Kasey Kahne won his second straight Bud Pole. He finished third last week at Darlington. Credit: Darrell Ingham/Getty Images

Kahne sweeps Busch, Cup poles at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Kasey Kahne won his third pole position in as many tries Friday and became the first driver in Richmond International Raceway history to sweep the top spot for Busch and Nextel Cup races.

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Kahne, who edged Ryan Newman for the pole last week at Darlington, S.C., did it again just a few hours after also winning the top starting spot for Friday night's Funai 250 Busch Series race at the track.

Newman, driving a backup car after crashing in practice earlier in the day, did nothing but enhance his reputation as the top qualifier in stock car racing with a lap at 129.801 mph, just off Kahne's 129.964 mph.

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In the first 11 races this year, Newman has won three poles, started second three times and from inside the top 10 in every other race.

Kahne, meantime, earned his sixth career pole position in 47 Nextel Cup races, and became the first driver in NASCAR to accomplish the pole sweep since Mark Martin at Rockingham, N.C., in Oct. 1999.

"I was worried about Ryan Newman," Kahne said. "I knew he was in a backup car, but I knew he was going to be fast."

Newman said drifting onto the part of the track littered with chunks of rubber caused the practice crash.

"But we've got a good backup," Newman said.

Earlier, Kahne beat Clint Bowyer for the Busch pole with a lap at 128.977 mph. Bowyer's lap on the three-quarter-mile oval was at 128.602.

After the all-Dodge front row, Tony Stewart will start third in a Chevrolet with defending series champion Kurt Busch fourth in a Ford.

Elliott Sadler of Emporia, about 70 miles from Richmond, will leave fifth in his Ford, and Ricky Rudd of Chesapeake is sixth, also in a Ford.