SBC 250 - Kyle Krisiloff Notes

KYLE KRISILOFF
NO. 5 LOWE’S / BRIGGS & STRATTON CHEVROLET
MILWAUKEE PREVIEW

Krisiloff to Make Busch Series Debut at The Milwaukee Mile

Team Lowe’s Racing and Hendrick Motorsports announced today that Kyle Krisiloff will make his NASCAR Busch Series debut at “The Milwaukee Mile” on June 25, driving the No. 5 Lowe’s / Briggs & Stratton Chevrolet.

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

Krisiloff and the Team Lowe’s Racing crew spent two days testing in Milwaukee earlier this month, but the young driver was already very familiar with “The Mile.” In addition to racing there in the ARCA Series earlier this season, Krisiloff became the youngest driver to ever have a podium finish in the CART Toyota Atlantic Series when he finished second at “The Mile” in 2003 at the age of 17 years, two months.

The No. 5 team has posted three top-10 finishes, including a win and a pole position, in 15 Busch Series races this season.

Q&A WITH DRIVER KYLE KRISILOFF:

HOW EXCITING IS IT TO MAKE YOUR BUSCH SERIES DEBUT WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS? “It’s very exciting. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. To get the chance to drive in one of NASCAR’s top series is an awesome opportunity, but to do it with a team like Hendrick Motorsports is just a dream come true.

“We had a great test here a few weeks ago, and this team is so strong, I’m confident we’ll have a good run. I couldn’t have a better group of guys around me or better equipment to drive, so now it’s up to me to get the job done.”

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THIS RACE? “My goal is just to finish the race, make every lap, gain a lot of experience and bring the car home in one piece. Anything on top of that is a bonus. I would be very pleased if we can come home with a top-10 finish, and a top-five would be even sweeter. I think we can achieve those goals, but I’ll be happy if I can just get a good starting spot and be competitive. It’s all about getting seat time and learning how to drive these Busch cars right now.”

YOU’VE GOTTEN A LOT OF LAPS IN AT MILWAUKEE RECENTLY, HAVEN’T YOU? “Yeah, we had the ARCA race on June 4, then I came back a couple of days later and did a two day test in the Busch car, so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the place. I’m sure the ARCA race helped shorten my learning curve for the Busch test, so hopefully that made it easier on the race team. We didn’t have to waste half a day while I got comfortable on how to get around the place, so we just jumped in and start working on race runs.”

YOUR FATHER, STEVE KRISILOFF, DROVE INDY CARS. HE HAD SOME GOOD RUNS AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE, DIDN’T HE? “Yeah, he did. There were a couple of times, I think, where he led a lot of laps right up until the end of the race, then something mechanical would break on him. I think he finished seventh in a CART race here back in 1981. He just never had the level of equipment some of the other guys did, but he’s a very talented driver.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF JIM LONG:

HOW DID YOUR FIRST TEST WITH KYLE KRISILOFF GO? “It went really well. We were fast. On our race runs, our times matched the times the top-five finishers were running last year, and our qualifying run was about two one-hundredths off of what Kyle (Busch) ran in qualifying last year. I feel really good about our chances. Kyle (Krisiloff) is a smart kid. Between the ASA stuff and the ARCA stuff, he’s already got a good feel for the stock cars. All he needs now is experience, and that’s what we hope to give him this weekend.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 345- Chassis No. 345 is new to the Hendrick stable in 2005. The only time this car has raced prior to this weekend was when Brian Vickers drove it in the Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway in May. Vickers qualified on the outside pole, but only completed one lap before getting turned by another competitor. Vickers was credited with a 43rd-place finish.

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT THE MILWAUKEE MILE: The No. 5 team has two top-10 qualifying efforts and one top-five finish in three Busch Series starts at The Milwaukee Mile. In 2003, Brian Vickers qualified eighth and finished second, while Kyle Busch qualified fourth for last year’s race.

Busch spun out on his second qualifying lap, but did not damage his car. After much discussion, Busch and crew chief Lance McGrew chose to not put new tires on the car after qualifying, as a tire change would result in Busch having to give up track position and start the race from the rear of the field.

When the race began, Busch led for a few laps, but his tires were much more worn out than he and his team had anticipated, resulting in a loose handling condition on Busch’s No. 5 Lowe’s Chevy. By the time the first caution flag came out, Busch was shown in 27th position, two laps down to the race leaders. Busch rallied to post a 16th-place finish.

MULTI-DRIVER TEAM: The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing crew is competing for the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points championship with a number of different drivers sharing seat time. Boston Reid, Blake Feese and Kyle Busch have each made four starts in the No. 5 Chevy, with Busch winning at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May.

Jimmie Johnson scored the No. 5 team’s first pole position of 2005 at Darlington Raceway in May, and also drove the No. 5 at Richmond International Raceway and Dover International Speedway. Open-wheel star Adrian Fernandez posted a top-10 finish in the Mexico City Busch Series race.

SPONSOR: The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing Chevy will carry the logos of Briggs & Stratton® on its quarter panels this weekend. Briggs & Stratton Corporation is the largest U.S. manufacturer of small, air-cooled engines for outdoor power equipment. Hitachi Power Tools, Spectracide and Sta Green join Briggs & Stratton and other returning Lowe’s vendor partners, Shop Vac and Pella, as sponsors of the No. 5 team 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 nine ARCA Series starts since joining Hendrick’s development program in April 2004, Krisiloff has posted a Sept. 11 victory at Chicagoland Speedway, a runner-up performance Aug. 14 at Nashville and an Aug. 7 top-10 at Lake Erie Speedway in his first circuit outing.

This season, plans call for Krisiloff to make 14 ARCA starts in a Bobby Gerhart Racing entry, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports. So far, Krisiloff has competed in six ARCA events this season, with his best finish being a fifth-place run at Michigan International Speedway on June 17.