Domino's Pizza 250 - Kyle Krisiloff Notes

KYLE KRISILOFF
NO. 5 LOWE’S / STA-GREEN CHEVROLET
MICHIGAN PREVIEW

THIS WEEK’S DRIVER- KYLE KRISILOFF: Kyle Krisiloff will make the second start of his NASCAR Busch Series career at Michigan International Speedway, driving the No. 5 Lowe’s / Sta-Green Chevrolet.

In his Busch Series debut, Krisiloff qualified 26th at The Milwaukee Mile in June, but a mechanical problem just 25 laps into the race resulted in a 42nd-place finish.

Since joining Hendrick Motorsports last year, the 19 year-old Indiana native has competed in the American Speed Association (ASA), and is currently running a limited Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) schedule for Bobby Gerhart Racing, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports.

Krisiloff started on the pole and finished fifth in the June 17 ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway.

Q&A WITH DRIVER KYLE KRISILOFF:

YOU’VE ALREADY HAD SUCCESS AT MICHIGAN IN THE ARCA SERIES. IS THERE SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THIS TRACK? “For me, it was just an easy track to learn. From our first test in the ARCA car, we were good, and then we just built on that. We got the pole, led a lot of laps and then a mechanical gremlin caused us to finish fifth.

“I think it’s the fact that this place has three or four grooves, so it’s kind of forgiving from that respect. I mean, every track has some difficulties you have to overcome. At this place, it’s just really fast, so you have to have your car right and not make any mistakes, but there’s so much room that, as a young driver, you can really move around and find a line that works for you without worrying about getting out of the groove as much.”

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCES YOU’VE FOUND BETWEEN THE ARCA AND BUSCH SERIES CARS? “The Busch cars seem to have more grip with the tire they use, but less horsepower. The cars are really similar, though. With the Busch cars, I get to drive a ‘pure’ Hendrick car that was built at Hendrick, so the car is just more solid. Bobby (Gerhart) has good equipment, but the Hendrick stuff is just phenomenal. I’m really lucky to get a chance to drive such great stuff.”

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE YOU’VE FOUND BETWEEN THE TWO SERIES (ARCA AND BUSCH)? “The level of competition is higher on the Busch Series side. On the ARCA side, you’ve only got five or eight cars that really have a chance to win every week. On the Busch Series side, it’s more like 25 or 30 good cars. The series are similar, but I think you just have more drivers who are a threat to run good and to win a race week in and week out in the Busch Series. I love racing in the ARCA Series, and I’ve learned a ton by being there, but the Busch Series is definitely a step up.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 345 – Chassis No. 345 is the same car Brian Vickers qualified on the outside of the front row with at Darlington Raceway in May. On the first lap of the race, Vickers was hit from behind and wrecked. The car was too damaged to continue, and Vickers finished 43rd.

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT MICHIGAN: The No. 5 team has two top-10 starting spots and one top-five finish at Michigan International Speedway, and has finished on the lead lap in all three Michigan Busch Series events in which the team has competed.

Last season, Kyle Busch started on the outside of the front row and dominated the field on his way to posting the team’s fifth win of the 2004 season. Not only did Busch lead 88 of the event’s 125 laps, but he won by a margin of nearly four seconds over second-place finisher, Mark Martin.

LOCAL TALENT: Several members of the No. 5 team were born in Michigan, including rear tire carrier Jake Brzozowski (Sterling Heights), and crew chief Jim Long (Lambertsville). Two of the fabricators who work on the No. 5 cars, Todd Bidwell and Wade Jackson, also hail from the Great Lakes State. Bidwell’s hometown is Grayling, and Jackson is from Farmington Heights. All four team members now live in North Carolina.

TESTING: The No. 5 team spent Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 15-16, at California Speedway. The team was there to test with driver Adrian Fernandez, who will pilot the No. 5 Lowe’s / Hitachi Power Tools Chevrolet in the Sept. 3 Busch Series race at the two-mile facility. That event will mark the first time Fernandez will compete in a stock car on an oval track. Earlier this year, he finished 10th in his Busch Series debut at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City.

MULTI-DRIVER TEAM: The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing crew is competing for the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points championship with seven different drivers.

Kyle Busch has driven the No. 5 in six races, including a win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. Boston Reid and Blake Feese also have six starts apiece in the Lowe’s entry, with Reid’s best finish being a 17th-place result at Nashville Superspeedway in June, and Feese’s best finish being a 23rd-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.

Jimmie Johnson drove the No. 5 in three races, scoring the team’s first pole position of 2005 at Darlington Raceway in May, and qualifying eighth the following weekend at Richmond International Raceway. Johnson’s best finish was a fifth-place result at Dover International Speedway in June.

Open-wheel star Adrian Fernandez posted a top-10 finish in the Mexico City Busch Series race, and will drive the No. 5 at California Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway later this season.

Kyle Krisiloff made his Busch Series debut in the No. 5 at The Milwaukee Mile in June, where he finished 42nd. Krisiloff will also drive Lowe’s machine at Michigan International Speedway this weekend, and at Memphis Motorsports Park in October.

Brian Vickers’ only scheduled start in the No. 5 this season was last weekend’s Watkins Glen International race, where he finished third.

POINTS STANDING: Rick Hendrick, owner of the No. 5 Lowe’s / Sta-Green entry, is 25th in the NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points standings after 24 events of the 35-race season.

SPONSOR: The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing Chevy is carrying the logos of Sta-Green on its quarter panels this weekend. Sta-Green is a high quality, value-priced family of Lawn Fertilizers, Garden Fertilizers, Soils and Grass Seed. The line is sold exclusively at Lowe's stores everywhere.

Sta-Green is one of six Lowe’s vendor partners (along with Spectracide, Shop Vac, Hitachi Power Tools, Briggs & Stratton, and Pella Windows and Doors) sharing placement on the No. 5’s quarter panels this season.

KYLE KRISILOFF BIO:

A native of Indianapolis, Krisiloff began racing BMX bicycles at age 3, making him the youngest rider in the nation at the 6-and-under level. He was soon introduced to auto racing, winning more than 320 quarter-midget features and nine Grand National championships from 1995 to 1999.

Krisiloff won two races and a pair of pole positions in Superkarts USA competition in 2000 before joining the 2001 SCCA Formula Ford tour. He won six events and six pole positions in 22 attempts that year, along with the SCCA Runoffs national championship.

In 2002, Krisiloff entered the final six races of the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship season. The following year, he finished 10th in the series standings and, at 17, became the youngest-ever driver to earn a podium finish on the circuit, coming in second at The Milwaukee Mile.

In just 14 ARCA Series starts since joining Hendrick’s development program in April 2004, Krisiloff has posted a Sept. 11, 2004, victory at Chicagoland Speedway (in his third ARCA start), a runner-up performance on Aug. 14, 2004, at Nashville and a top-10 at Lake Erie Speedway on Aug. 7, 2004, in his first circuit outing.

This season, plans call for Krisiloff to make 14-16 ARCA starts in a Bobby Gerhart Racing entry, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports. So far, Krisiloff has competed in 11 ARCA events in 2005, with his best finish coming at Michigan International Speedway on June 17. In that event, Krisiloff started on the pole and posted a fifth-place finish. hospitality, cross-promotions and business-to-business possibilities.