Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 - Kyle Busch Notes

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

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: Team No. 5 has scored top-10 finishes in both NASCAR Busch Series events the team has competed in at Phoenix International Raceway. In 2002, David Green drove the No. 5 entry to a fifth-place finish, while Brian Vickers started sixth and finished third in the 2003 Phoenix Busch Series race.

Kyle Busch has never raced at Phoenix International Raceway.

KYLE BUSCH TO COMPETE IN SOUTHWEST SERIES EVENT AT PHOENIX: Kyle Busch will participate in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series race on Thurs., Nov. 4, at Phoenix International Raceway. In a one-race deal, Busch will drive the No. 25 entry for Mark Golembeski’s MRG Motorsports team, which also fields the No. 88 entry of David Gilliland on a full-time basis in the series.

DID YOU KNOW?: Team Lowe’s Racing crew chief, Lance McGrew, and several members of his No. 5 crew worked on the No. 24 NASCAR Busch Series team that won the Busch Series event at Phoenix International Raceway with driver Jeff Gordon in 1999.

Q&A WITH DRIVER KYLE BUSCH:

Have you ever even seen the Phoenix track?: “Yeah, I first went out there back in 1994, I think. The family watched the Cup race from the stands. I remember that Terry Labonte won the race. I also went out there to watch Greg Biffle race the Craftsman Truck I was driving part-time back in 2001, and I went out there one other time to watch Kurt (Busch, Kyle’s older brother) race. Kurt actually came out of the Southwest Series, so I called him to get some tips on how to get around the place in a Southwest Series car.”

You seem to adapt quickly to tracks you’ve never visited before. Can you explain that?: “Yeah, my dad and I kind of planned it that way. We wanted to be able to go to a lot of different tracks and let me experience a lot of different layouts to help me learn how to adapt more quickly to different style tracks. The first three times I ever raced, it was at three different tracks. My dad knew that in the Busch Series and the Cup Series, you’re going to see a different type of track every week, and you better be able to adapt fairly quickly if you want to be successful.”

How did your participating in this Southwest Series race come about?: “I went to Mr. Hendrick several months ago and told him I’d like to run the Southwest race in Phoenix to get some seat time before I got in the Busch car. Mr. Hendrick got in touch with Mr. Golembeski, who owns the team I’m driving for, and they worked out the arrangements. I guess the two know each other from both being in the car business.. It should be a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF LANCE McGREW:

Kyle’s never raced at Phoenix, but you chose not to test there. With this being his first time on that track, does that concern you at all?: “Maybe so, if he hadn’t signed up to do that Southwest Tour (Series) race, but since he’s doing that, it will be so much better for him than just actually testing and making laps. He’s awesome at just going to a racetrack and finding the right line to run, so that’s not nearly the concern when you go to a race. It’s just figuring out where it is on the track that you can pass people, and he’ll figure that out in that other race.

“When we go to work on the Busch (Series) car on Thursday during practice, he can say, ‘Hey, I just can’t get the car to turn off the corner like I need to to be able to pass people,’ because he’ll know where those passing points are. You don’t find those out at a test.”

You’ve said that Phoenix International Raceway is very unique. Can you compare it to any other tracks?: “I think there are some characteristics to it that are similar to a Nazareth (Speedway). I don’t know if it’s because it’s got kind of a road course kind of a feel to it, even though it’s an oval. It’s just so flat. You really have to like the place to run around there very well, and a lot of people just don’t like it.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 298- Chassis No. 298 is new to the Hendrick Motorsports stable in 2004. Busch drove this car to fifth-place finishes at Gateway International Raceway in May, and at Dover International Speedway in June. Busch also drove this chassis to a third-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, and a ninth-place finish at Dover International Speedway in Sept.

STATS & FACTS