Dollar General 300 - Kyle Busch Notes

KYLE BUSCH
NO. 57 STA-GREEN WEED & FEED CHEVROLET
LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

Kyle Busch, who is competing full-time in the NEXTEL Cup Series behind the wheel of the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevrolet, is returning to the Busch Series for the 12th time this season. Busch will drive the No. 57 Sta-Green Weed & Feed Chevrolet in the 300-mile Busch race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS).

Hendrick Motorsports is fielding three entries in Friday’s Busch race at LMS. In addition to Busch’s No. 57 entry, Adrian Fernandez will drive the No. 5 Lowe’s / Hitachi Power Tools Chevrolet, and Jimmie Johnson will pilot the No. 48 Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet.

Q&A WITH DRIVER KYLE BUSCH

THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE RACING SURFACE AT LOWE’S SPEEDWAY. NOW THAT YOU’VE TESTED HERE, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SURFACE? “The track gets better the more rubber they get down. It does get a little dicey once you get up beyond the second groove. Jimmie (Johnson, Busch’s Hendrick teammate) seems to runs pretty good up there. I went up there a couple of times and it didn’t work for me. That’s actually what happened when I wrecked during testing. Going into (turn) three, I got low and bottomed out, shot up the track and got up in the upper groove and the back end came around on me.”

YOU GIVE JIMMIE JOHNSON A LOT OF CREDIT FOR GIVING YOU ADVICE ON HOW TO GET AROUND LOWE’S SPEEDWAY. DO YOU TWO HAVE VERY SIMILAR DRIVING STYLES, AND ARE THE SETUPS ON YOUR CARS VERY SIMILAR? “Overall, the ‘car feel’ is similar. We do have some differences in our driving styles. Jimmie doesn’t let off all the way out of the gas, and he drives a lot deeper in the corner (at Lowe’s Motor Speedway).

“As far as the Hendrick drivers are concerned, Jimmie and I are probably the closest in how we like our cars. We both like our cars to be looser than Brian (Vickers) or Jeff (Gordon) do. Jimmie and I like looser cars, then there’s Brian, and then Jeff is kind of out there on his own in terms of setup. Jeff likes it a lot tighter and drives it into the corner a lot harder.”

OFFICIALS SAY THEY’LL PROBABLY REPAVE LOWE’S SPEEDWAY DURING THE OFFSEASON. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER THEM? “I hope when they repave it, they repave it with all the bumps in it. There are too many tracks that are smooth as glass. The bumps around here are what makes this place so fun.”

WHAT ABOUT THE IDEA OF PUTTING IN GRADUATED BANKING, SIMILAR TO WHAT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY HAS? “That’s not a bad idea. If they do that, I hope the difference between each level of banking is not more than about two degrees. If the difference in the angles is too severe, it makes it hard to really develop multiple grooves. For example, you can’t really run the bottom of the Homestead, so the middle’s about the best groove to be in.”

KYLE BUSCH’S HISTORY AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY: Lowe’s Motor Speedway (LMS) is the site of Kyle Busch’s first career NASCAR Busch Series start. On May 24, 2003, just three weeks after his 18th birthday, Busch qualified fifth and finished second in the spring Busch race at LMS. In fact, Busch has never finished outside the top-five in a Busch Series event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

In May, Busch became the youngest winner in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history when he won the 200-mile truck race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Prior to Busch claiming the record, the youngest truck series winner had been Ricky Hendrick, Busch’s team owner when he drove the No. 5 Lowe’s entry full-time in 2004.

The following weekend, Busch won the May Busch Series race at LMS for the second year in a row.

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 312– Earlier this season, Boston Reid drove this chassis to a 22nd-place finish at California Speedway. Kyle Busch drove this chassis to a 23rd-place finish at Richmond International Raceway in May, and a 36th-place finish at Dover International Speedway in June.

Last year, Busch drove this chassis to a fifth-place finish in this event.

TESTING: Kyle Busch and the No. 57 team tested at Lowe’s Motor Speedway two weeks ago. On the second day of the two-day session, Busch was making a mock qualifying run when he lost control and backed his car into the outside retaining wall, ending his test session. The team repaired the chassis (Chassis No. 312), and are bringing the same car back for this weekend’s race.

SPECIAL PAINT DESIGN: The No. 57 Chevrolet is carrying a special paint design this weekend, promoting Sta-Green Winterizer Weed & Feed, available at Lowe’s stores.

Winterizing your lawn in the fall is essential to a greener, healthier lawn the next season. Sta-Green Winterizer Weed & Feed will help lawn grasses develop deep and vigorous root systems for longer-lasting greening in the fall, better winter hardiness and faster green-up in the spring. Because weeds are also preparing for winter by sending nutrients to their roots, the weed killer in Sta-Green Winterizer Weed & Feed moves through all parts of the plant for fast, complete weed control. Sta-Green Winterizer Weed & Feed is specifically formulated for fall applications, with extra potassium to promote winter hardiness, and exclusive Polyon technology for reliable timed-release feeding.

Plus, now through October 31, 2005, when you purchase any Sta-Green product, you could find a Golden Ticket inside the bag and become one of 10 lucky winners of a $5,000 Lowe’s Gift Card. For more details, visit www.lowes.com/sta-green.

STATS AND FACTS