RIDGEWAY, Va. – Jeff Gordon will start the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup from the top five.
The driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS led his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in Friday’s qualifying session, earning a fifth-place start.
Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified back-to-back in 21st and 22nd, respectively. The No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS and No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS will roll off the grid side-by-side on Sunday.
While he also was able to advance to the second round of qualifying, Kasey Kahne made contact with the wall during the first round.
"I ruined a pretty good car -- a really good car, actually,” Kahne said, noting that the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet SS “wheel-hopped” to cause the incident.
He did not make a lap in the second round, officially qualifying 24th.
“We were good in practice in our Great Clips Chevrolet and I know we would’ve been good there,” he said.
The No. 5 team will move to a backup car and Kahne will begin Sunday's race at Martinsville from the rear of the field.