Homestead: Robby Gordon qualifying report

Robby Gordon and his Menards/Energizer Chevy to Start 35th in Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 17, 2006) -- Robby Gordon's lap of 30.812 seconds (175.256 mph) around the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway placed him a disappointing 35th on the grid for Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series finale, the Ford 400.

Only getting the opportunity to run one qualifying lap, Gordon suffered his fourth engine failure is as many week in the middle of his second lap.

"The car was loose coming to the green which unfortunately scrubbed a lot of speed down the straights," said Gordon. "I tried to really work it on my second lap until the motor popped on the backstretch. We've had a couple of issues over the last few weeks with our motors and hopefully that's the last of them. The car was decent though in race trim in first practice, so we'll take our practice sessions tomorrow and get the car to where we need it to be."

Kasey Kahne captured the pole with a time of 30.293 seconds. Scott Riggs, Kyle Busch, Elliott Sadler, and Jeff Burton rounded out the top five.

-credit: rgm