All News Bobby Labonte Brian Vickers Elliott Sadler Greg Biffle Johnny Sauter Kasey Kahne Morgan Shepherd Ricky Craven Robby Gordon Ryan Newman Tony Raines Ward Burton

Darlington Qualifying Notes:

May 6, 2005 at 12:00 AM

• Kasey Kahne won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Bud Pole for the Dodge Charger 500, lapping Darlington Raceway in 28.923 seconds at 170.024 mph. Ward Burton holds the track-qualifying record of 28.295 seconds, 173.797 mph, set March 22, 1996.
• This is Kahne’s fifth career Bud Pole in 46 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races, his first since Pocono last June.
• This is Kahne’s second Bud Pole at Darlington Raceway. He also won the Bud Pole here last March.
• Kahne became the eighth Bud Pole winner in 2005. Ryan Newman (three) is the only repeat Bud Pole winner this season.
• Ryan Newman posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 29.003 seconds, 169.555 mph – and will join Kahne on the front row for the Dodge Charger 500. Newman has started from a top-10 starting position in six of his seven races at Darlington. He is the only driver to post top-10 starts in every race this season
• This is the fourth Bud Pole for Dodge in 2005. Chevrolet also has four Bud Poles and Ford has two.
• Greg Biffle (third) posted his third top-10 start in five races at Darlington. It is his eighth top-10 start in 2005.
• Elliott Sadler (fourth) scored his eighth top-10 start in 13 races at Darlington and his sixth in the past seven races here. It is his fifth top-10 start this season.
• Brian Vickers (fifth) posted his first start better than 27th in his three races at Darlington and his fourth top-10 start in 2005.
• Four drivers failed to qualify for the Dodge Charger 500: Johnny Sauter, Robby Gordon, Tony Raines and Morgan Shepherd.
• There have been eight different Bud Pole winners in the 12 races at Darlington since September 1999. Kahne is the only repeat Bud Pole winner since 1999. Qualifying was rained out three times in the 12-race period (spring 2001, fall 2002, fall 2004).
• The furthermost back that a race winner has started at Darlington was 43rd in the inaugural Southern 500 in 1950 by Johnny Mantz. That race had a 75-car field. Only four other drivers have won at Darlington from a starting position further back than 15th: Herb Thomas (23rd – fall 1954), Bobby Labonte (37th – fall 2000), Ward Burton (37th – fall 2001) and Ricky Craven (31st – spring 2003) (NASCAR Statistical Services)(5-6-2005)