updated 10:44 p.m. ET May 18, 2007

CONCORD, N.C. - Matt Kenseth had no time to rest.

Kenseth rolled into his pit box and drove away 11.6 seconds later — the quickest four-tire pit stop of qualifying — to overtake Jimmie Johnson on Friday night and take the pole for the Nextel All-Star Challenge.

“I will tell you one thing, when they drop that jack on the right side and they have that thing on the left side, you better have that thing in gear and be ready,” Kenseth said. “Because that left side is not up that long.”

Kenseth completed three laps and the pit stop in 2 minutes, 1.40 seconds at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for his second All-Star pole. Johnson, the defending race champion, was nearly two seconds slower and will start on the outside of row one Saturday night.

“Those guys definitely outperformed us,” Johnson said.

Kurt Busch qualified third, followed by Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton for Saturday’s non-points race, which includes four 20-lap segments.

Kenseth’s crew lost in the second round of Wednesday’s Pit Crew Challenge, but was dominate Friday.

“Our stops are so smooth this year,” said Kenseth, who won the All-Star race in 2004. “Pit road this year is probably better than it’s ever been for us.”

Kyle Busch qualified sixth, followed by Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt. Jr.

Qualifying, which started in twilight and ended in near darkness, gave teams that went out later on the cooler track an advantage. But the unique format placed great importance on the pit stop.

Eighteen drivers are already eligible for the All-Star race. The rest will compete in Saturday’s preliminary Nextel Open, a 40-lap, two segment race whose winner and second-place cars will be transferred to Saturday’s main race.

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Carl Edwards won the pole for the Open with a speed of 187.487 mph in regular qualifying runs. David Ragan (186.284) will start second, followed by Dave Blaney, David Gilliland and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Edwards said if he makes the All-Star race, he’ll donate his winnings to charity — even it’s a portion of the $1 million first-place prize.

“I was so bummed out about not making the All-Star race that I thought if I make it (through the Open) it’s going to be icing on the cake, a fun time,” Edwards said. “Hopefully we’ll the win the thing and donate a bunch of money.”

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The struggles continued for Michael Waltrip and his new Toyota team. Waltrip, who has failed to qualify for 10 consecutive races, hit the wall after losing control of his car in the third turn of Open qualifying. He’ll be forced to use a backup car — without practice time — and start from the rear of the field.

David Stremme and Aric Almirola, a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, also wrecked in Open qualifying.

Mark Martin, already in the All-Star race, blew an engine in practice and then spun the car in qualifying. He avoided hitting the wall, but will start from the back of the field.

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