Stater Bros. 300 - Kyle Busch Notes

KYLE BUSCH
NO. 5 LOWE’S CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO
CALIFORNIA PREVIEW

Q&A WITH DRIVER KYLE BUSCH:

DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE STRANGE TO GO BACK TO CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY, BEING THAT YOU PRACTICED ON THE TRACK IN THE CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES, BUT HAVE NEVER RACED THERE?: ”I don’t think it will be any different than going to a track that I’ve never been to before. I just have a few laps around the place, so I know what the scenery is like going around there. It’ll be fun to get back there. Hopefully we can get a good car, somewhat like Brian (Vickers) had there last year.”

YOU’VE SAID YOU LIKE THAT STYLE OF TRACK. DOES THAT GIVE YOU A BOOST OF CONFIDENCE HEADING TO CALIFORNIA?: “Yeah, it does. I like the big speedways, the 1.5-mile and two-mile places. I mean, I like all the racetracks, but I don’t know exactly why it is, but I seem to excel a little bit on the Texas (Motor Speedway) Lowe’s (Motor Speedway) style, Atlanta (Motor Speedway, Michigan (International Speedway and California (Speedway) racetracks. I look forward to going back there, just because I want to prove that I deserved to be there, and that I could have run up front in that truck race (in Nov., 2001).”

IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF RACES AT CALIFORNIA COME DOWN TO FUEL MILEAGE. DO YOU ENJOY THOSE KIND OF RACES?: “Not really. I look forward to being on the track and racing. If the long green flag run does happen and it does come down to fuel mileage, I’d like to think I can conserve some fuel and save us from having to pit, but I’d much rather win a race by just outrunning the competition instead of just having better fuel mileage.”

YOU HAVE A BIRTHDAY COMING UP. WHAT’S THE COOLEST PRESENT YOU CAN REMEMBER RECEIVING?: “Let’s see. I remember one year when I was about nine or 10, I got a brand new RC-10-T-2 (remote control car). As soon as I got it put together, I went out and beat my older brother in a race with it. That was pretty cool.”

HOW WOULD WINNING THE CALIFORNIA RACE STACK UP IN TERMS OF A BIRTHDAY PRESENT?: “Are you kidding me? I can’t think of any sweeter birthday present than to win my first Busch race. That would be the ultimate. I can’t even imagine how awesome that would be. I hope I get to find out.”

Q & A WITH CREW CHIEF LANCE McGREW

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY?: “California’s another one of the tracks like Kansas or Michigan that are very aero-specific racetracks, where you’re tuning for aero effect, rather than grip. You need a lot of downforce to get around the track. It’s smooth and really fast, but aerodynamically, it’s a real challenge.”

SINCE A LOT OF RACES ARE WON BY FUEL MILEAGE AT CALIFORNIA, DOES IT ALTER THE WAY YOU APPROACH THE RACE?: “I don’t approach it differently. There are a lot of people that tune for fuel mileage and sacrifice speed, but we tune to win the regular way, and if the cautions come out or don’t come out, that’s beyond my control. We just try to make the car as fast as we can, and if the fuel mileage works out, then that’s fine. If it doesn’t, then there’s not much we can do to make up for it.”

STATS & FUN FACTS

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 275- The California event is the second time Kyle Busch will drive chassis No. 275 this season, following a runner-up finish with this chassis at Texas Motor Speedway on April 6. Last year, Brian Vickers drove this chassis to a sixth-place finish at Kentucky Speedway, a third-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway and a 32nd-place finish at Kansas Speedway.

DID YOU KNOW? – Kyle Busch will celebrate his 19th birthday on May 2, the day after the California Busch event.