KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? In the unpredictable sport of NASCAR, Matt Kenseth knows never to become too happy with where he stands.

“I never try to get overly confident because these races are very difficult to win and be competitive in every week,” Kenseth said, “but we’ve got as good a car as we’ve ever had.”

Kenseth and his DeWalt Power Tools Ford team showed the strength of their car Saturday, taking the pole for today’s Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway.

The speed – 180.856 mph – broke the previous track record of 180.373 mph set by Jimmie Johnson in 2003.

“I feel real confident in my car,” Kenseth said, “but performance isn’t always enough, and the fastest car doesn’t always win.”

It was the second time this season that Kenseth has taken a pole in a Nextel Cup Series race. He is seventh in the Chase for the Championship, trailing leader Tony Stewart by 111 points.

Elliott Sadler had the second-fastest lap of the day, coming up just short of the first position after posting a speed of 180.717 mph.

“I really wanted to get a pole,” Sadler said. “That’s as fast as I can run.”

Jeff Gordon continued his string of success at Kansas Speedway, finishing third in the qualifying with a speed of 180.469 mph. He is the only Cup driver to post multiple victories at Kansas Speedway.

“Even though we were able to run a fast lap, I had to be careful,” Gordon said. “I couldn’t be super-aggressive with it.”

That’s because earlier he saw other drivers – including United Way 300 race winner Kasey Kahne – wreck earlier during the Banquet 400 qualifying.

“We saw guys running fast but then getting in trouble at the same time,” Gordon said. “We really didn’t know what to expect out there. We went a little more toward the conservative side, and it paid off for us.”

Stewart, who leads by four points in the championship standings over second-place Ryan Newman, will start in row five with the ninth-best time.

• Kenseth snares pole, record
• Kahne able in Busch victory

“I think we established momentum over the last three months, but it is just important to keep it right now,” Stewart said. “We just need to go out and keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

Scott Wimmer and Carl Edwards will run fourth and fifth in today’s race. The top five qualifiers all beat the previous track record set in 2003, and Kevin Lepage (sixth) tied the mark.

Edwards will look to perform well today in front of friends and family from Columbia, Mo.

“We’ve got a car that can win this race, so that’s the most important thing,” Edwards said. “If I could leave here (today) as the victor, that would mean so much to me.”