Biffle Earns First Pole Since 2004

No one left the last Nextel Cup race more disappointed than Greg Biffle, who dominated the field at the California Speedway before falling victim to a late engine failure.

But Biffle ignored that setback, as well as cold, windy conditions here Friday, and won the pole for Sunday’s UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Driving the same Roush Racing Ford he ran at Fontana two weeks ago -- with a repaired engine -- Biffle turned a qualifying lap of 172.403 mph to win his first Cup pole since 2004, when he started first in the Daytona 500.

But he’ll need to reverse a trend to win at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas track.

In the eight previous Cup races here, no pole sitter has reached victory lane.

“My car was just perfect on that lap,” Biffle said, adding that his disappointment in the Auto Club 500 at Fontana was a fading memory.

“Our whole team feels really, really good” about that race, “like we won almost,” he said. “Spirits are high because the fact is that we have good race cars and we’re running very well.”

Tony Stewart will join Biffle on the front row after qualifying second with a lap of 172.068 mph in his Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet.

Nextel Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson -- who won the season-opening Daytona 500 and then finished second in California -- qualified third at 171.597 mph, and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch was fourth at 171.423 mph. Both drive Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports.

Johnson also is the defending winner of the Las Vegas race, but the Roush Fords have fared the best overall since the track held its first Cup race in 1998, winning five of the eight events.

Yet for all of Roush’s success in Las Vegas, this was the first time one of its cars won the pole here.

Roush driver Matt Kenseth -- who has won twice here and won the Feb. 26 race in Fontana when Biffle faltered -- qualified ninth in his Ford.

Biffle also said he’s bracing for a strong run Sunday by Kasey Kahne, who qualified fifth in his Evernham Motorsports Dodge.

“The [No.] 9 car is the fastest car here,” Biffle said.

The field had to contend with temperatures in the 40s and a stiff breeze that pushed the wind-chill factor into the 30s.

Las Vegas typically enjoys highs approaching 70 degrees in March.

“The wind was really swirling” on the track, Johnson said. “It was tough at times in the car ... because the wind would change. But everybody was dealt the same conditions.”

Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., meanwhile, continued to struggle here, qualifying next-to-last in 42nd after momentarily losing control of his Chevrolet entering the third corner. Earnhardt finished 37th in last year’s Las Vegas race and 35th in 2004.