"We weren't waiting," said Gordon, smiling. "We were working hard every weekend. And you know we've been very close. ... But the fact that we did get it and to do it here at Texas, a track where we have struggled at until recently, this is a great place to do it. We're focused on ending this season the best we possibly can."

Only David Pearson and Richard Petty have longer streaks than Gordon of seasons with a pole. Pearson went 20 consecutive seasons (1963 to 1982) and Petty had 18 (1960 to 1977).

Gordon is third in points, 192 behind Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson, who drives the No. 48 Chevrolet on which Gordon is listed as the owner. Johnson is vying for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season title and needs to average a 10th-place finish the last three races to get it.

Mark Martin, another Hendrick driver, is second, eight points ahead of Gordon's No. 24. Martin qualified seventh and Johnson 12th for Sunday's race.

Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch qualified second and third in Dodges, and Tony Stewart was fourth in his No. 14 Chevrolet.

When Gordon won at Texas in April, it broke a 47-race winless drought and gave him a victory at one of the two active tracks where the four-time series champion had never won. The other is Homestead, where the season finale is in two weeks.

Gordon also started on the pole last November in Texas, when he finished second. He started second in April before finally winning on his 17th try at the "tricky track" where he has the only two last-place finishes in his 578 career starts.

• NASCAR TRUCKS -- At Fort Worth, Texas, Kyle Busch started his Texas tripleheader with another truck series victory.

Busch has won each of his last five truck races, extending the streak that began at Bristol in August by beating Matt Crafton by 0.725 seconds at the 11/2-mile, high-banked Texas track. Busch has won seven times in 13 starts this season in the No. 51 Toyota and been outside the top two only three times.

Series points leader Ron Hornaday was third, nearly 10 seconds behind Crafton, his closest competitor for the season title. Hornaday has a 197-point lead with two races left.

Busch passed Hornaday on lap 98, the bump move between turns 3 and 4 getting Hornaday loose, though he managed to keep the No. 33 Chevrolet off the wall.

• NASCAR NATIONWIDE -- At Fort Worth, Texas, Matt Kenseth will start on the pole for today's Nationwide series race, five spots ahead of points leader Kyle Busch.

Kenseth gained his first pole in his 13 Nationwide races this season, the 16th in his career, with a qualifying lap of 187.201 mph in his Ford. David Ragan also will start his Ford on the front row.