Sonoma, Calif. ? Tony Stewart took the first step toward defending his title in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 by winning the pole Friday on the road course at Sears Point Raceway.

Stewart had not won a pole in 58 races, dating back to Martinsville Speedway nearly two years ago. At Sears Point last year, he qualified with third.

Tony Stewart smiles after winning the pole Friday for the Dodge/Save Mart 350. Stewart is the defending champion for Sunday's race at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

“Coming to a road course to me is somewhat of a luxury,” Stewart said. “It’s not another mile-and-a-half oval.”

Stewart’s lap of 93.476 mph on the scenic wine country course also gave Pontiac its first pole of the season.

“I don’t think it’s any secret to anyone that we’ve been struggling lately,” he said. “But the nice thing about here is that horsepower and body styles don’t matter a lot.

“It’s a matter of who gets the mechanical balance and what drivers get used to the racetrack.”

Stewart has started in the top 10 in nine races this year, including six of the last seven events.

Kurt Busch went from a provisional entry last year to the second-best qualifier this year with a lap of 93.184. Fellow Ford driver Jeff Burton beat four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon with a lap of 93.166.

Gordon, who has won at Sears Point for three of the last four years and holds the NASCAR record with seven career road course victories, went 93.141 mph in a new, specially designed Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

“It was a decent lap, but I know we’ve got more in the car,” he said.

Burton, who will have his second top-10 start of the year on Sunday, conquered the 10-turn, two-mile track keeping it simple.

“What’s made me a better road-course driver is just driving the darn thing,” he said. “Just drive like a teen-ager when you’re parents aren’t watching.”

Bill Elliott rounded out the top five with a lap of 93.116 in his Dodge.

In nine career starts at Sears Point, Gordon has three wins, three poles, six top-five finishes and seven top-10s.

Last year, Gordon had the pole for the race and led the first 32 laps. But Stewart, who qualified third, slipped under Robby Gordon while exiting the track’s famed Chute and led the final 10 laps for the win.

He’s qualified well at Sears Point, starting second in 1999, fourth in 2000 and then third last year. Four times the pole sitter has gone on to win at Sears Point.

“It’s not so much of an advantage, but it gives the drivers a little more of a luxury of taking care of their cars,” he said. “They’re not working hard to get to the front. They’re already there. So they don’t have to abuse their brakes, they don’t have to abuse their tires.”

Dale Jarrett opted not to qualify after experiencing problems with his Ford in the morning practice. That means he’ll be a provisional entry with a 37th-place start on Sunday.

Jarrett, who had the pole last weekend in Brooklyn, Mich., said the problem began with the oil pump, and that eventually he had to change engines.

“This track has changed and with me not having made a full lap, we decided to sit tight and get ready for practice in the morning,” Jarrett said. “With me having to go to the back and with all the pits being together now, there was no reason to go out and take a chance of something happening.”