Carl Edwards won his first pole in almost two years Friday by turning a fast lap of 132.773 mph around the mile oval in his Roush Fenway Ford. Martin Truex Jr., who had the pole last week in Texas and finished third, qualified second at 132.758.

It was Edwards' first pole start since Homestead in 2005.

"Three-thousandths of a second is a little tough to swallow," Truex said. "That's the third time we've been second by about that much this year."

Jeff Gordon, who trails Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson by 30 points in the Nextel Cup standings, qualified third under overcast conditions in the desert. Gordon is a three-time Phoenix pole winner and won here in April to tie the late Dale Earnhardt on NASCAR's career wins list.

"I'm happy that we're third," Gordon said. "We'd rather be first, but I'm glad I'm not 10th or 15th or further back. With this car at this race track, it just seems like unless you've really found something good, it's hard to come up through the field."

Johnson will start sixth.