by TonyStewart.com

"The car just didn't feel like it had any grip," said Stewart, who toured the 2-mile oval in 39.084 seconds with an average speed of 184.219 mph. "It's something we've been fighting all weekend."

Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates - Bobby Labonte and Jason Leffler - qualified 14th and 39th, respectively. Labonte clocked a time of 38.710 seconds with an average speed of 185.998 mph, while Leffler timed in at 39.431 seconds with an average speed of 182.597 mph.

Rookie Kyle Busch captured his first career pole position with a track record time of 38.248 seconds at an average speed of 188.245 mph, becoming the youngest pole winner in Cup Series history at the age of 19. He replaces Donald Thomas, who was 20 years old when he won the pole at Lakewood (Ga.) Speedway on Nov. 16, 1952. Thomas went on to win that race and remains the youngest race winner in Cup Series history.

Rounding out the top-five in qualifying were Brian Vickers (38.351 seconds at 187.740 mph), Jeremy Mayfield (38.377 seconds at 187.612 mph), Joe Nemechek (38.392 seconds at 187.539 mph) and Greg Biffle (38.052 seconds at 187.003 mph).

Forty-eight drivers attempted to qualify for the 250-lap race. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Stanton Barrett, Hermie Sadler, Stan Boyd, Eric McClure and Kirk Shelmerdine.

As far as manufacturers went, Chevrolet took three of the top-five spots with the runs made by Busch, Vickers and Nemechek. Dodge was next best at the hands of Mayfield, and carrying the flag for Ford was Biffle.

The Auto Club 500 gets underway on Sun., Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. EST. FOX will carry live coverage of the event.