Fontana, CA (Best E Casino) - Kurt Busch was just 0.001 seconds faster than Jimmie Johnson, but it was enough to capture the pole for Sunday evening's Sharp Aquos 500 Nextel Cup race at the California Speedway. The No.2 Miller Lite Dodge driver circled the two-mile oval in 39.474 seconds (182.399 m.p.h.).

The pole victory was Busch's first of the season and 10th of his "Cup" career.

"We didn't expect that good of a lap," said Busch. "We got some of the cloud cover right when it first came in, you could almost feel it cool down."

Starting alongside Busch will be Johnson who came up just short with a time of 39.475 seconds.

Kasey Kahne (39.556) and Ryan Newman (39.688) will make up row two.

Five drivers have mathematically clinched one of the 12 positions in the "Chase" - Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Four more drivers are on the verge of clinching - 2006 Nextel Cup champion Johnson, Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer.

Which leaves five drivers competing for the final three spots amd just two races left in the "regular" season. Currently, Kevin Harvick (starting 12th), Martin Truex Jr. (starting eighth) and Kurt Busch hold down positions 10 through 12. Sitting outside the "Chase" and looking in are fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. (starting seventh) and Newman.

Harvick, the 2007 Daytona 500 winner, is 167 points ahead of 13th-place Earnhardt Jr. Truex Jr. is 166 points ahead of his DEI Inc., teammate Earnhardt Jr. Busch is 158 points ahead of "Junior."

Of the five drivers, Busch has had the best results at the California Speedway. The No.2 Miller Lite Dodge driver has made 10 starts, winning once with four top-10s.

Ricky Rudd will make his 900th career start, second all-time behind Richard Petty's 1185 starts.

The race is scheduled to drop the green flag on Sunday at 8 p.m. (et).