LONG POND, Pa., June 11 (UPI) -- Kasey Kahne rebounded from his embarrassing finish last week at Dover with a superlative lap at the Pocono 500.
Kahne grabbed his fourth pole of the season Friday with a Pocono Raceway track record of 172.533 miles per hour in qualifying for the Nextel Cup race.
The Dodge Intrepid driver took over the Nextel Cup lead in poles by breaking the track qualifying record of 172.391 mph set by Tony Stewart in 2000.
At last week's MBNA America 400, Kahne led with 18 laps to go but skidded on oil left on the track by Casey Mears and crashed.
Another rookie, Brian Vickers, took the second spot, recording a lap of 172.308 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Joe Nemechek qualified third in his Chevrolet while last week's winner, Mark Martin, qualified fourth for Sunday's race in a Ford.
Jimmie Johnson was fifth, followed by Jeff Gordon, Jeremy Mayfield, Stewart, Greg Biffle and Dale Jarrett.
Points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 16th.
