It didn't take Kyle Busch long to score a spot in the 2006 Budweiser Shootout. Credit: Autostock

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- NASCAR began a new era of qualifying Saturday with new rules and the youngest pole winner in the history of stock car's top series.

Rookie Kyle Busch, 19, claimed his first career pole in only his eighth Nextel Cup Series start, just beating out 21-year-old Hendrick Motorsports teammate Brian Vickers, who grabbed the outside spot on the front row for Sunday's Auto Club 500 at California Speedway.

Busch won the pole in style, with a lap of 188.245 mph, breaking the track record of 187.432 set in April 2002 by Ryan Newman.

Vickers, who works out of the same race shop as Busch, was also faster than the old mark at 187.740.

Referring to team owner Rick Hendrick, the younger Busch said, "It's definitely a great opportunity Mr. H. has given us. I'm glad we could do this for him.

"It's definitely an awesome opportunity for the both of us to sit on the front row like that," added Busch, younger brother of reigning Cup champion Kurt Busch.

"It's just a great opportunity for us to help both our teams excel. We've got a pole now ... all we need is a win."

Donald Thomas was 20 when he won a pole in NASCAR's top series in November 1952 at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta. Vickers also won his first pole last year at the age of 20.

Busch, the runner-up last year in the Busch Series, got his chance to move up to the top series when two-time champion Terry Labonte decided to run only a limited schedule this year.

Busch moved into Labonte's No. 5 Chevrolet.

"People always talk about our ages but I saw a picture in a magazine showing Terry's first race when he was 21," Vickers said. "That just shows it's a big deal, but it's not.

"There's always something to be said for youthful guts but, then again, there's a lot to be said for experience. We'll see what happens Sunday, which is the true test."

New rules this year guarantee starting spots for the top 35 in car owner points, removing some of the emphasis on preparing for qualifying.

Former California winner Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson, Newman and Mike Bliss filled out the top 10.

Labonte, making his first start of the season, was by far the fastest of the eight non-qualified drivers who made it into the 43-car field.

He qualified 11th, while Bill Elliott, another former series champion driving a limited schedule, was 22nd.

Other drivers making the lineup on speed were John Andretti, Robby Gordon, who failed to make the season-opening Daytona 500, Mike Wallace, Randy Lajoie, Jason Leffler and Kevin Lepage.

Five drivers failed to make the race.

For the first time, NASCAR impounded the qualified cars immediately following Saturday's time trials.

The teams will get the cars back on Sunday morning but will only be allowed to make minor adjustments prior to the start of the race.

NASCAR also eliminated the traditional "Happy Hour" Saturday practice. With no more track time after qualifying, the Cup teams had to decide whether to put more emphasis on qualifying setups or on preparing for the race during Friday's practice sessions.

Adding to the difficulty of getting ready for this race is the fact that it will be the first time the cars will race with shorter rear spoilers and softer tires -- both changes intended to promote more passing and put more responsibility in the hands of the drivers.

One driver who doesn't like the new system, particularly NASCAR canceling the final practice, is Newman, who called showing up Saturday just to qualify "kind of pointless."

"It turned out to be a big waste of time," he said. "It's not laid out with the competitor in mind."

Newman isn't real fond of NASCAR impounding the cars, either.

"I think everyone is doing their best and I'm not calling anyone stupid," Newman said. "I just don't think anyone has a clue what to anticipate as far as what the racetrack is going to be like, as far as what they can do with their race car in race trim versus qualifying trim.

"Everybody is trying to use their best educated guess."

NASCAR.com

redriderbob

 

1 5 Kyle Busch* Chevrolet CARQUEST 188.245 38.248 Leader
2 25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC 187.740 38.351 -0.103
3 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 187.612 38.377 -0.129
4 01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 187.539 38.392 -0.144
5 16 Greg Biffle Ford Post-it/National Guard 187.003 38.502 -0.254
6 17 Matt Kenseth Ford USG Sheetrock/DeWalt 186.998 38.503 -0.255
7 88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 186.625 38.580 -0.332
8 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 186.480 38.610 -0.362
9 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 186.461 38.614 -0.366
10 0 Mike Bliss Chevrolet NetZero Best Buy 186.403 38.626 -0.378
11 44 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Kellogg's 186.234 38.661 -0.413
12 10 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Valvoline 186.186 38.671 -0.423
13 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 186.124 38.684 -0.436
14 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 185.999 38.710 -0.462
15 42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Texaco/Havoline 185.907 38.729 -0.481
16 41 Casey Mears Dodge Target 185.883 38.734 -0.486
17 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 185.711 38.770 -0.522
18 6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 185.696 38.773 -0.525
19 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 185.653 38.782 -0.534
20 97 Kurt Busch Ford Sharpie/IRWIN Industrial Tools 185.615 38.790 -0.542
21 21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts 185.486 38.817 -0.569
22 91 Bill Elliott Dodge Stanley Tools 185.452 38.824 -0.576
23 2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 185.447 38.825 -0.577
24 14 John Andretti Ford VB/APlus at Sunoco 184.867 38.947 -0.699
25 7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Harrah's 184.833 38.954 -0.706
26 32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet Tide - Give Kids The World 184.786 38.964 -0.716
27 22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Caterpillar 184.777 38.966 -0.718
28 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 184.677 38.987 -0.739
29 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 184.219 39.084 -0.836
30 15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 183.852 39.162 -0.914
31 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 183.828 39.167 -0.919
32 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 183.645 39.206 -0.958
33 4 Mike Wallace Chevrolet Lucas Oil Products 183.570 39.222 -0.974
34 34 Randy LaJoie Chevrolet Mach One Inc. 183.043 39.335 -1.087
35 77 Travis Kvapil* Dodge Kodak/Jasper Engines 182.997 39.345 -1.097
36 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Georgia-Pacific/Brawny 182.987 39.347 -1.099
37 43 Jeff Green Dodge General Mills Whole Grain 182.932 39.359 -1.111
38 49 Ken Schrader Dodge Schwan's Home Service 182.866 39.373 -1.125
39 11 Jason Leffler Chevrolet FedEx Express 182.597 39.431 -1.183
40 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 181.938 39.574 -1.326
41 38 Elliott Sadler Ford Pedigree 179.029 40.217 -1.969
42 07 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Jack Daniel's - - -
43 37 Kevin Lepage Dodge Carter's Royal Dispos-all 181.507 39.668 -1.420

Did not Qualify:
44 192 Stanton Barrett Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 181.091 39.759 -1.511
45 66 Hermie Sadler Ford Peak Fitness 179.991 40.002 -1.754
46 179 Stan Boyd Chevrolet Conely Racing 179.941 40.013 -1.765
47 173 Eric McClure* Chevrolet ARC Dehooker/joinrfa.com - - -
48 27 Kirk Shelmerdine Ford Freddie B's - - -

* Denotes Rookie

redriderbob

 

Photos from Bud Pole Qualifying:


Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray chat before qualifying at California Speedway.


Kurt Busch congratulates his brother Kyle on winning his first Nextel Cup Series Bud Pole Award.


Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth chat during Bud Pole Qualifying at California Speedway.


Jeff Gordon qualified 28th for the Auto Club 500 at Fontana.


Crew chief Jimmy Fennig, team owner Jack Roush and driver Kurt Busch look on during qualifying for the Auto Club 500.


Rusty Wallace, a 2001 winner at Fontana, qualified 23rd for the Auto Club 500.


With mountains in the background, Dale Earnhardt Jr. prepares to take his car out on the track at California Speedway.


Kasey Kahne will start 17th in the Auto Club 500. He finished 13th in this race in 2004.


Tony Stewart won the Busch Pole for the Busch Series Stater Bros. 300.


Jamie McMurray chats with his crew before Bud Pole Qualifying at California Speedway.


Bill Elliott gets his first start of the year in a points races in the Auto Club 500 at California.

redriderbob