TARGET HOUSE 300: BUSCH SERIES ALSO TIGHT AT TOP.

Byline: Louis Brewster Staff Writer

FONTANA - Lost in all the hype of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Chase for the Championship is the tight points battle in the Busch Series between Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch.

And the 78-point spread could be closer after today's Target House 300 (noon, Channel 4) at California Speedway.

Truex will start one row ahead of Busch, and they're both behind pole- sitter Casey Mears. Under bright skies Friday afternoon, Mears hot-lapped the two-mile oval in 39.368 seconds, 182.890 mph, to edge Truex for the top spot and gain his second pole of the season.

Kasey Kahne was third, followed by Busch.

``I've always struggled at California,'' said Mears, who has driven four different cars - Indy Lights, Champ Cars, Busch Series and Cup Series - at the Fontana track. ``In spring, I think we finally got our race together when we finished seventh. It always sucked to have all your friends and family come and not race good.

``It feels good to be on the pole.''

Mears is one of 10 Cup regulars who are in the Target House field, half of whom are in the top 10. In addition to Kahne, Joe Nemechek is fifth with Matt Kenseth and Michael Waltrip ninth and 10th, respectively.

Greg Biffle, who won the May Busch race at the track, will start 14th.

Truex was fastest in the day's final practice at 178.682 in the fourth of 35 laps. Kevin Harvick, another Cup regular who qualified 23rd, was second fastest at 178.549.

But the focus is on Truex and Busch, and whether Truex can at least slow the suddenly hot Busch. After going through a five-race slump that saw him drop to 142 points behind, Busch has picked up 64 points in the last three races on the strength of two consecutive wins and a third-place finish last week at Bristol.

But Truex hasn't done that badly. In the same time period, Truex had a pair of top-5 finishes and seventh in Bristol.

``We ran pretty good here in the spring,'' said Busch, who was seventh behind Biffle while Truex was 13th. ``We wrecked in practice and were able to pull a backup out. I think it's obviously good for both of us to start up front.

``We're going to use the race track to our own advantage and hopefully we're able to battle each other out there and maybe get spread out a little bit to take the heat off everything and run our own races,'' said Busch, part of the Hendrick Motorsports stable.

Crew chief Lance McGrew believes his Lowe's team had not started to jell in the first visit to Fontana.

``It was before we hit our stride and before we really figured out what we needed to do to the car to get Kyle comfortable,'' said McGrew.

In his first start at Fontana in May, Truex ran out of gas at the end of the race, which may have cost him a shot at the victory. He left Fontana third in the standings but has been in the top spot the last 10 races.

``I really like racing here in the spring,'' said Truex, driving the KFC Chevrolet for Chance 2 Motorsports, an effort between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt. ``Unfortunately, we ran out of gas while leading with three laps to go. It was a disappointment, but we've learned from that.

``Now, we're ready to prove that to everyone and bring home the trophy.''