Ameriquest 300 - California Speedway

Kahne Uses Pit Strategy to Win in California
Kasey Kahne used pit strategy and gas mileage to pick up his fifth career NASCAR Busch Series win in the Ameriquest 300 at California Speedway. Kahne cruised home a full 8.290 seconds ahead of runner-up Kevin Harvick. Kahne’s victory was attributed to a gamble on lap 98 when he topped off his fuel tank only to come out of the pits in 28th spot. The strategy paid off when he inherited the lead on lap 133 as the remainder of the leaders pitted under green over the closing laps. The final laps were highlighted by a duel between Kahne and series regular Paul Menard. However, Menard’s brilliant run was cut short on the final lap as he ran out of fuel coming off Turn 2. Veteran Mark Martin looked like a sure winner, leading the most laps with what seemed to be the dominant car, but he was caught deep in the pack on the last round of pit stops under the green flag. Harvick led several laps early in the race but fought an ill-handling car and dropped to 29th spot before chassis changes were made. Greg Biffle moved to the front only to get a stop-and-go penalty for a runaway tire during his final pit stop. The event was relatively easy on equipment as only one car had retired by lap 95. The biggest incident of the night took place in Turn 1 just short of 100 laps when J.J. Yeley experienced tire trouble and hit the wall. Finishing behind Kahne and Harvick were Mark Martin, Paul Menard, who coasted across the line out of fuel, Ashton Lewis Jr. Kevin Harvick extended his point lead to 567 over Carl Edwards with Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and J.J. Yeley making up the top five in points.

Ameriquest 300 Notes

· Race Results · Rookie Post-Race Quotes · Point Standings · Owner Point Standings · WIX Filters Lap Leader Notes · Starting Lineup · Qualifying Results · Final Practice · Practice 2: Rookie Practice · Practice 1 · Rookie Friday Quotes · Qualifying Order · Entry List · Race Notes · Weekend Schedule · Raybestos Rookie Notes · David Ragan Notes · Stanton Barrett Notes · Mark Martin Notes · Robby Gordon Notes

· Kevin Harvick Notes · Carl Edwards Notes · Clint Bowyer Notes · Greg Biffle Notes · Kyle Busch Notes · Kenny Wallace Notes · Jason Leffler Notes · Reed Sorenson Notes · David Green Notes · Stacy Compton Notes · Burney Lamar Notes · Todd Kluever Notes · Matt Kenseth Notes · Jamie McMurray Notes · Kasey Kahne Notes · Scott Wimmer Notes · Auggie Vidovich Notes · Tony Stewart Notes · Kertus Davis Notes · Casey Mears Notes

Bowyer Earns Pole for Ameriquest 300
Clint Bowyer captured his second consecutive Busch Pole in the September race at California Speedway, winning the pole position for tonight’s Ameriquest 300. Bowyer qualified in 40.134 seconds, at an average speed of 179.399 mph, the only driver to exceed 179 mph during the qualifying session. This is Bowyer’s second pole of the season, with his last coming at Martinsville. Bowyer now has five career NASCAR Busch Series poles but has yet to win a race when starting from the first position. Following his pole in this event last season, Bowyer finished third, his best finish in three races at California Speedway. Kyle Busch will join Bowyer on the front row in the race tonight, while runaway points leader Kevin Harvick starts third. Kasey Kahne qualified fourth and Greg Biffle will round out the top-five positions on the starting grid.