Jeff Gordon won the pole for Sunday’s race at Talladega Speedway with a lap at 191.623 mph, according to the Palm Beach Post.

“We all know that sitting on the pole at Talladega doesn’t really guarantee anything for the race,” Gordon said. “The biggest positive is just the fact we’ve had a rough start to the season, not a lot has gone our way other than we’ve had fast cars but not a lot of results to show for it. To me, right now, we’ll just take any kind of positive boost that we possibly can and this is a good one.”

It is Gordon’s first pole since this race last year and the 71^st of his career, according to the Post. Gordon has just two top finishes in the season’s first nine races and is ranked 17^th in the Sprint Cup Series standings.

“One win is not going to turn our entire season around, but it’s definitely something we would welcome,” Gordon said. “Anything positive would be a great thing for us.”

Jeff Gordon was in the worst crash of his career today at the Budweiser Shootout, but he appears to be OK:

#JeffGordon in a huge wreck! #JG says he is fine. #Team24 #NASCAR

—
Jeff Gordon (@JeffGordonWeb) February 19, 2012

Gordon’s Chevrolet crashed into Kurt Busch’s car and flipped over before skidding a long distance on its side and overturning again. Miraculously, he was able to emerge from the car and walk away.

The crash came toward the end of the race, with just two laps to go. Kyle Busch ultimately won the race, edging Tony Stewart.