Greg Biffle wins pole at Bristol Motor Speedway

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) - Greg Biffle knows he won't be perfect all season.

He'll take what he can get right now.

The Sprint Cup points leader continued his strong start to the season Friday by winning the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"I know this isn't going to last all season, but I'm enjoying the hell out of it right now," Biffle said.

He turned a lap of 125.215 mph in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford to take the top qualifying spot for Sunday's race. Biffle has opened the season with three third-place finishes, and has not qualified lower than ninth.

"I gotta pinch myself. I think I'm dreaming," he said. "I'm having a great time, the time of my life."

It's the 10th pole of Biffle's career, but his first at Bristol. He's credited his strong start to the season to an offseason overhaul to his No. 16 team. Biffle has a new crew chief in Matt Puccia, and every crew member was changed.

"They are a great group of guys, I'm happy to have them," Biffle said.

AJ Allmendinger qualified second in a Penske Racing Dodge. It's his first top-10 starting position of 2012, but third in 10 previous Sprint Cup races at Bristol.

Allmendinger has had a rough start to his first season with Penske, opening the year with a 34th-place finish at Daytona followed by an 18th at Phoenix and a 37th at Las Vegas.

Ryan Newman qualified third in a Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Jeff Gordon qualified fourth in a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski was fifth to put both Penske cars in the top five. Regan Smith was sixth, followed by Aric Almirola, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne.

Timmy Hill was the only driver who failed to qualify. Robby Gordon withdrew because of mechanical problems.