LONG POND, Pa. -- Following two consecutive weeks without a Hendrick Motorsports car making the final round of qualifying, Friday's Pocono qualifying session produced welcome results.
Three Hendrick Motorsports drivers made the third and final round and will start the race in the top 12, led by Jeff Gordon in fourth.
The session was not without an interesting ending. When a competitor spun out in the final round of qualifying, a red flag was thrown with less than 40 seconds remaining. At that point, only seven of the 12 participants had recorded a lap, and Gordon was the only one of the three Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the round to complete a lap.
That left him with a fourth-place starting position for Sunday's race in the No. 24 Axalta/Penn State Chevrolet SS.
Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne, meanwhile, were two of the five drivers left without enough time to record a lap in the final round. Johnson, in the No. 48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet SS, was given a ninth-place starting position. Kahne, in the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, will begin the race 12th. The ranking was based on their finishes in the second round.
"We'll take that without even making a lap," Johnson said. "I'm highly confused on many levels, but we're starting the best we have in a long time, so I'll take whatever it is in the Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will roll off the grid 20th in the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS.
"We had pretty good speed in practice, and just the driver didn't do a good job," he said of his qualifying effort.
Kurt Busch -- utilizing a Hendrick Motorsports engine and chassis -- earned the pole position.