gordon	91.732	78.097
9.	R. Newman	91.519	78.279
10.	G. Biffle	91.448	78.340

• Lineup | Videos | Photos

Though Kahne has never finished better than 23rd at Infineon, he turned a lap in 77.740 seconds (92.153 mph) in Friday's qualifying session (watch video) to edge Jimmie Johnson (92.040 mph) for the top starting spot. The pole was Kahne's second this year and the 16th of his Cup career.

Working on last year's notes after a disappointing practice session, Kurt Busch qualified third at 92.005 mph. Bobby Labonte (91.943 mph) will start fourth, followed by Jeff Gordon (91.923 mph), a five-time winner at the 1.99-mile road course.

Elliott Sadler, Marcos Ambrose, Robby Gordon, Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle will start from positions 6 through 10. Driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford, Ambrose will make his Cup debut in Sunday's race.

For the third consecutive year, Kahne qualified in the top eight at Infineon, but his race results haven't matched his starting positions.

"We've always raced good here for the first 70 laps," said Kahne, who has two wins and a second-place finish in his past four Cup points races. "This year, we're trying to make sure we're more prepared than we have been in the past. I've always liked this place, and I like Watkins Glen [the other road course on the Cup circuit].

"We've been really fast at both places at times. If we just put a full race together, we'll be fine."

Johnson had a pole-winning lap going until he lost time through Turns 10 and 11 of the 12-turn track (watch video).

"I had a little trouble in Turn 10, got a little loose off Turn 10," Johnson said. "... we just worked on qualifying trim, so I have no idea how our race setup will be. But I'm sure we'll have a great racecar."

Notes: Subbing for Kyle Petty in the No. 45 Dodge, Terry Labonte qualified 11th. When he takes the green flag on Sunday, he'll be the only Cup driver to have started all 20 races at Infineon. ... Tony Stewart, a two-time winner at Infineon, qualified 39th, his worst starting position of the season. ... Defending race winner Juan Montoya, who started 32nd last year, qualified 21st. ... Kyle Busch got a rare do-over during qualifying after the tape placed over the cowling (air intake) at the base of his windshield was left in place on his first qualifying attempt. Busch ran 90.656 mph with the tape on but improved only marginally, to 90.794 mph, with the tape removed on his second attempt. (watch video) The Cup points leader will start 30th. ... J.J. Yeley, Scott Riggs, Dario Franchitti and Brandon Ash failed to qualify for the race.