Busch looks to bounce back

FONTANA, Calif. – Age is no longer an issue for Kyle Busch.

For a while, his accomplishments were attributed to precocious driving. His mistakes? Simply youthful errors. Now, starting his third Nextel Cup season and approaching 22, Busch is ready to be judged strictly on his merits.

Busch had a good week at Daytona, but a rookie-like miscue on the last lap of Sunday’s Daytona 500 ruined everything he had built to that point.

“We were running in second at the green-white-checkered finish and I was on Mark Martin’s bumper pushing him because that was two Hendrick Motorsports engines working together,” Busch said. “I tried to move up for a block (on Kevin Harvick), but it was too late.

“I settled back in line and when we went down the frontstretch I got loose from the air off the 17 car (Matt Kenseth) and went down to the apron and spun out.”

Busch slid into Kenseth and a seven-car crash ensued. Harvick, ahead of the melee, outraced Martin to the finish line by the length of a hood to win the season-opening race. Busch couldn’t face the media following the race, scrambling out of his battered No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and walking off to be alone with his thoughts.

“It was the last lap of the biggest race of the year and there were five guys going for a win,” said Busch, ready to bounce back in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. “It could have happened at any point during the race, but it happened then.”

Busch held the lead in each of the four NASCAR events he entered at Daytona and led more laps (120) than any other driver during the nine-day stretch. He led 39 laps in the Budweiser Shootout, 31 in his 150-mile qualifying race, 46 in the Busch Series race and four in the Daytona 500.

He finished seventh in the Shootout, fourth in his qualifier, 37th in the Busch race – thanks to a faulty fuel pump – and 24th in the 500.

Busch qualified 18th Friday.

Gordon on pole

Jeff Gordon won the pole, Brian Vickers finally got Team Red Bull into a race and Michael Waltrip failed to make the lineup on a topsy-turvy qualifying day at California Speedway for Sunday’s Nextel Cup race.

Gordon turned a fast lap of 185.735 mph to grab the 57th pole of his career.

Kasey Kahne was second to Gordon at 185.519.

Vickers, with a new team and with no points from last year, failed to race his way into the Daytona 500, but was just behind Blaney in 15th at 183.852.

Waltrip will be watching the race instead of driving in it after being knocked out of the lineup by rookie teammate David Reutimann.

Craftsman Trucks

Mark Martin lost another heartbreaker.

After being passed on the last lap and losing by the length of a hood to Kevin Harvick last Sunday in the Daytona 500, Martin was dominating the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at California Speedway before Ron Hornaday Jr. bumped him out of the lead on a restart with five laps to go.

Former series champion Mike Skinner jumped past Hornaday into the lead before the caution flag came out and stayed out front, earning his 20th truck victory.

Martin, who pitted after spinning into the infield grass, wound up 23rd.