BUSCH SERIES Kahne surprised at first pole win for Cabela 250

He thought the field would be too tough to get his first-ever pole spot.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Kasey Kahne didn't dare dream of capturing his first NASCAR Busch Grand National pole this weekend.
Kahne, from Enumclaw, Wash., knew qualifying would be tougher than usual Friday because several Winston Cup drivers were trying to make the field for today's Cabela's 250.
Kahne didn't arrive at MIS until just before 4 a.m. Friday after driving from Knoxville, Iowa, with Tony Stewart.
"I thought that maybe my first pole would be somewhere else," Kahne said. "But there are a lot of good drivers here this weekend -- Cup drivers and all the Busch guys -- so to sit on the pole and be in front of the field when it goes green is a pretty big accomplishment."
Record qualifying speed
Kahne, in his 43rd career start, took the pole with a record qualifying speed of 186.490 m.p.h. in the No. 38 Great Clips Ford. The old Busch track record was 185.644, set last year by Kevin Lepage.
"We've come close a lot this year," said Kahne, 12th in the series points race. "We've got bumped off a few different times and we've been in the top 10 a lot, too, so to finally get on the pole -- it was close."
The Cabela's 250 is one of two races Kahne will compete in today. After the 1:30 p.m. race at MIS, Kahne and Stewart will return to Iowa for the Knoxville Nationals, the Super Bowl of sprint car racing.
David Reutimann, in his seventh and final Busch start of the season, qualified second Friday at 186.379 in a Chevrolet.
Cup drivers qualify
Then came the Cup drivers, some of whom also run regularly in the Busch series: Casey Mears (186.340), Stewart (185.620), Kevin Harvick (185.276), Matt Kenseth (184.450), Greg Biffle (184.044) and last year's Cabela's winner, Michael Waltrip (184.030).
Stewart, driving the 3 Doors Down/Chance 2 No. 8 Chevrolet owned by Dale Earnhardt Inc., will race in the Busch series for the first time since 1998.
Series leader Scott Riggs qualified 13th (183.439). The top five drivers in the points standings are separated by only 99 points, making the championship battle one of the closest in history. Any of the four drivers below Riggs can take the points lead today.