Pepsi 300 - Boston Reid Notes

BOSTON REID
NO. 5 LOWE’S / SPECTRACIDE CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO
NASHVILLE PREVIEW

TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY: In six Busch Series starts at Nashville Superspeedway, the No. 5 Lowe’s team has three top-10 finishes. Last year in this event, Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer were battling for the lead in the closing laps when the two made contact, setting off a chain reaction that collected the top four cars. Michael Waltrip managed to slip through the wreckage and claim the win, while Busch limped his car across the finish line in the sixth spot. In the June race here last year, Busch led the most laps before running out of fuel late in the race, allowing Jason Leffler to claim his first Busch Series win.

THIS WEEK’S DRIVER - BOSTON REID: Saturday’s Pepsi 300 marks the second start of the 2005 Busch Series season for Team Lowe’s Racing driver, Boston Reid. Reid, 22, is the 2002 USAC (United States Auto Club) Sprint Car Rookie of the Year.

Signed to Hendrick Motorsports’ driver development program last year, Reid scored three top-10 finishes in four ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) starts, and made three Busch Series starts (Richmond International Raceway in Sept., Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway in Oct.) in the No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Chevy, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports.

Reid’s first start in the No. 5 car came in February at California Speedway, where he finished 22nd.

MULTI-DRIVER TEAM: The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing crew is competing for the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points championship with no fewer than four different drivers sharing seat time. Boston Reid and Blake Feese will drive at least 13 races apiece, while Kyle Busch is driving the No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet in three events. Open-wheel star Adrian Fernandez drove the No. 5 to a top-10 finish in the March 6 Busch Series race in Mexico.

TEST SESSION: Boston Reid and the No. 5 Lowe’s team tested at Nashville Superspeedway on Wed., March 16. The session marked the third time Reid has tested the No. 5 machine this season (Reid also tested at Daytona International Speedway and California Speedway).

Q&A WITH DRIVER BOSTON REID:

You tested at Nashville last week. What was that like?: “We didn’t get on track until about 1 p.m., and it was cold. We tested right up until it got dark. It was kind of hard to tell how our lap times stacked up, because there were only two other teams testing there that day. I do know we’ve got a very good race car to go back with. It’s the same car Kyle (Busch) and Brian (Vickers) have both won races in.”

What were your first impressions of the Nashville Superspeedway?: “It’s a neat track. It reminds me of a small Lowe’s Motor Speedway. It’s got more banking than you might think, and it surprised me how much grip the concrete has. I hear it gets pretty slick when it gets hot, so that’s definitely similar to Lowe’s (Speedway).”

The schedule now calls for you and Blake Feese to get into the No. 5 car on a more consistent basis. Are you looking forward to that?: “Definitely. To be able to get into more of a rhythm in terms of driving the car every other week or so, I think that’s definitely going to be key to developing a closer bond with (crew chief) Jim Long, and it should help Blake and I develop a lot more confidence in our driving.

“You know, before the race at California in February, I hadn’t driven in a race since last year. Now, it’s been nearly a month since California, and I’m just getting my second start. It’ll be nice to be able to drive the car a little more often. Blake and I have both gotten our first race ‘jitters’ out of the way, and now it’s time to go racing.”

How cool would it be to win the guitar they give as a trophy at Nashville?: “Are you kidding me? That (guitar) is awesome! Blake’s (Feese) already got one from winning the ARCA race here last year, so I need to get one just to keep up with him.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF JIM LONG:

How much of a challenge has it been for you to have a different driver in the car each week for the past six events?: “It’s definitely been different. With Kyle (Busch), it was easy, just because he has a little more experience under his belt and understands the chassis a little better than our other two guys (Blake Feese and Boston Reid). He can help you get to the root of the problem a little more quickly.

“With Blake (Feese) and Boston (Reid), we’re just now getting to where we’re going to have each of them swapping out in the car on a more consistent basis, so it’s kind of hard to judge how hard or easy it’s going to be to work with them.

“I’m thinking these guys just need to get some race laps under their belts. It’s one thing to learn how to run your line around the track when you’re by yourself, but it’s another to learn how to run a line in the middle of traffic. You know, a lot of times your line isn’t there, because some other car is in it. So, you have to learn to adapt. I think both of those guys learned a lot about that from just the one race each of them has run this season. They both adjusted to being in traffic.

“I’m thinking that we’re just going to go racing for awhile and evaluate after three or four races. Once they get some race experience under their belts, if we’re not performing like we want, we’ll go back and start testing again. Testing just doesn’t prepare them to race in traffic. After they get some races behind them, we’ll talk to them about where they think they need help, then we’ll go testing and work on those areas.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 273 - Chassis No. 273 has been a “workhorse” of the Hendrick Motorsports stable. Brian Vickers drove this chassis to his first career Busch Series win at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) in 2003, and Kyle Busch repeated that feat in 2004, driving No. 273 to a win at IRP. Busch also drove this chassis in his first career Busch Series win at Richmond International Raceway last May, where he sat on the pole and led all but 13 of the race’s 250 laps.

In fact, this weekend’s race marks the fifth time chassis No. 273 has been driven at Nashville Superspeedway. Brian Vickers drove this chassis to two top-10 finishes at Nashville in 2003, while Kyle Busch drove it in both Nashville races last season (finishing sixth and 17th, respectively).