Kyle Busch puts Monte Carlo SS on the pole for Saturday's Subway Fresh 500; Tony Stewart qualifies third

PHOENIX, AZ - Kyle Busch put his No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS on the pole for Saturday's Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. It is the first 2006 pole for Busch and the second of his career. Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, qualified third for the 312-lap race.

A total of six Monte Carlo SS drivers will start in the top-10 on Saturday night. Rookie of the Year contenders Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Sylvania Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and Martin Truex, Jr. No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, qualified in the sixth, eighth and ninth starting positions respectively. Current NASCAR Nextel Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS will start 10th.

The Subway Fresh 500 is scheduled to take the green flag Saturday at 5:25 p.m. PDT (8:25 p.m. EDT). FOX TV, PRN Radio and XM Satellite Radio will provide live coverage of the race.

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S / CARQUEST MONTE CARLO SS WINS POLE POSITION

ON HIS RUN: "It was pretty good today from the beginning when we unloaded off the trailer. It is the sister car to the one we won with here last fall. It feels like it is a little bit better, at least so far. We are excited that we have a great race car for Saturday night. As far as qualifying here today, it was a solid lap. I got off in to turn one pretty good. Brought her down to the bottom, then gassed her up and got off the corner pretty well. Then, got down in to turn three, I thought I got in a little too hot because I got on the rev chip going down the backstretch but I drove right through it. Normally you lift a little bit but I just drove right through it and got in a little hot and drifted up the race track.

"But I think it actually helped me because I got up out of the groove off the bottom enough to where I could just straight shoot off the corner and go wide open. A lot of the guys were running right on the yellow line or right around the bottom of the race track and they were kind of having to feather it with the throttle. I got a straight shot off the corner, which I think helped propel me to the top spot today.

ON WALL DANCE: "The fans were giving me great inspiration to go over there and give them a little celebration. They were calling out my last name I believe, so I just thought I would give them a little love and give it back to them. It is all in fun. I have a good time with them. There is a little support out there, which is nice.

ON FEEDING OFF THE FANS MUCH THE SAME AS HIS BROTHER KURT DOES: "Basically, yes I do. Dale Earnhardt said it best many years ago, it isn't about whether you are getting booed or cheered, it is all about who has the most noise. I think right now it is a toss up between Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The Busch Brothers are steadily climbing that rope."

ON CAR FOR THE RACE: "I am looking forward to it. It is a very good race car. We unloaded with the same setup we had here last fall. It is very good in race trim, we were second on the board to Mark Martin on the board who was making qualifying runs right out of the box.

"The car was turning well, it was driving off the corner well. I was looking at some of the times on our lap-tracker deal, we were pretty good, Greg Biffle was very good. I think Harvick was decent and Tony Stewart was very good. There are some guys we are going to have to battle with and fight it out with for the win. I think it will be a good race come Saturday night. A lot of fun out there."

ON BARKING ON RADIO "It was me. I was chomping at the bit. That is what it is all about. You are just chomping to get out there and make a qualifying in. Every body always says 'Keep digging, keep diggin.' I just keep chomping at the bit and that is about it."

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CINGULAR WIRELESS CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

"That's not going to be good at all. We'll start way back in the pack with that. In today's time, you never want to start in the back because it's so competitive. But it is what it is and we've just got to get on it and make something happen. It's not the first time I've ever started in the back."

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 GM GOODWRENCH CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

"It was a good lap. We probably gave up have a tenth or a tenth coming off of Turn 4. It was a good lap for our GM Goodwrench Chevrolet. In both laps, I messed up one end or the other and so I left a little bit out there. But all in all, it was better than practice and that's all you can ask for.

"We spent most of our time in practice for race trim and then switched over there at the end and made two qualifying runs. We felt pretty good with the car and hopefully it's pretty good in race trim."

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

"We're not too far off but I'm a little disappointed. On that second lap, I just drove into Turn 1 a little bit too deep and just then it just messed up my whole (Turn) 1 and 2. So I was hoping to be up there where Jimmie (Johnson) is. I think this track is going to get faster and faster as the sun goes down and we're going to find our name pretty far down the list. But we do have a fast DuPont Chevrolet. I'm real happy with the way things have been going this weekend and this track has been good to us the last couple of times we've been here so I'm excited about Saturday."

HOW DOES THIS TRACK CHANGE? "You always want to go out later in the draw. When you start at 5:30 in the afternoon and it's hot like it is here in Phoenix and the track temperature just gets cooler and cooler. We have a pretty cool Turns 1 and 2, but in Turns 3 and 4, it's still really hot and slick. If the sun gets all the way down to where 3 and 4 is shaded, you're going to see more grip and less track temperature and the track just getting faster and faster."

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

"It was a great lap. Our draw is probably going to hurt us a little bit. If we can stay in the top 10, that will be great. But I'm really proud of our effort.

WHAT IS YOUR STRATEGY FOR QUALIYFING? "Well, it's nice that this is not an impound race, so we can really focus just on qualifying and not worry about the race stuff that much. When we're in race practice, that's going to be a big challenge. It's something we're going to have to go off our notes from the race here before and really make sure that leave happy hour like we need to so we're right when the race starts."

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

"That was a great run for us. It was a very strong effort for the entire Kellogg's/Carquest Chevy team. They did a great job for me today. We have a good race car. It's the sister car to what we won with here last fall, so hopefully they can make it just as good if not better.

"Qualifying, it's not so line-sensitive out here but it's definitely one of those places where you want to make sure you're doing as well and as good as you can. With what we were able to do right there, I'm pretty happy with that. I'm sure it's not going to stick for the pole, but if we can get a top five or a top 10, I'll be happy with that. It's going to get very fast out there. I don't think we're pole material, but hopefully we can get one before the year is out so we can be in the Budweiser Shootout next spring."

TONY STEWART, NO. 20 HOME DEPOT CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO SS:

"I left a little bit in (Turns) 3 and 4 in both laps. But this is a momentum track; a timing track. I was just a little bit slow in 3 and 4. It wasn't the car. I just didn't get in and let it roll far enough through. So, it's not bad. We've got a good car and it felt really good in race trim today.

HOW IMPORTANT IS PIT SELECTION HERE AT PIR? "It doesn't seem to be too bad. Obviously if you can get one or two of the openings here, it's better. But if you get your car right, it doesn't matter where you start."

ON THE DRAW AND THE TRACK TEMPERATURE "The sun has already gone and there are a bunch of cars going after me. It's just the luck of the draw. This is what we do every week for 38 straight weeks. You draw first thing when you get there and you get what you get."

IS QUALIFYING IN THE TOP 10 IMPORTANT? "Not really. If you've got a good enough car here at this track -- this is one of those racing tracks -- so if you've got a car that's good, you can get to the front."

BUT YOU KNOW THE LINE, YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE THIS TRACK "I probably know more lines around this track than any driver here just because with Indy Cars you ran a different line. With Sprint Cars and Midgets you ran a different line. And with stock cars, it's an entirely different line yet. So I probably know more square inches of this race track than any driver here."