NASCAR in full swing

For many Nextel Cup drivers, the real season begins today at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

All three of NASCAR’s top professional series started last week at Daytona International Speedway, the culmination of off-season preparations.

At Daytona, NASCAR mandates horsepower-sapping carburetor restrictor plates to slow the Cup and Busch cars. Another device keeps the trucks in check on the high banks.

That’s a whole different kind of racing from what goes on at Fontana, where engines are unrestricted.

“I would agree that this is kind of the start to the real season,” said Kevin Harvick, who won both the season-opening Busch race and the Daytona 500. “We always approach Daytona as kind of a different thing from what we do the rest of the year.

The race on California’s 2-mile oval is the first of three in a row on NASCAR’s intermediate and relatively flat tracks. The Cup drivers have next week off, then race on the 1.5-mile ovals at Las Vegas and Atlanta.

Dale Jarrett, who has had to rely on the past champion’s provisional to make the lineup at Daytona and for today’s Auto Club 500, is also looking forward to seeing what his new No. 44 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota can get done over the next few weeks.

“It is more like what we do on a regular basis,” the 1999 Cup champion said. “The Daytonas and Talladegas are four weekends a year and you have to do that, but this is about what we do all the time, where drivers, crews, everybody makes a big difference.

For now, Jeff Gordon, a three-time winner in Fontana, will start from the pole in the 43-car field.

He will be alongside Kasey Kahne, who won last September’s California race, and just ahead of Harvick and Mark Martin, the driver he beat by a few feet in the Daytona 500.

Busch Series

Matt Kenseth took control in the closing laps at California Speedway, driving off with his fourth NASCAR Busch Series victory in 12 tries on the 2-mile oval at Fontana, Calif.

Casey Mears gave a big effort to try to catch Kenseth at the end, but the Roush Fenway Racing driver wouldn’t let Mears get close enough for a serious challenge, driving across the finish line about five car lengths ahead.

“It was really a lot of fun,” said Kenseth, who earned his 22nd Busch victory in his 200th series start.

“I owe a lot of this to my former teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. I learned a lot about these tracks from them.”

Kenseth, giving Jack Roush his first victory since he sold half his team to Fenway Sports Group earlier this month, took over the lead with a pass of Burton, now driving for Richard Childress Racing, on lap 129 of the 150-lap event.

The 2003 NASCAR Cup champion and winner of last February’s Cup race here led the rest of the way.