SONOMA, Calif. (AP) – Jeff Gordon flung his Chevrolet through the twisting turns at Infineon Raceway, driving through the dirt, bouncing across the washboard-like curbs and nearly bouncing off a concrete wall coming off the final turn Friday.

“We’re on a mission,” Gordon said after winning the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR’s Nextel Cup race with a record-breaking lap on the 1.99-mile, 10-turn circuit. “We’re not happy with the way things have been going for us lately and all we can do is attack, attack, attack.”

Gordon took his second pole in a row, third of the season and 49th of his career with a time of 1:15.968, breaking the record of 1:16.522 set last year by road-racing specialist Boris Said. Gordon’s speed was 94.303 mph.

Gordon chalked up the record to the newly repaved track and a new tire from Goodyear. He was surprised nobody was able to beat a lap he acknowledged wasn’t very pretty.

Gordon was the 10th of 42 drivers who made qualifying attempts for the Dodge/Save Mart 350.

NASCAR’s leading road race winner with seven victories has won three times here – twice from the pole.

Rusty Wallace and Kurt Busch also were quicker than Said’s record, but couldn’t match Gordon.

Wallace, driving a Dodge, was disappointed after running a lap of 1:16.072.

“When I saw (Gordon) go off course over there, I thought I could beat that,” Wallace said. “I thought I threw a pole away with that one. I didn’t have any problem, but I looked down and thought I had the emergency brake on. I just thought the car had a lot more in it.”

Busch’s Ford got around the course in 1:16.333. He said his team’s decision to qualify on slightly used rather than new tires probably made the difference.

Gordon waited nervously for other contenders, including Said, defending race winner Robby Gordon, Ricky Rudd and Tony Stewart to take their shot.

Jeff Gordon said he told crew chief Robbie Loomis, “I can’t believe we’re going to get this pole.”

But all of them had problems, with Rudd qualifying 12th, Stewart 17th, Said 19th and the other Gordon 24th.

Robby Gordon, who also won the road race last summer in Watkins Glen, N.Y., shrugged off the poor qualifying effort.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s one lap. On Sunday, you just keep the fenders on the car and you’ll be OK. It will make it exciting, though.”

Series leader Jimmie Johnson, whose car owner is Jeff Gordon, fared even worse, qualifying 34th. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who trails Johnson in the standings by just seven points, will start 20th in Sunday’s 43-car field.

NASCAR lacks spirits

SONOMA, Calif. – NASCAR has rejected Roush Racing’s bid to sign a hard liquor company as primary sponsor for Jeff Burton’s No. 99 Ford.

Though beer and malt liquor sponsors are allowed by NASCAR, spirits advertising is not permitted at any of its events or as team sponsors.

Roush had negotiated a deal with British liquor giant Diageo, but it was contingent on NASCAR changing its policy that began in the days when many counties in the South were dry.

“Although we understand the sponsorship situation with the No. 99 entry, it is very unlikely at this time that we would change such a long-standing policy for this instance,” NASCAR president Mike Helton told The Associated Press on Friday.

However, he said the sanctioning organization will continue internal discussions about the hard liquor ban.

Geoff Smith, president of Roush Racing, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the decision.

“We’ve been working together with them to assess all the historical and current reasons why that policy exists and see if there were any reasons why it should be revised,” Smith said. “My personal opinion is that 95 percent of their objection was just that – history.”

A decision by TV networks years ago to also ban hard liquor ads reinforced NASCAR’s policy even as fewer counties remained dry. But with the growth of cable, more TV channels are starting to air such ads.

NASCAR’s position, however, remains unchanged.

Smith said he believes the general public does not make a distinction between beer and distilled spirits.

He said the team’s relationship will continue with Diageo, whose Smirnoff Ice malt beverage sponsors Roush driver Matt Kenseth. Diageo manufacturers a number of brands of hard liquor, including Johnnie Walker, J&B and Jose Cuervo.

Jim Beam sponsors a car in the IRL and Crown Royal is the series sponsor for IROC, which includes NASCAR drivers.

Burton’s entry, which had a series of sponsorships for anywhere from one to three races this season, continues looking for someone to pay the bills.

When asked if the team is committed to running Burton the rest of the season even without a sponsor, Smith shrugged.

“The plan is for him to run the entire schedule, but we have to find some money somewhere, soon,” Smith said.