LOUDON, New Hampshire: Jeff Gordon came into the media center after winning the pole in New Hampshire and found that the moderator was not yet at his post.
No problem: Gordon began interviewing himself.
The four-time NASCAR champion was in a familiar position at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday after qualifying for his 72nd career pole position. Gordon will be joined in the front row by Kyle Busch, with Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers behind them.
“I think we surprised ourselves a little bit with this pole,” said Gordon, whose last championship was in 2001 — before the current Sprint Cup format. “This is something we didn’t expect. Think we expected to be strong in the race here, but for qualifying, we haven’t sat on the pole at a non-restricted track in quite some times. So, this was a big one. And, certainly good timing.”
Gordon, who heads into the race Sunday ranked 12th in the Sprint Cup standings, ran a lap at 134.911 mph in qualifying Friday. Busch was second, at 134.753 mph, and defending series champion Tony Stewart was third.
“We’ll have a good pit spot and hopefully we can keep that track position all day and not have to beat our car up trying to get up there,” Stewart said.
Gordon, who barely qualified for the Chase, is hoping a strong finish in New Hampshire will help him overcome a 35th-place finish in Chicago, when he hit the wall with about 80 laps to go. He was the only one of the 12 Chase drivers who didn’t finish in the top 18.
“Qualifying is important. But, there are no points for the pole,” Gordon said. “Doesn’t guarantee anything for the race. Certainly it is a nice boost and something to build on. ... At this point, we have a lot of work to do, and it’s not going to happen all in one race. It’s going to happen over nine races.”
He said he still felt good about Chicago.
“We were running fourth when we wrecked last week. Your confidence gets broken when you are running 25th,” he said. “That is the thing that has really gotten us through this season, is that we’ve had a lot of problems that have been frustrating, and we’ve had to battle through them. But our cars have been really, really fast.”
Points leader Brad Keselowski qualified 15th. Denny Hamlin was 32nd in qualifying after his Joe Gibbs Racing crew made its second costly mistake of the Chase, incorrectly setting the tire pressure to race level. It comes five days after the gas man failed to fill Hamlin’s tank on the final pit stop at Chicago.
Hamlin wound up finishing 16th in the Chase opener, and fell from the points leader to fourth. The deepest starting spot for a race winner in New Hampshire is 38th by Jeff Burton in 1999.
“He drove from 16th or something like that to second the last time we were here after the last stop,” Gordon said. “Those guys are good. Their car looked really strong. I don’t think it is going to be an issue.”
Jose Wise was disqualified from the race because a post-qualifying inspection showed improper gas pressure in his rear shocks.
Gordon claims NASCAR pole in New Hampshire
Gordon claims NASCAR pole in New Hampshire
‘Sincaraz’ set to dominate as 2026 tennis season kicks off
- The new season gets under way on Friday with the mixed-teams United Cup in Perth and Sydney, headlined by women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and men’s world No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
- Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is pursuing a third Melbourne Park trophy, starts at the Brisbane International from Jan. 4-11 in a stellar field also boasting Australian Open champion Madison Keys and fourth-ranked Amanda Anisimova
- Djokovic begins what could be his last year on tour at the Adelaide International starting on Jan. 12, still chasing an elusive record 25th major crown and 11th Australian Open title
SYDNEY: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are set for more world domination in 2026, starting at the Australian Open, while Aryna Sabalenka is bubbling with confidence as she chases further Grand Slam success.
The new season gets under way on Friday with the mixed-teams United Cup in Perth and Sydney, headlined by women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and men’s world No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
Top-ranked Sabalenka, who is pursuing a third Melbourne Park trophy, starts at the Brisbane International from Jan. 4-11 in a stellar field also boasting Australian Open champion Madison Keys and fourth-ranked Amanda Anisimova.
Alcaraz and Sinner, or “Sincaraz” as they have been dubbed, play an exhibition in South Korea on Jan. 10 in their only warm-up before the Australian Open eight days later.
While Spanish sensation Alcaraz bumped his Italian rival from the season-ending world No. 1 spot, Sinner had the last laugh by edging him to retain his ATP Finals title in Turin.
It capped a stellar year in which Sinner retained his Australian Open crown and added a landmark triumph at Wimbledon among six titles, despite missing three months over a doping ban.
“I feel like a better player than last year,” said Sinner after completing his 2025 campaign with 58 wins and just six defeats.
“A lot of wins and not many losses. And in the losses I had, I tried to see the positive thing and tried to use it to evolve me as a player.”
Alcaraz was similarly dominant, clocking a 71-9 win-loss record with eight titles including the French Open and US Open.
But he is yet to go beyond the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, losing to Novak Djokovic in the last eight in 2025.
It is the only Slam missing from his resume and the 22-year-old will start afresh with a new coach after his shock split from Juan Carlos Ferrero, who mentored him since he was 15.
Djokovic last hurrah?
Djokovic begins what could be his last year on tour at the Adelaide International starting on Jan. 12, still chasing an elusive record 25th major crown and 11th Australian Open title.
Now 38, he has had to settle for a secondary role since Sinner and Alcaraz took control of the men’s tour, making the semis at all four majors in 2025 but not going further.
“I can do only as much as I can do,” he admitted after defeat at the US Open.
“It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner or Alcaraz in a best-of-five in a Grand Slam.”
Since his last Slam title, in 2023 at the US Open, Alcaraz or Sinner have shared all eight majors.
A resurgent Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur, ranked five, six and seven respectively, all feature at the United Cup, while Daniil Medvedev and a returning Nick Kyrgios play in Brisbane.
Sabalenka heads into the new season as undoubted world No. 1, having collected a second US Open title while also winning events at Brisbane, Madrid and Miami.
The Belarusian is favorite for a third Australian Open crown and fifth Slam title, although the likes of Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina will have something to say.
“The Australian Open is very special to me,” said Sabalenka, who lost a three-set thriller to Keys in the 2025 decider and heads to Australia after losing the controversial “Battle of the Sexes” clash to Kyrgios in Dubai.
“Winning it twice gives me confidence, but every year brings a new challenge. I’m excited to return and see what I can achieve.”
Challenging her on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane will be Keys, along with fellow top-10 stars Rybakina, Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva.
Swiatek leads Poland in Sydney at the United Cup, again teaming up with Hubert Hurkacz in their quest for revenge after being beaten by Team USA in the final in 2025 and Germany a year earlier.
The US are spearheaded by Gauff and Fritz, while four-time major winner Naomi Osaka plays the event for the first time, representing Japan.
