After qualifying was rained out three straight weeks, with NASCAR lining up the cars by points, Gordon won the pole for Sunday's Dickies 500 on the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway oval. His fast lap of 188.469 mph relegated early leader Martin Truex Jr. to second at 188.003 in the 43-car field.
It was the fourth pole of the season for the four-time series champion, as well as the 67th of his career. But it was Gordon's first pole in 16 tries at Texas.
"Texas has not been our best track, so this is really good," said Gordon, whose only last-place finishes have both been at Texas, including finishing 43rd here last spring.
"It's a great start to the weekend," Gordon noted. "I'm always optimistic any time we go to any racetrack, whether we've been good or bad. As a race team we're just good enough to overcome anything that tries to tear us down.
"I came in here knowing that we've made huge changes and gains with our race package and our cars. The first lap on the track is always the first sign of where you are. The first lap I thought, `Well, this thing feels pretty good, just too tight.' We kept freeing it up and the car just kept getting faster and faster.
"It's a fantastic feeling and I'm still pretty shocked we came here and the car felt as good as it has today."
Gordon said he definitely didn't expect to win the pole Friday.
"The irony of it is the last three weeks not being able to qualify at tracks where I thought we had a pretty good chance to win the pole, and then to come here and win the pole at a track where I didn't really think we had a chance to win it," added Gordon, who is winless this season despite qualifying for the Chase for the championship. "I can't wait for Sunday."
Texas and Homestead, where the Cup drivers finish the season, are the only tracks on the current schedule at which Gordon, who has 81 career victories, has not won.
Series leader and defending race winner Jimmie Johnson, who started from the top spot after each of the rainouts, won't have the benefit of the first pick of pit positions this week after qualifying seventh.
Clint Bowyer, another of the 12 drivers in the Chase, was third, followed by Jamie McMurray and four more Chasers: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Johnson and Tony Stewart.
