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Dover Pole Gives Gordon Lift

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 20, 2008

DOVER, Del. - Jeff Gordon is looking for small victories.

Winning the pole at Dover International Speedway was a nice one to get.

The four-time Cup champion took the top spot with a lap of 157.061 mph Friday, a sorely needed lift as he tries to snap his season-long winless drought and make a big move up the Chase for the Championship standings.

Gordon is 11th in the points race, 99 points behind co-leaders Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.

"We're certainly not out of the championship, we understand that," Gordon said. "It's too early to ever count yourself out of that. We're too good of a team to every count ourselves out. We would never do that mentally."

Seven Chase drivers will start in the top 11 of Sunday's Camping World RV 400. Denny Hamlin starts third, Greg Biffle fifth, Clint Bowyer sixth, Matt Kenseth eighth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10th, and Kyle Busch is 11th.

"There's no doubt he's as good as Jimmie Johnson is," Hamlin said. "Why isn't he winning races? I don't know."

Gordon isn't terribly sure, either.

He has nine top-five finishes but hasn't been able to drive the No. 24 Chevrolet into Victory Lane. He was 14th last week in the first race in the Chase and hasn't won a race since last October. Gordon does have four career wins at Dover on the mile concrete track, but none since 2001.

Sprint Cup lineup, Page 15

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