Kahne on Pole-The Day of the Rookie at California
Written by John Davison · April 30, 2004
Kasey Kahne beat out series regulars Joe Nemechek and Jeff Green to take the pole for Sunday’s Auto Club 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at California Speedway.
Kahne’s Bud Pole Award is the third of his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup career. Rookies will hold four of the top six starting slots with only Nemechek and Green among the regulars before Ryan Newman’s seventh-place spot, followed by Sterling Marlin, Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Jr to finish out the top ten.
The top qualifying Ford is Elliott Sadler’s No. 38 Pedigree Taurus, way back in fourteenth spot while Dodge and Chevy alternate the top seven before Marlin’s Dodge breaks the pattern.
Petty Enterprises gained one of the team’s best starting positions of the last few years with Green’s third-place. Green gave credit to his team, saying the whole organization had stepped up their efforts.
With only 43 cars filing entries and showing up, nobody went home this week.
Starting Lineup, Auto Club 500:
Pos, Driver, Car, Time, Speed
1) Kasey Kahne*, No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 38.515 sec, 186.940 mph
2) Joe Nemechek, No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, 38.557 sec, 186.737 mph
3) Jeff Green, No. 43 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge, 38.644 sec, 186.316 mph
4) Scott Riggs*, No. 10 Valvoline Chevrolet, 38.679 sec, 186.148 mph
5) Brendan Gaughan*, No. 77 Kodak EasyShare Dodge, 38.742 sec, 185.845 mph
6) Brian Vickers*, No. 25 GMAC Financial Services Chevrolet, 38.750 sec, 185.806 mph
7) Ryan Newman, No. 12 Mobil 1/ALLTEL Dodge, 38.760 sec, 185.759 mph
8) Sterling Marlin, No. 40 Coors Light Dodge, 38.763 sec, 185.744 mph
9) Rusty Wallace, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, 38.806 sec, 185.538 mph
10) Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, 38.808 sec, 185.529 mph
11) Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, 38.886 sec, 185.157 mph
12) Jamie McMurray, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge, 38.912 sec, 185.033 mph
13) Casey Mears, No. 41 Target Dodge, 38.954 sec, 184.833 mph
14) Elliott Sadler, No. 38 Pedigree Ford, 38.978 sec, 184.720 mph
15) Ward Burton, No. 0 NetZero HiSpeed Chevrolet, 39.007 sec, 184.582 mph
16) Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, 39.028 sec, 184.483 mph
17) Michael Waltrip, No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 39.037 sec, 184.440 mph
18) Greg Biffle, No. 16 National Guard/Subway Ford, 39.075 sec, 184.261 mph
19) Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, 39.083 sec, 184.223 mph
20) Jeremy Mayfield, No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, 39.089 sec, 184.195 mph
21) Jimmy Spencer, No. 4 Morgan-McClure Chevrolet, 39.116 sec, 184.068 mph
22) Robby Gordon, No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet, 39.150 sec, 183.908 mph
23) Kevin Harvick, No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, 39.158 sec, 183.870 mph
24) Matt Kenseth, No. 17 DeWalt Power Tools Ford, 39.167 sec, 183.828 mph
25) Mark Martin, No. 6 Viagra Ford, 39.174 sec, 183.795 mph
26) Bobby Labonte, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, 39.239 sec, 183.491 mph
27) Kyle Petty, No. 45 Georgia Pacific/Brawny/Chick-Fil-A Dodge, 39.239 sec, 183.491 mph
28) Kurt Busch, No. 97 IRWIN Industrial Tools/Sharpie Ford, 39.273 sec, 183.332 mph
29) Terry Labonte, No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet, 39.275 sec, 183.323 mph
30) Jeff Burton, No. 99 Roundup FastAct Ford, 39.310 sec, 183.160 mph
31) Dale Jarrett, No. 88 UPS Ford, 39.372 sec, 182.871 mph
32) Ken Schrader, No. 49 Schwan’s Home Service Dodge, 39.438 sec, 182.565 mph
33) Johnny Benson, No. 09 Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts Dodge, 39.499 sec, 182.283 mph
34) Ricky Craven, No. 32 Tide Chevrolet, 39.505 sec, 182.255 mph
35) Ricky Rudd, No. 21 Motorcraft/U.S. Air Force Ford, 39.573 sec, 181.942 mph
36) Derrike Cope, No. 50 Bennett Lane Winery Dodge, 39.577 sec, 181.924 mph
37) Johnny Sauter*, No. 30 America Online Chevrolet, 39.672 sec, 181.488 mph
38) Morgan Shepherd, No. 89 Voyles/Carter’s Royal Dispos-all Dodge, 39.717 sec, 181.283 mph
Provisional
39) Scott Wimmer*, No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge, 40.173 sec, 179.225 mph
40) Hermie Sadler, No. 02 SCORE Motorsports Chevrolet, 40.181 sec, 179.189 mph
41) Todd Bodine, No. 98 Lucas Oil Products Ford, 40.421 sec, 178.125 mph
42) Kirk Shelmerdine, No. 72 Freddie B’s Ford, 41.330 sec, 174.208 mph
43) Stanton Barrett, No. 94 AmericInn Lodging Systems Chevrolet, 41.108 sec, 175.148 mph
*: Rookie
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