Carl Edwards grabs Bristol pole position

BRISTOL, Tenn., Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Carl Edwards continued his summer momentum Friday by capturing the pole position for Saturday's Sprint Cup Sharpie 500 at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

The No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing driver earned a pole position for the first time this season and the fourth time in his career by circling the 0.533-mile, high-banked oval in 15.746 seconds (121.860 miles per hour).

"That's cool," Edwards said. "I honestly didn't expect to have this be a place where I could sit on the pole. This is just an awesome car."

Edwards, the race's defending champion, has won two of the last three Sprint Cup races, including last Sunday's 3M Performance at Brooklyn, Mich.

David Reutimann will start on the outside pole after a time of 15.835 seconds.

Jeff Gordon (15.842) and rookie Regan Smith (15.847) make up row two.

Edwards is second in the latest standings, trailing leader Kyle Busch by 222 points.