Race Report.(Competition)(qualifying at California Speedway)

In qualifying at California Speedway in Fontana, rookie Kasey Kahne scored another pole, his third in only his 10th Nextel Cup start, with a lap of 38.515 seconds at 186.940 mph. He led the first lap, and would lead four more times for a total of 77 laps in his hot Ray Evernham-owned Dodge. But Jeff Gordon led 81 laps, including the last one, to score his second straight win and the 66th of his career.

Six caution flags fairly evenly spread out kept the field halfway close for the first three quarters of the 500 miles. The first yellow came on lap 22 after Stanton Barrett got crossed up in Turn Two and took a vicious hit into the newly installed SAFER barrier. (He was not seriously injured.) But over the last 100 miles a long green-flag run separated the players from the pack as Gordon, who started 16th, asserted himself. At one point Gordon pulled out a 3.5-second lead on Kahne, who eventually faded as Bobby Labonte and Jimmie Johnson took up the chase on Gordon. All the con-tenders made their last pit stops under green between laps 198 and 202 of 250, testing the limits of their fuel range. Labonte, then running second, ran out on the backstretch on the final lap. Kahne and teammate Jeremy Mayfield, then running fourth and fifth, were both forced to pit for a splash and dash. They finished 13th and 14th, respectively. Robby Gordon coasted to a stop just past the finish line to finish 12th. Jeff ...