All News Dave Blaney Elliott Sadler Greg Biffle Jeff Gordon Matt Kenseth Ricky Rudd Rusty Wallace Ryan Newman

Qualifying Notes:

August 26, 2005 at 12:00 AM

• Matt Kenseth won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Bud Pole for the Sharpie 500, lapping Bristol Motor Speedway in 15.073 seconds at 127.300 mph. Ryan Newman track-qualifying record of 14.908 seconds, 128.709 mph, set March 21, 2003.
• This is Kenseth’s second career Bud Pole in 208 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races. His other Bud Pole was at Dover in May 2002, 119 races ago.
• This is Kenseth’s fourth top-10 start in 10 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Kenseth became the 15th different Bud Pole winner this season.
• There have been 10 different Bud Pole winners in the last 14 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Bristol Motor Speedway, but only three in the past eight. Jeff Gordon (four), Ryan Newman (two) and Rusty Wallace (two) are the repeat Bud Pole winner in the 14-race period.
• Jeff Gordon posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 15.085 seconds, 127.199 mph – and will join Kenseth on the front row for the Sharpie 500. Gordon his 23rd top-10 start in his 26 races at Bristol. It is his eight straight top-five start here. This is his 11 th top 10 start this season.
• This is the fourth Bud Pole for Ford in 2005 and second in the past four races. Chevrolet has 10 Bud Poles and Dodge has eight. Qualifying was canceled at Dover and second Michigan.
• Dave Blaney (third) posted his third top-10 start in 10 races at Bristol. He started second here in the spring race this season and eighth in the spring of 2001.
• Greg Biffle (fourth) scored his fourth top-10 start in six races at Bristol, all in the past four races. It is his 15th top-10 start this season.
• Ricky Rudd (fifth) Rudd, who posted 13 top-10 starts in his first 18 races at Bristol posted his 28th top-10 start overall here. It is his just his third in his past 13 races here.
• Ryan Newman (sixth) posted his Series-leading 22nd top-10 start of 2005. Newman has started form the top-10 in all but one of his eight Bristol races.
• Forty-eight races at Bristol have been won from the first four starting positions (54%).
• Only 16 races have been won from a starting position outside the top 10, including six of the past nine.
• The furthest back in the field that a Bristol race winner has started was 38th by Elliott Sadler in the 2001 Food City 500.(NASCAR Statistical Services)(8-26-2005)