This is Kyle Busch’s first career Bud Pole in eight NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races. Six drivers have posted their series-first Bud Pole in fewer races: Mark Martin (three), Ryan Newman (three), Kasey Kahne (three), Johnny Benson (four), Jimmie Johnson (four) and Loy Allen (six). Tony Stewart and Boris Said also posted their series-first Bud Pole in their eighth race.
Busch became the 31st first-time Bud Pole winner on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series since 1990; the 16th since the 2000 Daytona 500. There were no first-time Bud Pole winners in 2004.
This is Busch’s second NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at California. He started 18th and finished 24th here in September 2004.
Brian Vickers posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 38.351 seconds, 187.740 mph and will join Busch on the front row for the Auto Club 500. Vickers has started from a top-10 starting position in all three of his races at California. He won the Bud Pole here last September and started sixth in his first race here in May 2004. Jeremy Mayfield (third) posted his fourth top-10 start in 10 races at California. Joe Nemechek (fourth) scored his sixth top-10 start in 10 races at California. It is his fourth consecutive top-10 start here. Greg Biffle (fifth) posted his second top-10 start in five races at California, both in the past two races. The first three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races at California were won from a top-five starting position but five of the past six have been won from a starting position outside the top-10, all 16th or worse. The deepest in the field that a race winner has started in nine races at California Speedway was 24th by Jeremy Mayfield in 2000.(NASCAR PR)(2-26-2005)
