Martinsville, Va. ? Jeff Gordon followed his best race of the season with his best qualifying effort, rebounding from slow practice speeds to win the pole Friday for the Virginia 500.

The defending Winston Cup champion, just sixth in points after seven races, turned a lap at 94.161 mph under cloudy skies at Martinsville Speedway, the oldest and shortest track in NASCAR’s premier series.

It is his second pole of the season, the 41st of his career and the least probable after his Chevrolet was only 25th-fastest in practice. Gordon’s lap bumped Bobby Hamilton to the outside of the front row after a lap at 94.092 mph, and helped give Chevrolet the top four spots. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start third, even after spinning out and only putting one lap on the board. Terry Labonte will start fourth.