Jeff Gordon's Chevy was too loose to lay down a quick lap on Saturday. Credit: Autostock

Gordon struggles as Hendrick motors soar

FONTANA, Calif. -- As Scott Maxim and Jeff Andrews emerged from Jimmie Johnson's transporter Saturday afternoon, clipboards in hand, faces splashed with an expression of ease, they couldn't help but grin a little bit.

Who wouldn't?

Robbie Loomis (right) with Gordon Credit: Autostock

Maxim and Andrews, after all, are top-ranking officials for Hendrick Engines, which manufactured seven of the top 12 power plants in Nextel Cup qualifying at California Speedway.

And for the record, Jeff Gordon wasn't one of them.

"Incredible," said Robbie Loomis, Gordon's crew chief, of Hendrick Engines' performance. "I think it's the first time since I've been here we've had an all-Hendrick front row."

Not to mention a front row with a combined age of 40 years.

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Kyle Busch,19, won the Bud Pole, breaking Ryan Newman's track-qualifying record to become the youngest Bud Pole winner in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series history.

Brian Vickers, 21, qualified second.

Vickers has started from a top-10 starting position in all three of his races at California, and won the Bud Pole here last September.

"The Hendrick engines were great," Vickers said. "They did a great job over the winter."

"For Kyle Busch and Alan (Gustafson) and Brian (Vickers) and Lance (McGrew), that's just incredible. Great job for them," Loomis said. "We're looking forward to the race. Look at Daytona, and how great the engines were there, and now here. Just awesome."

Gordon was awesome at Daytona, winning his third 500 in dramatic fashion.

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But on Friday, his car was terribly loose, relegating him to a 28th-place starting position -- the worst of his career at California.

"The car was just extremely loose," Loomis said. "Yesterday we made our qualifying run, and I think we ran fifth, and the car was a little bit tight.

Scott Riggs Credit: Autostock

"So we made some changes, because I knew tight (handling) would kill us under race conditions, and today we just missed it."

But Loomis doesn't seem overly concerned heading into the race. Despite the fact that no driver has won at race at Fontana from further back than 24th -- Jeremy Mayfield, 2000 -- Loomis is confident they'll be contenders Sunday.

"It was just way too loose today," Loomis said. "But I think we'll be good in race trim tomorrow. In this new impound procedure, if we have an error one way, I'm glad we're on the loose side and not the tight side."

Aside from Busch and Vickers, Joe Nemechek, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Bliss drove the other three Hendrick-powered machines in the top-10.

Terry Labonte was 11th and Scott Riggs, who finished a career-high fourth last week at Daytona, 12th.