Gordon wins pole with new car

Jeff Gordon won the first pole of the Car of Tomorrow era, putting his Chevrolet Impala in the top starting spot at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday at Bristol, Tenn.

Gordon ran a lap at 125.453 mph to win his fifth career pole at Bristol. He beat Evernham Motorsports teammates Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler, who qualified second and third in Dodge Avengers.

Kahne posted a lap at 125.313 mph, while Sadler came in at 125.183.

“Did I mention how much I love the Car of Tomorrow?” joked Gordon, critical of the car during its developmental stage.

“I’ve said the whole time, whether I like the car or not, we are going to do our best to be competitive. I don’t care what the car is.”

•The show went on at Bristol Motor Speedway without Mark Martin.

The Nextel Cup points leader lived up to his word and handed the keys to his car to newcomer Regan Smith, snapping his streak of 621 consecutive starts.

As Martin moved to the top of the leader board, where he holds an eight-point advantage over Jeff Gordon, many questioned whether he would get out of the car, likely forfeiting his chance at the Cup title that has eluded him over 19 full seasons.

But come Sunday, Martin will be at a cookout with friends and family at his Daytona Beach home, watching the race on TV.

IndyCar

Dan Wheldon turned the tables on Sam Hornish Jr. at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., taking the pole position for the season-opening IndyCar Series race from the driver who beat him out – barely – for the 2006 series championship.

Hornish won his third title last season, keeping Wheldon from winning his second, in a tiebreaker. Hornish grabbed the crown because he won four races to Wheldon’s two.

At Homestead, where Hornish has won three times and Wheldon has won the last two IndyCar races, it was nearly as close in qualifying, with Wheldon’s fast lap of 214.322 just fast enough to beat Hornish’s 214.298. The time difference between the two fast laps on the 1.5-mile oval was .0028-seconds.

NHRA

NHRA driver Eric Medlen died Friday, five days after sustaining a severe head injury in a crash during a test session at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla.

The 33-year-old Medlen, who drove for John Force Racing, never regained consciousness after crashing his Funny Car into a guardrail on Monday at the Florida track.

Medlen underwent brain surgery Tuesday night to relieve the pressure and hemorrhaging and was being kept in a drug-induced coma to promote healing. But doctors said he never showed any improvement.

•Grand American Racing Series crewman Ty Manseau, hit in the head by a tire at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was expected to be released from a Miami hospital.

The 43-year-old from Duluth, Minn. was hit by a tire that came off a Mustang driven by Alex Tagliani as he left pit lane.