Post #1: Stater Bros. 300 Qualifying Order, Newman will try to crash Busch party
Post #2: Greg Biffle wins the Stater Bros. 300, Unofficial Race Results, Biffle claims victory after gamble fails for Edwards, Unofficial Driver Standings

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Qualifying Order
Stater Bros. 300 | California Speedway
February 25, 2006| Race 2 of 35
(6 p.m. ET, FX)

Order Car Driver Make Sponsor
1 35 Regan Smith Ford McDonald's
2 27 David Green Ford Huggies CleanTeam/Stater Bros.
3 11 Paul Menard Chevrolet Menards/Quaker State
4 38 Anthony Foyt* Dodge Great Clips
5 22 Kenny Wallace Ford AutoZone
6 47 Jon Wood Ford Clorox/American Red Cross
7 64 Jamie McMurray Dodge Top-Flite Golf
8 2 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet ACDelco
9 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Outdoor Channel
10 50 Danny O'Quinn Jr.* Ford TransAmerica
11 58 Donnie Neuenberger Chevrolet Glynn Motorsports
12 157 Brian Vickers Chevrolet Mountain Dew/Arby's
13 00 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Yellow Transportation
14 20 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet Rockwell Automation
15 77 Burney Lamar* Chevrolet Dollar General
16 66 Scott Wimmer Ford Duraflame
17 34 Todd Bodine Chevrolet Hunter's Hope Foundation
18 99 Michael Waltrip Dodge Aaron's
19 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge America's Tire
20 36 Tim Sauter Chevrolet McGill Motorsports
21 12 Joel Kauffman* Dodge Supercuts
22 21 Jeff Burton Chevrolet U.S. Coast Guard
23 10 John Andretti* Ford Freedom Roads/Camping World
24 88 Mark McFarland* Chevrolet U.S. Navy
25 06 Todd Kluever* Ford 3M
26 23 Chris Wimmer* Chevrolet Keith Coleman Racing
27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Pennzoil Platinum
28 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Lowe's/Sta-Green
29 49 Derrike Cope Ford Advil Liqui-Gels
30 16 Greg Biffle Ford Ameriquest Mortgage
31 14 Tracy Hines* Dodge Jani-King
32 32 Jason Leffler Chevrolet FOE.com
33 90 Elliott Sadler Ford CitiFinancial
34 9 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper
35 42 Casey Mears Dodge Texaco/Havoline
36 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Vigoro/The Home Depot
37 59 Stacy Compton Ford Kingsford/Bush's Beans
38 139 Ryan Newman Dodge Mobil 1
39 1 Jason Keller Dodge Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts
40 0 Kertus Davis Chevrolet RaceGirl International
41 4 Mark Green Dodge GEICO/Brymak
42 01 Jay Sauter Chevrolet Western Union
43 184 David Gilliland Chevrolet Ranchwood Homes
44 60 Carl Edwards Ford Ameriquest Mortgage
45 25 Ashton Lewis Ford U.S. Marines
46 43 Aaron Fike Dodge California Pizza Kitchen

* Denotes Rookie

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Ryan Newman will be strapped in for this weekend's Stater Bros. 300. Credit: Autostock

He's back: Newman will try to crash Busch party
Cup regular hopes to break Roush's stronghold on California
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
February 24, 2006
10:58 AM EST (15:58 GMT)

Ryan Newman has this Busch Series thing figured out.

Saturday will be his first Busch start at the 2-mile, D-shaped California Speedway. But he's never been one to be slow at learning -- or slow at anything.


Credit: Autostock

Ryan Newman
2005 Busch Series starts

Race Start Finish
Charlotte 14 3
Chicago 1 3
Watkins Glen 4 1
Michigan 38 1
Bristol 3 1
Dover 1 1
Charlotte 2 1
Texas 1 16
Homestead 1 1
Avg. 7.2 3.1

As the Busch Series heads to the West Coast for some Hollywood sun, Newman wants to be the star that shines when the green flag drops on Saturday's Stater Bros. 300 (6 p.m. ET, FX).

"I'm really looking forward to pulling another 'double' this weekend," Newman said. "It makes for a busy, almost crazy, weekend, but it's worth it to get the extra track time, not to mention an extra shot at Victory Lane."

There's a place he has been.

He had six victories in nine Busch starts last season, including a stretch where he went five-for-five.

His other three starts? Third-place finishes at Charlotte and Chicago and a 16th at Texas. He appeared on his way to victory at Texas -- he led the most laps (122) -- but the caution flew after his green-flag pit stop, dropping him a lap down. It was the roadblock that kept him from seven in a row, as he captured the season finale at Homestead.

Despite racing only a third of the schedule, Newman still led more laps (800) than anybody in the Busch Series last year, topping champion Martin Truex Jr. by 95 laps.

But Jack Roush and his stable of Fords may have its say when it comes to stopping Newman's dominance in the Busch Series. Its history at California says as much.

In three of Greg Biffle's last four Busch races at the track, he's collected two victories and a runner-up finish. He's got five top-10s in six races at California.

"After our finish in Daytona, I absolutely know that we need to get back into Victory Lane," said Biffle, after a crash and 31st-place finish last weekend. "It will be great to get back to a 2-mile track where I feel confident."


Mark Martin won last year's Stater Bros. 300 but won't be in the field this time. Credit: Autostock

Matt Kenseth has three victories at the place with an average finish of sixth. Carl Edwards won last fall's race. And the rookies -- Danny O'Quinn and Todd Kluever -- would like to get their feet wet at a place where their new team dominates. Kluever will actually be driving an old chassis from Kenseth's garage.

Add to that the fact that a Ford has won the last six races at California and you've got a formula for victory.

But then there's the Chevy guy in Kevin Harvick.

The California-born driver was second to Biffle in last year's race, and his average finish at the track is 5.8 in six starts. Those entries, however, have been in a Richard Childress ride. This week, Harvick is in his own equipment, the No. 33 Chevy that he and his wife, DeLana, own and the same team that Tony Stewart drove to victory at Daytona. It will be the team's No. 2 entry. The other is rookie Burney Lamar, fresh off his runner-up finish at Daytona last week.

"I'm not nervous," said Lamar, who is also from California, "but I am looking more to capitalize on the momentum from Daytona."

To do that, he'll have to pull a repeat performance from last weekend and slow a slew of Nextel Cup regulars who'll be double-dipping again in Fontana.

Eighteen full-time Cup guys will be trying to qualify for this weekend's Stater Bros. 300, including Scott Wimmer. His No. 66 Brewco Motorsports Ford is the same car that Biffle drove to second place at this race last season. It will be his first Busch Series start since 2003.

Kenseth, Jeremy Mayfield and Casey Mears will be making their season debuts this weekend, as well, and each will look to make it two-for-two for the Buschwhackers.

But Newman hopes they're all chasing him all weekend.

"I'd love to sweep a weekend," Newman said. "I know it's been done by other drivers, and I want to be the next."

 

Greg Biffle won the Stater Bros. 300 on Saturday for his third career California Speedway victory in the Busch Series. Roush Racing placed three cars in the top six.

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Unofficial Race Results
Stater Bros. 300 | California Speedway
February 25, 2006 | Race 2 of 35

Fin St Car Driver Make Sponsor Pts/Bonus Laps Status
1 3 #16 Greg Biffle Ford Ameriquest Mortgage 190/10 150 Running
2 2 #139 Ryan Newman Dodge Mobil 1 175/5 150 Running
3 1 #60 Carl Edwards Ford Ameriquest Mortgage 170/5 150 Running
4 21 #21 Jeff Burton Chevrolet U.S. Coast Guard 165/5 150 Running
5 5 #64 Jamie McMurray Dodge Top-Flite Golf 155/0 150 Running
6 4 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford Pennzoil Platinum 155/5 150 Running
7 18 #18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Vigoro/The Home Depot 146/0 150 Running
8 28 #33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Outdoor Channel 147/5 150 Running
9 20 #157 Brian Vickers Chevrolet Mountain Dew/Arby's 138/0 150 Running
10 17 #20 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet Rockwell Automation 134/0 150 Running
11 35 #41 Reed Sorenson Dodge America's Tire 130/0 150 Running
12 8 #06 Todd Kluever* Ford 3M 127/0 150 Running
13 23 #00 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Yellow Transportation 124/0 150 Running
14 31 #66 Scott Wimmer Ford Duraflame 121/0 150 Running
15 30 #1 Jason Keller Dodge Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts 123/5 150 Running
16 14 #2 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet ACDelco 115/0 150 Running
17 36 #11 Paul Menard Chevrolet Menards/Quaker State 112/0 150 Running
18 13 #47 Jon Wood Ford Clorox/American Red Cross 109/0 150 Running
19 10 #10 John Andretti* Ford Freedom Roads/Camping World 111/5 150 Running
20 9 #27 David Green Ford Huggies CleanTeam/Stater Bros. 103/0 149 Running
21 32 #77 Burney Lamar* Chevrolet Dollar General 100/0 149 Running
22 16 #32 Jason Leffler Chevrolet FOE.com 97/0 149 Running
23 15 #5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Lowe's/Sta-Green 94/0 149 Running
24 12 #59 Stacy Compton Ford Kingsford/Bush's Beans 91/0 149 Running
25 39 #36 Tim Sauter Chevrolet McGill Motorsports 88/0 149 Running
26 33 #99 Michael Waltrip Dodge Aaron's 85/0 148 Running
27 26 #12 Joel Kauffman* Dodge Supercuts 82/0 148 Running
28 24 #35 Regan Smith Ford McDonald's 79/0 148 Running
29 22 #25 Ashton Lewis Ford U.S. Marines 76/0 148 Running
30 43 #88 Mark McFarland* Chevrolet U.S. Navy 73/0 148 Running
31 38 #50 Danny O'Quinn Jr.* Ford TransAmerica 70/0 148 Running
32 29 #90 Elliott Sadler Ford CitiFinancial 67/0 148 Running
33 19 #14 Tracy Hines* Dodge Jani-King 64/0 148 Running
34 11 #22 Kenny Wallace Ford AutoZone 61/0 148 Running
35 34 #9 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper 63/5 147 Running
36 40 #43 Aaron Fike Dodge California Pizza Kitchen 55/0 147 Running
37 41 #34 Todd Bodine Chevrolet Hunter's Hope Foundation 52/0 145 Running
38 43 #38 Anthony Foyt* Dodge Great Clips 49/0 144 Running
39 42 #58 Donnie Neuenberger Chevrolet Glynn Motorsports 46/0 142 Running
40 7 #42 Casey Mears Dodge Texaco/Havoline 43/0 121 Out of Race
41 6 #01 Jay Sauter Chevrolet Western Union 40/0 118 Out of Race
42 37 #0 Kertus Davis Chevrolet RaceGirl International 42/5 117 Out of Race
43 25 #4 Mark Green Dodge GEICO/Brymak 34/0 3 Out of Race

* Denotes Rookie

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Greg Biffle earned his third career Busch Series victory at California. Credit: Autostock

Biffle claims victory after gamble fails for Edwards
By Mike Harris, The Associated Press
February 25, 2006
10:38 PM EST (03:38 GMT)

FONTANA, Calif. -- A gamble by Carl Edwards on fresh tires late in the Busch Series race at California Speedway fell short, allowing Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle to run off to an easy victory Saturday.


Greg Biffle celebrates his victory Credit: Autostock

With Nextel Cup drivers, known as "Buschwhackers," again dominating a race in the developmental series -- finishing in the top 11 positions -- Biffle passed former teammate Jeff Burton for the lead with 10 laps to go in the Stater Bros. 300. Biffle then drove away to a 2.256-second -- half a straightaway -- win over Ryan Newman.

It was the fifth consecutive win by a Roush-owned car on the 2-mile California track.

Edwards, who led 49 of the 150 laps, appeared to have the fastest car through most of the event. But he chose to give up the lead to pit for four fresh tires after debris brought out the last of four caution flags on lap 134.

Edwards said he didn't think he could hold off Biffle and Burton if he didn't get tires at the end. He radioed his crew chief asking to pit.

"I thought even going to the back we could get them," Edwards said. "We've won a couple like that in the Busch Series, but it's a gamble. You know, everything has to go just right. We probably needed another caution there with about five laps to go."

Biffle, whose Ford Fusion led a race-high 52 laps, said the late caution flag was the key to his 18th career Busch victory and third at the California track.

"We weren't going to catch them without a caution flag," Biffle said. "We had to stay out because we had used up all of our sets of tires. I thought everybody was going to pit and I was shocked when they stayed out because new tires are really fast.

"I made an almost fatal mistake there on the first stop, tightening the car up too much. We just kept making big adjustments," he added. "Our stops were a little slow because we were doing so much work. We really needed that caution."

After Edwards pitted, it left Burton's Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the lead. Biffle and Newman, in a Penske Racing South Dodge, were close behind and Edwards' Ford was 10th when the green flag waved for the start of lap 139.

Newman grabbed second place from Biffle on that lap, but last year's Nextel Cup runner-up retook the second spot the next time around the oval and chased down Burton. Once he got into the lead, Biffle began to steadily pull away.

Meanwhile, Edwards shot through traffic and got all the way to third, passing Burton on Lap 146. But that's as close as he could come to the leaders.

Newman said he had nothing for Biffle at the end.

"We were good on restarts, but just a little bit down on speed," he said. "All in all, it was a pretty good showing for this team."

All the Cup drivers will compete on the same track in Sunday's Auto Club 500.

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2006 Unofficial Driver Standings
After: Stater Bros. 300 | California Speedway | Race 2 of 35

Rank +/- Driver Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10
1 +4 Kevin Harvick 302 Leader 2 0 0 1 2
2 +5 J.J. Yeley 293 -9 2 1 0 0 2
3 -- Clint Bowyer 285 -17 2 0 0 1 1
4 +12 Jamie McMurray 275 -27 2 0 0 1 1
5 +3 Todd Kluever* 273 -29 2 0 0 0 1
6 -4 Burney Lamar* 270 -32 2 0 0 1 1
7 -3 Jon Wood 269 -33 2 0 0 1 1
8 +1 Reed Sorenson 268 -34 2 0 0 0 1
9 +22 Greg Biffle 265 -37 2 0 1 1 1
10 +5 Denny Hamlin 255 -47 2 0 0 0 1
11 -- Jason Keller 253 -49 2 0 0 0 0
12 -6 Jason Leffler 247 -55 2 0 0 0 1
13 +16 Jeff Burton 243 -59 2 0 0 1 1
14 +25 Carl Edwards 216 -86 2 1 0 1 1
15 +17 Brian Vickers 210 -92 2 0 0 0 1
16 -4 Ashton Lewis 203 -99 2 0 0 0 0
17 -- Michael Waltrip 203 -99 2 0 0 0 0
18 +1 Tim Sauter 194 -108 2 0 0 0 0
19 -18 Tony Stewart 185 -117 1 0 1 1 1
20 -7 Kenny Wallace 185 -117 2 0 0 0 0
21 +14 Johnny Sauter 182 -120 2 0 0 0 0
22 +3 Kyle Busch 182 -120 2 0 0 0 0
23 -5 Danny O'Quinn Jr.* 179 -123 2 0 0 0 0
24 -- Ryan Newman 175 -127 1 0 0 1 1
25 +2 Stacy Compton 173 -129 2 0 0 0 0
26 +8 John Andretti* 172 -130 2 0 0 0 0
27 -5 Mark McFarland* 170 -132 2 0 0 0 0
28 -18 Mark Green 168 -134 2 0 0 0 1
29 -8 Tracy Hines* 167 -135 2 0 0 0 0
30 -4 Regan Smith 164 -138 2 0 0 0 0
31 +7 Paul Menard 161 -141 2 0 0 0 0
32 -- Matt Kenseth 155 -147 1 0 0 0 1
33 +4 David Green 155 -147 2 0 0 0 0
34 -6 Elliott Sadler 146 -156 2 0 0 0 0
35 -12 Donnie Neuenberger 140 -162 2 0 0 0 0
36 -22 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 122 -180 1 0 0 0 0
37 -- Scott Wimmer 121 -181 1 0 0 0 0
38 -18 Steve Grissom 105 -197 1 0 0 0 0
39 -15 Paul Tracy 91 -211 1 0 0 0 0
40 +3 Aaron Fike 89 -213 2 0 0 0 0
41 +1 Anthony Foyt* 86 -216 2 0 0 0 0
42 -- Joel Kauffman* 82 -220 1 0 0 0 0
43 -13 David Reutimann 76 -226 1 0 0 0 0
44 -11 Kasey Kahne 69 -233 1 0 0 0 0
45 -- Jeremy Mayfield 63 -239 1 0 0 0 0
46 -10 Ken Schrader 55 -247 1 0 0 0 0
47 -- Todd Bodine 52 -250 1 0 0 0 0
48 -8 Joe Nemechek 43 -259 1 0 0 0 0
49 -- Casey Mears 43 -259 1 0 0 0 0
50 -- Kertus Davis 42 -260 1 0 0 0 0
51 -10 Steadman Marlin 40 -262 1 0 0 0 0
52 -- Jay Sauter 40 -262 1 0 0 0 0

* Denotes Rookie