Casey Mears turned a lap of 182.556 miles per hour in his Chevrolet today, taking the pole position for Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet.

It marks the third career pole for Mears, who is the 29-year-old nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears.

Although he ranks 19th in the standings going into Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400, Mears says his team is on a "little bit of a roll." They've had back-to-back, top-five finishes at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway last month.

Mears' quick lap late in qualifying bumped Martin Truex Junior's Chevrolet off what would have been Truex's first career pole. He'll start second with a lap of 182.476 miles per hour.

Ryan Newman qualified third in a Dodge, followed by Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Junior in Chevrolets.