Chasers take five of top-10 spots in Texas qualifying

Jeff Gordon has never won at Texas, one of just a few tracks to have that distinction. It's not one of his better places, either, as his average finish is 17.1, 10th among the 12 Chase drivers.

None of that mattered Friday, as Gordon threw a Halloween scare into the rest of the field by winning the pole for the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Despite never having won at TMS, Gordon does have five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 15 starts, and he came close in 2002 by finishing second. His lap at 188.363 mph put the No. 24 Chevrolet on the pole for the first time at the Texas track.

It was a big day for Chasers, as half of the 12 drivers will start Sunday's Dickies 500 in the top 10.

The third Richard Childress Racing car in the Chase, Clint Bowyer, ran a lap at 187.865 to start third. Bowyer has a fifth-place run in five starts to go along with two top-10 finishes, and his average finish is a seventh-best 13.8.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first points race at Texas back in 2000 and hasn't tasted Victory Lane there since. He has two poles, the victory, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 12 starts, and his average finish is fourth among Chasers at 12.8. He'll start fifth after his lap at 187.748 mph.

Kenseth, who trails Tony Stewart in laps led among Chasers by just nine, put his Ford in at an average speed of 187.428, good for sixth on Sunday's grid. He has a victory, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 12 starts, and he's second in average finish to point leader Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson will start seventh on Sunday by virtue of his run at 187.402. As is most often the case, Johnson is quite good at Texas, posting a victory, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 10 starts on the 1.5-mile oval. His average finish of 8.5 is 1.667 positions better than Kenseth's 10.167. His victory came in this race last year, on his way to a second consecutive title.

Stewart, one of those Atlanta-Texas double dippers, will start eighth in his Toyota after a run at 187.246. Smoke has a victory, three top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 13 starts, and his lone triumph came in the fall of 2006. He's led a Chase-best 452 laps at TMS and his average finish is 13.0, fifth in the Chase.

It was a short drop-off to the rest of the Chasers, led by points runner-up Carl Edwards.

Edwards has been good at Texas, winning twice in seven starts, but his average finish is 15.7, which is eighth among the Chase drivers. He'll start 16th in his No. 99 Ford after his lap at 186.541.

Edwards won at TMS in the spring, and is coming off a victory at Atlanta. The last three drivers to win Atlanta's fall race have gone on to win at Texas the following week.

Denny Hamlin is coming off a third-place run at Atlanta, and he runs well at Texas, averaging 10.7 per finish in six starts. He has a pair of top-fives, including his best finish of fourth in the spring of 2006, and five top-10s. His lone finish outside the top 10 was a 29th in this race last year after leading 45 laps. He'll start 17th in his Toyota after a lap at 186.509 mph.

Greg Biffle has also won at Texas, doing so in 2005, but that's been the bright spot for him there. In nine starts, he has a pole, the victory, one more top-10 finish and four DNFs. That adds up to an average finish of 26.1, worst of the Chasers by nearly nine spots. Biffle drove his Ford to a lap at 186.490 and will start 19th.

Kevin Harvick will start 23rd in his Chevrolet after a lap at 186.297. Harvick's best finish at TMS is third, in this race back in 2006, and he has two top-fives and four top-10s in 11 starts. Harvick has an average finish of 13.4, good for sixth among Chasers.

Kyle Busch finished third at TMS in the spring, giving him three top-five finishes in seven starts. He's led 205 laps there, and his average finish is 17.7, 11th out of the 12 Chasers. Those top-fives have all come in the last four races, and he led 153 laps in this race last year before finishing fourth. Busch will roll off 29th after his lap of 185.739.

Harvick's teammate at RCR, Jeff Burton, is another driver who has fired off the ceremonial pistols in Victory Lane at TMS -- and worn the hat. He has two victories at TMS in 15 starts, along with three top-fives and seven top-10s. His average finish is a ninth-best 16.2, and he'll start 38th after his Chevrolet clicked off a lap at 184.754.