Kroger 200 - Kyle Busch Notes

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

KYLE BUSCH’S HISTORY AT IRP: In his first career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Kyle Busch drove a Roush Racing entry to a ninth-place finish at IRP in 2001. Last year, Busch qualified fourth for the Busch Series event in the No. 87 Chevrolet, but an accident left him with a 33rd-place finish. Busch started 18th and finished 10th in an ASA race here in Sept., 2002.

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT IRP: Brian Vickers engaged in a side-by-side battle with Shane Hmiel for a number of laps before Vickers was able to pass Hmiel and claim the first win of the 2003 season for the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team.

Q&A WITH DRIVER KYLE BUSCH:

YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE LOST GROUND IN THE POINTS BATTLE IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? “We’ve got some ground to make up, but we’re going to keep digging until the very last lap of the last race. Our focus is to just do our best every week and try to get the best finishes we can, and we’ll see where we are in points when the checkered flag flies in Homestead. If we can minimize our mistakes and capitalize on the other team’s mistakes, we’ll get back to where we need to be. A lot can happen in 13 races. There’s a song that says, ‘It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.’ That’s how I feel about it.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON IRP, AND ON BRIAN VICKERS WINNING HERE WITH THIS TEAM LAST SEASON? “IRP reminds me of the way the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was before they repaved it. You’re in the turns for quite awhile. If the straightaways were a little longer, I think the track would better suit my driving style. It can be tough to pass here, which you saw in last year’s race between Brian and Shane Hmiel. I thought that was some of the best racing I’ve seen in quite awhile. Those guys were going door to door for a long time, and neither guy was giving an inch. It was pretty awesome.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF LANCE MCGREW:

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT LAST YEAR’S WIN AT IRP? “I just remember that it was a great side-by-side battle with Hmiel, and Brian (Vickers) was able to run on the bottom, where you’re not supposed to be able to go. It got to a point where it was so entertaining that you just lost track of, ‘Hey, that’s Brian out there going for the win,’ and you were just watching the race. The racing was so good, you weren’t telling yourself, ‘Pass him, pass him, pass him,’ you were just going, ‘Wow.’ I still have people come up to me and tell me it’s the best Busch race they’ve ever seen.”

AFTER A COUPLE OF TOUGH WEEKS IN THE POINTS BATTLE, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO YOUR TEAM? “I looked up how many points we were behind the leader last year at this time, and we were 132 points behind at this point last year. Going into Atlanta (in October, 2003), we had a 40 point lead. There’s still a whole lot of racing left. We’ve just got to get our momentum back and dot our i’s and cross our t’s and get back rolling to where we were during that long stretch earlier in the season. When we have a sixth, seventh or eighth-place car like we did at Pike’s Peak, we need to finish sixth, seventh or eighth, not 15th, 17th, or 25th.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 273- Chassis No. 273 is the same chassis Brian Vickers drove to the win at IRP last season. Most recently, Kyle Busch drove this chassis at New Hampshire International Raceway two weeks ago. Busch was in the top-five before a penalty dropped him to a 25th-place finish.

STATS & FACTS