Phoenix, AZ (Best E Casino) - In 16 career starts, Jeff Gordon has never won on the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway, but on Thursday night he took a big step towards breaking the streak by winning the pole for Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500.

Gordon, driving the No.24 DuPont Chevrolet, circled the flat oval in 27.040 seconds (133.136 m.p.h.) for his second pole in three races, third of the season and 59th of his stellar career. The victory ties him for fourth overall with Darrell Waltrip. Richard Petty holds the all-time mark with 126 pole wins.

"Qualifying has been going well for us, but the way practice went I never dreamed we would be on the pole today," said Gordon. "That's a huge accomplishment for this race team, it shows what kind of team we have right now."

Starting alongside Gordon will be the much improved Jamie McMurray (27.154) in the No.26 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. After a horrible first season, McMurray has rebounded in 2007 and sits 10th overall. It is the first time he has been in the top-10 since September 2005. McMurray started the season with two sub-30th finishes but since has posted four top-10s in five starts.

Denny Hamlin (27.156) and Scott Riggs (27.203) will make up row two with Jimmie Johnson starting fifth.

Other drivers of note and their starting positions on the grid: Kurt Busch (6th), Kevin Harvick (8th), Tony Stewart (9th), Kasey Kahne (10th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (15th), Matt Kenseth (17th) and Mark Martin (20th).

This is the eighth race of the season and the third with the "Car of Tomorrow."

The first race with the COT was a rather dull affair at the usually exciting Bristol Motor Speedway. Even Martin, who watched the race on television, wasn't a fan.

"I thought the COT handled poorly enough that the guys actually didn't run over each other because they didn't have good control of their car," Martin said. "It was a cleaner race than what we normally see because the cars were so hard to control, they weren't able to get in there and mix it up."

The series then went to Martinsville where the racing improved and we watched a very exciting stretch run between Johnson and Gordon. Gordon was beating and banging on Johnson's rear bumper over the final 30 laps but couldn't unnerve the defending series champion and finished second.

This race might be the best of the three. The event is scheduled to drop the green flag on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. (et).