Washington state native Kasey Kahne ran to the top of the qualifying charts in Friday's NASCAR Sprint Cup action in Sonoma, Calif.

The Spokesman- Review

NASCAR: On this wine country visit, Kasey Kahne picked up where he left off.

Throwing his No. 9 Ford all over the track, Kahne muscled his way onto the pole for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

On his last visit to Sonoma in 2009, he won this race.

Kahne wrung as much as he could out of Infineon’s twisting 10-turn, 1.99-mile course, completing his lap in 76.300 seconds (93.893 mph).

More surprising than Kahne’s pole was the performance of four-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Winless on road courses, he’ll start second in the No. 48 Chevrolet after just missing the pole with a 93.809 mph lap.

In the No. 2 Dodge, Kurt Busch will start third followed by Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon. Australia’s Marcos Ambrose starts sixth.

Mattias Ekstrom will start 38th, marking the first time a Swedish driver will compete in a Cup race.

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