LONG POND, Pa. -- The transition to NASCAR's new racecar didn't hurt Kasey Kahne at Pocono Raceway.

The driver of the No. 9 Gillett Evernham Dodge flew around the 2.5-mile speedway in 52.873 seconds to win the pole for Sunday's Pocono 500 Sprint Cup race. At 170.219 mph, Kahne was the only driver to top 170 mph (watch video).

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Jimmie Johnson, the first driver to attempt qualifying, will start second after a lap at 169.856 mph. Mark Martin (168.897 mph), rookie Regan Smith (168.745 mph), Joe Nemechek (168.723 mph) and Carl Edwards (168.517 mph) completed the top six qualifiers for the 500-mile race.

Though Kahne's lap didn't approach the track-record 172.533 mph (52.164 seconds) he posted on June 11, 2004, it was a stellar effort in hot, humid conditions -- and in the first session of time trials at Pocono in the new racecar.

"This has always been a pretty good racetrack for us," said Kahne, who won his first pole of the season, his second pole at Pocono and the 15th pole of his career. "The whole team has really stepped it up. We've had some great cars in the last couple of months.

"To me, when you qualify good at this racetrack, you race pretty well. Track position will be big, and we're starting up front."

Johnson, who has two Pocono victories to his credit, overcame his early qualifying draw with an outstanding lap.

"Being the first car out is never a good situation," the two-time defending Cup champion said. "So I'm really pleased to put up a lap like that."

Martin likewise said driving his No. 8 to a third-place starting position was a pleasure, but he was elated by the performance of Smith, with whom he shared driving duties at Dale Earnhardt Inc. last year.

"I felt like he was my pupil last year and felt like he was a full-time Cup driver," Martin said.

Only 44 drivers attempted qualifying at Pocono, a season low number of entrants for a Cup race. J.J. Yeley was the odd man out after Terry Labonte, subbing for Kyle Petty in the No. 45 Dodge, used a past champion's provisional to make the 43-car field.

CHECKERED FLAG: Kasey Kahne becomes the sixth driver to win the All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same season. This is Kasey's first win on the season and just his second top-five.

Lap 399 -- WHITE FLAG: Kasey Kahne takes the white flag and just has to hang on to his car to win. Carl Edwards is out of gas and loses a ton of spots.

Lap 398 -- Denny Hamlin hits the wall but the race stays green.

Lap 397 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart blows the right rear and hits the wall losing the lead to Kasey Kahne.

Lap 396 -- Tony Stewart has a five-second lead and plenty of fuel to take the win.

Lap 394 -- The top five after quick pit stops.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Carl Edwards
4. Kyle Busch
5. Jeff Gordon

Lap 393 -- LEAD CHANGE: Dave Blaney doesn't gamble and he pits giving the lead back to Tony Stewart.

Lap 391 -- LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin pits for fuel giving the lead to Dave Blaney.

Lap 390 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth pits giving the lead to Denny Hamlin. david Ragan also pits.

Lap 389 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth leads for the first time tonight as Jeff Burton pits.

Lap 388 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch pit giving up the top two spots and handing the lead to Jeff Burton.

Lap 387 -- Sam Hornish Jr. gives up 10th to top off on fuel.

Lap 384 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart takes the lead as Kasey Kahne hits pit road to top off on fuel. Elliott Sadler also on pit road and takes fuel only.

Lap 379 -- Kasey Kahne has caught Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon and could put them all a lap down.

Lap 373 -- Tony Stewart has closed the gap on Kasey Kahne to less than a second.

Lap 371 -- Patrick Carpentier hits pit road with what looks like an engine problem.

Lap 369 -- Jeff Gordon and his team think they are about two laps short on fuel and they may go for it if the race stays green.

Lap 366 -- Elliott Sadler is in fourth but says he hears noises in the engine. Tony Stewart passes Kyle Busch for second.

Lap 363 -- Denny Hamlin is up to ninth after passing Sam Hornish Jr.

Lap 361 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne passes Kyle Busch for the lead.

Lap 358 -- Kasey Kahne has closed the gap on leader Kyle Busch.

Lap 355 -- Kyle Busch has a 1.2-second lead on Kasey Kahne. Elliott Sadler is fourth after Jimmie Johnson heads to the garage.

Lap 351 -- Smoke is pouring out of Jimmie Johnson's engine and he will call it a night.

Lap 349 -- Jimmie Johnson has some engine issues, his RPMs are way down.

Lap 346 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch passes Jimmie Johnson for the lead.

Lap 344 -- Kyle Busch passes Kasey Kahne for second.

Lap 342 -- J.J. Yeley is back in the race.

Lap 341 -- Kasey Kahne up to second and Kyle Busch moves to third.

Lap 339 -- Kyle Busch passes Elliott Sadler for fourth and is in a three-way battle with Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne for second.

Lap 338 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Tony Stewart
3. Kasey Kahne
4. Elliott Sadler
5. Kyle Busch

Lap 337 -- Jeff Gordon came in and got four tires. Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards also pit.

Lap 335 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman among a half dozen cars to pit.

Lap 334 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 11: Debris on the front straightaway brings out the caution. A.J. Allmendinger gets the free pass.

Lap 334 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson

CONCORD, N.C. -- Sometimes it pays to be popular.

On Saturday night, it paid Kasey Kahne $1 million.

Voted into the Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway after he failed to make the field in the Sprint Showdown qualifying race, Kasey Kahne made the most of his opportunity by winning the All-Star event and the $1 million prize that goes with the victory.

All-Star Race

Unofficial Results

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Kasey Kahne	Dodge
2.	Greg Biffle	Ford
3.	Matt Kenseth	Ford
4.	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
5.	Tony Stewart	Toyota
6.	Ryan Newman	Dodge
7.	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge
8.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet
9.	Mark Martin	Chevrolet
10.	Carl Edwards	Ford

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Taking fuel only during his final pit stop between the third and fourth segments of the four-segment, 100-lap event, Kahne won the All-Star race for the first time. Matt Kenseth ran third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver whose car survived the night.

The first driver ever to win the race after a fan vote entry, Kahne also gave Dodge its first victory in the event. After finishing fifth in the Sprint Showdown, from which only the top-two finishers transferred to the main event, he learned that the fans had voted him into the All-Star Race via balloting on the internet, by cell phone and in Sprint stores (read more).

"I would have loved to have raced my way in, but we have great fans, and it's cool they voted for us and got us in the race," Kahne said. "We need all the fan support we can have. They've stuck behind us.

"I was going to head home, drink a couple of Budweisers and watch the All-Star race."

As it turned out, Kahne got to do a lot more than that, and he gave crew chief Kenny Francis his due for making the right call at the end.

"The car was mediocre in that open [Showdown]," Kahne said. "But we just kept fighting. I just can't believe we won a million dollars. Kenny made the right call -- no tires at the end. I didn't think we needed them, either."

After a fuel-only pit stop between the third and final segments, Johnson led the field to a restart on Lap 76 but soon surrendered the top spot to Denny Hamlin. But Kahne took the lead for good off Turn 4 on Lap 84 when Hamlin's engine expired.

From that point on, Kahne held off a determined charge from Biffle, who faded in the closing laps after challenging for the lead (watch video).

Soon after Kahne took the lead, Biffle powered his No. 16 Ford beside Kahne's No. 9 Dodge but couldn't wrest the top position from the race winner.

"I could have forced the issue," Biffle said. "I had one opportunity, and he kind of closed the door on me a little bit, and I figured, 'No sense pressing it right now -- I've got plenty of laps to go.'

"Then it just got tighter and tighter as it went, and I never got a chance to get back at him again.

"I had good tires. I had taken two, and he hadn't taken any. I can't believe I got beat [by a car] with no [new] tires."

Pole-sitter Kyle Busch finally found a foe that could slow him down -- a mechanical problem. After leading all 25 laps of the first segment, Busch was cruising with a 1.5-second lead over Carl Edwards in the second segment when his No. 18 Toyota dropped a cylinder on Lap 36.

Edwards overtook Busch on Lap 39 and remained at the point for the remainder of the second segment. Three laps later, Dale Earnhardt Jr. screamed past the hobbled Camry entering Turn 2. When the segment ended eight laps later, Busch had fallen to sixth (watch video).

After a lengthy diagnosis during the 10-minute break between segments two and three, crew chief Steve Addington finally pronounced, "We're done."

"We just didn't make it [Saturday]," Busch said, before his crew pushed the car to the garage. "We'll have to go back to the shop and work on some things."

Notes: In a race usually typified by more than its share of accidents, the All-Star event featured only three cautions -- all planned competition yellows between segments and none for incidents on the track. ... Edwards faded to 10th place at the finish. ... Earnhardt led briefly during the third segment but dropped to eighth at the finish.