All News Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeremy Mayfield Jimmie Johnson Kasey Kahne Kyle Busch Kyle Petty Ryan Newman

Dover Qualfying News and Notes:

September 23, 2005 at 12:00 AM

• Ryan Newman won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Bud Pole for the MBNA RacePoints 400, lapping Dover International Speedway in 22.770 seconds at 158.102 mph. Jeremy Mayfield holds the track-qualifying record of 22.288 seconds, 161.522 mph, set June 4, 2004.
• This is Newman’s 33rd career Bud Pole in 144 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
• Newman moved to a tie with Fred Lorenzen on the [17th] all-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Bud Pole list.
• This is Newman’s second Bud Pole and seventh top-10 start in eight NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Dover.
• There have been five different Bud Pole winners in the last nine races at Dover, but only two in the past five. Jeremy Mayfield (both 2004) and Newman (June 2003 and September 2005) are the only repeat Bud Pole winners at Dover since the fall of 2001. Qualifying was canceled due to weather in September 2003 and June 2005.
• Kasey Kahne posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 22.919 seconds, 157.074 mph – and will join Newman on the front row for the MBNA RacePoints 400. This is Kahne’s first start better than 12th in four Dover races.
• This is the ninth Bud Pole for Dodge in 2005 – but their first sine Pocono in July. Chevrolet has 12 Bud Poles and Ford has five. Qualifying was canceled at Dover in June and Watkins Glen.
• Kyle Busch (third) posted his ninth top-10 start in 2005. Busch started 22nd and finished second in July – his only Dover appearance.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fourth) has started from the top 10 in five of his 12 races at Dover. It is just his fourth top-10 start this season, including each of the past two races.
• Jimmie Johnson (fifth) posted his sixth top-10 start in eight races at Dover. It is his 16th top-10 start in 2005 and his third in the past four races.
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Dover was 37th by Kyle Petty in June 1995.
• Forty-four of 71 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Dover have been won from a top five starting position while only 13 races have been won from a starting position outside the top 10.
• Six of the last nine NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-five starting position.(NASCAR Statistical Services)(9-23-2005)