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Feburary 27
The order of the day at California Speedway Saturday was young versus old, and dry versus wet.
Kyle Busch, just 19, became the youngest Bud Pole Award winner in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series history. Busch erased from the record book Donald Thomas, who was 20 years old when he won the pole at Lakewood GA) Speedway on November 16, 1952.
"I knew it was one and done," said Busch after the run. "As soon as I got that first one, I was just like 'that's about it. If I do it again I'll probably wreck.
Kurt Busch, left, points to the pole with his brother Kyle's number on the top at the pole position presentation after qualifying for Sunday's Auto Club 500, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2005 at the California Motor Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Kyle won the pole with a time of 38.248 seconds at 188.254 MPH. Kurt qualified for the 20th spot.
(AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta)
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"The run was fun. We went out there and I was just going to lay down a lap and see how good we could make it. It was just a little bit free, but overall it was definitely a good lap and it was exciting that it turned that quick."
The pole comes in only his eighth NASCAR Nextel Cup start.
``I didn't think it was going to come this quickly,'' Busch said. ``I figured most of our success would actually happen toward the middle or second half of the season.''
It was the first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series pole position for Busch and the first for his crew chief, Alan Gustafson.
``We mostly worked on race stuff (Saturday) morning, so we were pretty pleased that we could make a few adjustments to get the car to drive through qualifying, and we got a pole,'' Gustafson said. ``That's obviously what we came here to do. We want to win the pole, then win the race. To get the pole is huge. We didn't think we could do it at first, but we did.''
The fact that Busch is only 19, did come into play almost as soon as his run was over.
When photographers gathered in front of the standings board, which carries significant signage promoting the Budweiser Pole Award, the still-under-drinking-age Busch was moved to one side. He was, however, allowed to pose with the pole winner's plaque, which bears the award's name.
Busch won five races and six poles last year in the NASCAR Busch Series, finishing second in the standings.
When he won his first Busch series pole, a special Anheuser-Busch Pole Award decal was created for his car because he was too young to carry the standard Busch -- as in the beer -- Pole Award placard.
"Is this the O'Doul's Award now?" older brother Kurt shouted as he stood nearby, referring to the brewery's nonalcoholic beer.
Busch's Chevrolet teammate, Brian Vickers, will start second, completing the youngest front-row in NASCAR history. The average age of the two is only 20 with Vickers 21.
"I felt like we had a good car. I'm excited about that. There's not a lot we can do now."
``There's always something to be said for youthful guts, I guess you could say, but then again, there's something to be said for experience,'' Vickers said. ``We'll see what happens (today). That's when the true test will be, at mile 500.''
Vickers won the pole here for the Labor Day weekend race in 2004. It was the third straight time a rookie has won the pole for a Cup Series race at California Speedway.
Qualifying Results
STARTING LINEUP
Kasey Kahne, driver of the No.‚9 Dodge for Evernham Motorsports, won the pole for the spring race. Kahne will start today's race in the 17th spot.
``That wasn't too bad,'' Kahne said. ``We were going for the pole and I got too loose to do it. I had to backpedal and lost probably three or four tenths, but our car is going to be awesome in the long run.''
Former California winner Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, Newman and Mike Bliss filled out the top 10.
``We went out early, so that helped us,'' said Mayfield, who won the Cup race here in 2000. ``Brian went out a little later, so he must have a good car also. We had a good lap. The Dodge Charger is running good. It's balanced good, so we'll see what happens.''
Terry Labonte, making his first start of the season, was by far the fastest of the eight non-qualified drivers who made it into the 43-car field. He qualified 11th, while Bill Elliott, another former series champion driving a limited schedule, was 22nd.
The guy Kurt Busch replaced in the No. 5 Chevy, Labonte, also enjoyed a good qualifying run in the first of his 10-race "semi-retired" schedule for this season, winding up in the 11th position on the grid.
"I feel pretty good about our car," Labonte said. "I'm really pleased with how our team has come together. I can really tell we've got a good group of guys. I'm glad to be back behind the wheel and looking forward to the 10 races that we're going to run this year."
While many long-time fans wondered why Labonte didn't make Daytona his first race of the season, the answer is fairly simple: there's no love lost between himself and that place.
"I didn't miss it at all, not at all," Labonte said. "I'm just not a big fan of the restrictor plate deal. I just don't like it and never have, so I didn't miss it at all. If it was one of my favorite racetracks, it'd be different. But it's just not."
The three other Hendrick drivers also had strong qualifying runs. Jimmie Johnson, who won here in 2002, was eighth fastest. He will start on the fourth row with Dale Jarrett.
Defending champion Jeff Gordon, a three-time winner, will start on the 14th row in 28th position.
Five drivers failed to make the race.
For the first time, NASCAR impounded the qualified cars immediately following Saturday's time trials. The teams will get the cars back on Sunday morning but will only be allowed to make minor adjustments prior to the start of the race.
NASCAR also eliminated the traditional "Happy Hour" Saturday practice. With no more track time after qualifying, the Cup teams had to decide whether to put more emphasis on qualifying setups or on preparing for the race during Friday's practice sessions.
Adding to the difficulty of getting ready for this race is the fact that it will be the first time the cars will race with shorter rear spoilers and softer tires - both changes intended to promote more passing and put more responsibility in the hands of the drivers.
One driver who doesn't like the new system, particularly NASCAR canceling the final practice, is Newman, who called showing up Saturday just to qualify "kind of pointless."
"It turned out to be a big waste of time," he said. "It's not laid out with the competitor in mind."
Newman isn't real fond of NASCAR impounding the cars, either.
"I think everyone is doing their best and I'm not calling anyone stupid," Newman said. "I just don't think anyone has a clue what to anticipate as far as what the racetrack is going to be like, as far as what they can do with their race car in race trim versus qualifying trim.
"Everybody is trying to use their best educated guess."
Brian Vickers drives during qualifying for Sunday's NASCAR Auto Club 500, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2005 at the California Motor Speedway in Fontana, Calif. Vickers will join pole winner Kyle Busch on the front row for Sunday's start.
(AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta)
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Tony Stewart, Elliott Sadler and Dave Blaney -- will all view the start of Today's Auto Club 500 from the rear thanks to different misfortunes.
Tony Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet will go to the rear of the 43-car field from its 29th qualifying position due to a transmission change before qualifying.
Sadler's No. 38 Ford was the slowest car to post a time -- only 179.029 mph. The team diagnosed a simple internal engine problem immediately after qualifying that caused then to change engines, according to team manager Eddie D'Hondt, Sadler will line up 41st.
Dave Blaney crashed his No. 07 Chevrolet on his first lap qualifying. He had to rely on the car's standing in the 2004 Nextel Cup owners' points to make the field in 42nd position.
The team was readying its backup car, crew chief Philippe Lopez said. Blaney said the car tested extremely well at Las Vegas, but he had concerns at California.
"The thing is, we're going to have to race a car on which we have zero laps this weekend to test this new set-up in race conditions," Blaney said. "So that's a tough thing, because maybe you hit it real close and maybe you don't.
"But you're starting in the back anyway, so if you get a caution in the first couple laps and you feel like you're way off, you can come in and stop and there's no real penalty in that.
"Hopefully we'll have a couple breaks to go our way tomorrow and we'll be fine. There's a bunch of good cars starting back there or close to back there. It's not a break your back deal, at all -- it's just that you hate to lose a car like that."
After qualifying ended yesterday, the Nextel Cup garage seemed to take on the air of a maximum-security prison.
A NASCAR official escorted the cars to their respective garage stalls. That done; only two crew members were allowed to remain in the garage to perform the following work:
Shut off electrical switches and master power switch; remove the radio; check air pressure in the tires; cover the car and exit the garage.
Today, only two crew members will be allowed to make final preparations on the cars, accompanied to the garage by an official.
Teams may not enter the garage without a NASCAR official; jack up any part of the car; add water or pressurize the cooling system; climb inside the car; adjust wedge bolts, shocks or sway bars; add fuel, oil or brake fluid; remove the air box; or adjust fenders, spoiler or any body components.
The cars and teams will receive their pardons this afternoon and be released shortly before the green flag gets ready to fall.
Martin wins Busch race at California
February 27
Mark Martin added to his record Busch series win total, pulling away from Kevin Harvick on Saturday at California Speedway for No. 47.
Martin, the longtime star of NASCAR's top stock car series, was dominant. He led 102 of the 150 laps, including the last 34. He easily held off Harvick in an eight-lap sprint on the 2- mile oval after the last of eight caution flags, driving his Roush Racing Ford across the finish line about 10 car lengths ahead of Harvick's Chevrolet.
(AP photo)
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``I knew that Harvick was really fast on the restart,'' Martin said, grinning. ``I knew I had my hands full, that Kevin was going to do everything he could to win that race. But we just had an awesome car today.''
Busch regular Shane Hmiel finished third, followed by Clint Bowyer, 19-year-old Reed Sorenson, in only his second Busch race, and Carl Edwards.
Martin came back last season from a self-imposed three- year Busch Series retirement and ran five races, picking up his 46th victory in the steppingstone series. It was his first Busch win since the fall race at Darlington in 2000.
Saturday's event began in daylight but, with a series of yellow flags and a 26-minute red flag after a brief rain shower slowing things down, ended under the lights. That made for constantly changing conditions on the track.
``I was real concerned about finishing the race at night, but this car didn't seem to mind. It was great,'' Martin said.
Harvick, another Cup regular, finished second in Busch for the second straight race.
``He got away from me toward the end and there was nothing I could do,'' Harvick said. ``Too little, too late, but I'm glad to see Mark win on his farewell tour.''
Martin, who will retire from the Nextel Cup series at the end of the 2005 season, is just the latest ``Buschwhacker'' - regulars from Cup who drive limited schedules in Busch - to beat the Busch regulars.
Cup star Tony Stewart won the opener a week ago in Daytona, beating Harvick for his first Busch series win. Stewart started from the pole Saturday in the same car, owned by Harvick's wife, Delana, and was in contention until a flat tire slowed him in the last few laps. He wound up 29th, the last car on the lead lap.
Reigning Busch champion Martin Truex finished 30th after blowing a tire and spinning late in the race.
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