Kenseth

LOUDON, N.H. -- Winston Cup points leader Matt Kenseth got his first pole of the season Friday when rain washed out qualifying at New Hampshire International Speedway.

The 43-car field for the New England 300 was set by car owner points. So Kenseth, who has led the series standings since March, was automatically awarded the top starting spot for Sunday's race.

"One of the benefits of being up in the points is it's a good place to start,'' Kenseth said. "So I'll love it when it rains on Fridays.''

His Roush Racing team's one weakness this season has seemed to be qualifying -- Kenseth typically has found himself starting races in the middle of the pack in his Ford. He's only cracked the top 10 in qualifying twice this year when the field was set by time trials, and both times he qualified fourth.

In fact, Sunday will mark just the seventh time in Kenseth's 131 career starts he'll start in the top five. But by starting first on Sunday, Kenseth will try to earn the five-point bonus that goes with leading one lap.

"It's great to start up front, especially here -- well, actually, anywhere with the way I qualify,'' Kenseth said. "When you start up front, you've got a better chance of getting those five bonus points and leading a lap and getting a good pit position. We just need to figure out how to keep it there.''

Jeff Gordon, who trails Kenseth by 165 points in the standings, will start second in a Chevrolet.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 258 points behind Kenseth, gets the third spot. Bobby Labonte will start fourth and Michael Waltrip, Earnhardt's teammate at Dale Earnhardt Inc., got the fifth spot.

Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Sterling Marlin will round out the top 10.

Ricky Craven, a Maine native who considers New Hampshire his home track, will start 17th.

With no practice time because of rain Friday, a few drivers in the field believe they will have an advantage over their competitors because they tested recently on the 1.058-mile oval.

"The less time that the competition has on the track, that's a bigger advantage to the guys who have tested,'' Gordon said. "I want to practice tomorrow, but if we don't, I think we're in good position because of testing to roll out on the setup we have. A lot of guys who didn't test could be far off.''

But any edge Gordon might have gained over Kenseth was minimized when the leader got on the track late Friday for Busch series practice.

New Hampshire is one of the select tracks Kenseth is pulling double-duty on. When rain ceased long enough in the afternoon, he was able to turn some laps and get a feel for the track surface that he'll be able to apply to his Winston Cup car.