Matt Kenseth won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Bud Pole for the Banquet 400, lapping Kansas Speedway in 29.858 seconds at 180.856 mph. He broke Jimmie Johnsons track-qualifying record of 29.938 seconds, 180.373 mph, set Oct. 3, 2003.
The top-five qualifiers eclipsed Johnsons previous track record and Kevin Lepage (sixth) tied the mark.
This is Kenseths third career Bud Pole in 214 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races and his second this season.
This is Kenseths first start better than 13th in five NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
Kenseth became the seventh repeat Bud Pole winner this season.
There have been five different Bud Pole winners in the five NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races at Kansas.
Elliott Sadler posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 29.881 seconds, 180.717 mph and will join Kenseth on the front row for the Banquet 400. Sadler has just one previous top-10 start in five races at Kansas, 10th in 2003. This is his 16th top-10 start in 2005.
This is the seventh Bud Pole for Ford in 2005. Chevrolet has 12 Bud Poles and Dodge has nine. Qualifying was canceled at Dover in June and Watkins Glen. This is the first Bud Pole for Ford at Kansas Speedway. Ford has never won here.
Jeff Gordon (third) has qualified in the top-10 in four of his five races at Kansas. It is his 15th top-10 start this season.
Scott Wimmer (fourth) posted his first top-10 start of the 2005 season. He started 37th and finished 36th in 2004, his only appearance at Kansas Speedway.
Carl Edwards (fifth) started 16th in 2004, his only NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Kansas. It is his seventh top-10 start this season.
Kevin Lepage (sixth) posted his best start since he started fifth at Charlotte in October 2003. It is the career-best start for car owner Jeff Stec, bettering the teams previous best of 30th at Talladega in May.
Denny Hamlin (seventh) qualified for his career-first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race [but wrecked].(NASCAR PR)(10-8-2005)
