Bi-Lo 200 - Kyle Busch Notes

KYLE BUSCH
NO. 5 LOWE’S / SHOP VAC
CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO
DARLINGTON PREVIEW

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY: Team No. 5 has scored three top-10 starting spots and two top-10 finishes, including a pole position and a win, in five NASCAR Busch Series events at Darlington Raceway. With driver Brian Vickers, the No. 5 team visited Victory Lane at Darlington last August. In March of this year, Kyle Busch scored his first career Busch Series’ pole position at Darlington.

Q&A WITH DRIVER KYLE BUSCH:

What’s your take on the Darlington Raceway?: “It’s a fun place. It’s just so hard to get a handle on. It’s tough on the drivers and on the equipment. It’s one of those places that’s really, really fast, but it’s also really scary. To keep the car underneath you and get a good lap around the place during qualifying is really difficult. It’s a lot of fun when you get your car working, though, and you can really have a good time at that place.”

What do you remember about winning your first career Busch Series pole award at Darlington in March?: “That was an incredible day for this team. I remember I held my breath during most of my qualifying run. Don’t tell anybody, but I may have closed my eyes, too.”

Your team is still in the championship hunt. Will the season still be considered a success if you’re not able to get the championship?: “Yeah, it’s hard for me to look at it that way right now, but I think you have to say this season has been incredibly successful, regardless of what happens from here on out. I don’t know of many people who thought we’d win five poles and five races with me being a rookie driver. Our goals at the beginning of this season were to win a pole, win a race, be competitive every week and try to win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title. We’ve been lucky enough to accomplish those goals several times over.

“Now they tell me we’ve set a couple of rookie records and we could break a few more of (Greg) Biffle’s rookie records, which is nice. If we’re not able to win the championship, I’d at least like to give this team something to hang their hats on by setting some new records. My goals now are to win two more poles, lead the most laps and win both races we have left. That’s all this team and I can do, and whatever happens, happens.

“Like I’ve said, we won’t give up until the checkered flag flies in Homestead.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF LANCE McGREW:

Would you say Darlington is the most unique track on the schedule? “It’s definitely a unique place. You can’t get the car perfect at both ends, so you’re going to have to sacrifice one end for the other. You just have to figure out which end you’d rather be good at. The driver is the biggest difference, though. He has to make sure he’s racing the racetrack and not the other competitors, because it’s really easy to use up your car early in the run and then you just back up so quickly after that. It’s definitely one of the toughest places we race.”

What are your goals for these final two races? “We just want to win both races. There are still some rookie records that are within our grasp, most wins by a rookie and several others. We approach every race like, ‘All we can do is everything we can do,’ and that’s win the pole, lead the most laps and win the race. We didn’t win the pole at Atlanta (Motor Speedway), but we came awfully close to winning the race, and we won the pole this past weekend, led the most laps and came awfully close to winning the race. We’re doing all we can do. The (No.) 8 car kind of controls their own destiny there, and all we can do is what we’re doing.”

If someone had told you in February that this team would be contending for the championship and on the verge of breaking a number of records with a rookie driver, would you have been surprised? “Oh, absolutely. This is a really tough series, and even though you may have had success last year, you’re not guaranteed to have it the following year and you have to work just as hard to maintain that level. With the lack of experience Kyle had when he rolled through the door here, to win five races and five poles in a season is pretty amazing. Between us and Martin (Truex, Jr.) and (Greg) Biffle, I think we’ve won over half the races. To be in the same category with those guys is amazing, let alone being able to contend for the win every week. It’s been a great year.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 232- This chassis was driven by Brian Vickers to a Busch Series win at Darlington Raceway in August, 2003. Kyle Busch drove this chassis to a 15th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, a 17th-place finish at Darlington Raceway on March 20, and a win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May.

STATS & FACTS