All News Bobby Labonte Denny Hamlin Greg Biffle Jeff Burton Kasey Kahne Kevin Harvick Kurt Busch Kyle Petty Matt Kenseth Reed Sorenson Ryan Newman Tony Stewart

Bristol Qualifying News/Notes:

August 25, 2006 at 12:00 AM

• Kurt Busch won the Nextel Cup Series Bud Pole for the Sharpie 500, lapping Bristol Motor Speedway in 15.362 seconds at 124.906 mph. Ryan Newman holds the track-qualifying record of 14.908 seconds, 128.709 mph – set March 21, 2003.
• This is Kurt Busch’s seventh career Bud Pole in 208 Nextel Cup Series races.
• This is his fourth Bud Pole and 17 top-10 start in 2006. He is tied for the most Bud Poles and leads all other drivers in top-10 starts this season. Kasey Kahne (four), Jeff Burton (four), Greg Biffle (two), Denny Hamlin (two) and Ryan Newman (two) are the other multiple Bud Pole winners this season.
• This is Kurt Busch’s first Bud Pole in 12 Nextel Cup Series race at Bristoly. He has posted top-10 starts in five of those 12 races. • Kurt Busch became the fifth different Bud Pole winner in the past six races at Bristol. Qualifying was canceled in March.
• Jeff Burton posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 15.374 seconds, 124.808 mph – and will join Kurt Busch on the front row for the Sharpie 500. His career-best Bristol start is just his third top-10 in 26 races here.
• This is the 11th Bud Pole for Dodge in 2006. Chevrolet has eight Bud Poles and Ford has four. Qualifying was canceled at Bristol in March.
• Bobby Labonte (third) posted his 10th top-10 star tin 28 races at Bristol, but his first since March 2000.
• Matt Kenseth (fourth) posted his sixth top-10 start in 14 races at Bristol and his 10th this season.
• Tony Stewart (fifth), who won the Bud Pole in just his second Bristol race (August 1999), posted his seventh top-10 start in 16 races at Bristol.
• Kyle Petty (eighth) posted his best qualifying effort since he started eighth at Richmond in May 2003. This is the first time since Talladega in October 2001 that two Petty Enterprises cars have started in the top 10.
• Five of the current top-10 drivers in the point standings qualified in the top 10: Burton, Kenseth, Stewart, Denny Hamlin (sixth) and Kevin Harvick (seventh).
• Reed Sorenson (10th) will join Hamlin in making this the 10th time this season that at least two rookies have started from the top 10.(NASCAR Statisical Services)(8-25-2006)