Carquest Auto Parts 300 - Kyle Busch Notes

KYLE BUSCH -- NO. 5 LOWE'S/SHOP-VAC CHEVROLET
LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY PREVIEW

BUSCH GOING FOR THIRD STRAIGHT: Saturday night Kyle Busch will attempt to build upon his NASCAR Busch Series success at Lowe's Motor Speedway with a third consecutive victory in the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300. Busch has led a combined 153 laps in those two races.

IMPRESSIVE COMPANY: Busch, who will pilot a No. 5 Lowe's/Shop-Vac Chevrolet on Saturday evening, is the second Hendrick Motorsports driver to win consecutive Busch Series races in May at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The legendary Tim Richmond won the event now known as the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 in 1985 and 1986.

CHASSIS NO. 356 FOR BUSCH: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 356 as the primary option for Saturday night's CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The car was last raced at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

TRACK TIME: Busch has made at least one start in four different series -- NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series, Truck Series and ARCA Series -- at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He has earned a pair of victories in both the Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and completed 2,550 laps (3,825 miles) at the 1.5-mile track.

TEAM 5 CLIMBING: Busch and Team 5 continue to gain positions in the Busch Series championship standings. With a sixth-place finish at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, the team moved from sixth to fifth in the rundown, trailing fourth-place by just 69 points.

BUSCH AT LOWE'S FAN EXPERIENCE: Kyle Busch will greet fans and sign autographs on Thursday at 5 p.m. local time at the Lowe's Fan Experience outside Lowe's Motor Speedway.

KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 LOWE'S/SHOP-VAC CHEVROLET: (YOU RACED IN THE ALL-STAR CHALLENGE AND TRUCK SERIES RACE LAST WEEKEND. WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THE TRACK?) "Between the Truck and Cup races last weekend, I learned a lot about the track surface and the way it changes from day to night. The temperature of the track is temperamental. Air pressure is going to play a major role this weekend, so it helped to learn about that. Other than that, you can't really take a lot of information from the setup of a Truck or Cup car and apply it to a Busch car. They're all too different now."

BUSCH: (ON HIS SUCCESS AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY.) "I really don't know what it is, being in the Lowe's car and winning at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The track is a natural fit with my driving style and the cars have always been good there. Winning two Busch races in a row is a great feeling, especially to do it at Lowe's track in the Lowe's car. The funny part about that is that I'm winning in the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300, which is a sponsor on my Cup car. So I've got all of my sponsors pretty much wrapped in for the whole Lowe's weekend. I want to keep the winning streak alive. Winning the Truck race last Friday was nice. Maybe we can win again on Saturday in the Lowe's/Shop-Vac Chevy, and sweep the weekend with a Cup win on Sunday. I can't think of anything much better than that."

BUSCH: (ON THE TRACK SURFACE.) "The track surface really isn't bad at all. Goodyear gave us a great tire, so we shouldn't have the cut tire issues we had last year. What the tires have in durability, however, they lack in grip. They're super slick on restarts, which is when the diciest racing will likely occur."

BUSCH: (HOW IMPORTANT WILL TRACK POSITION BE?) "Track position will be important if the race has a lot of cautions. Our No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet was great on the long runs last weekend. We were pulling away from them 30 to 40 laps into a run. I think the No. 5 Lowe's/Shop-Vac Chevrolet will be the same way for the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300. If the race can stay green, we'll have a really good car."

CHAD WALTER, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 LOWE'S/SHOP-VAC CHEVROLET: (HOW WAS YOUR TEST AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY?) "The test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway was pretty interesting. We really didn't know what to expect with the new track surface. On top of that, we also had new tires and a new air-pressure rule to contend with. We figured a few things out, mainly with the 'aero-attitude' of the car. Overall, I'd grade our test session a B-plus."

WALTER: (WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM WATCHING THE ALL-STAR CHALLENGE AND THE TRUCK RACE LAST WEEKEND?) "The All-Star race is almost too aggressive to learn much from it. The drivers don't really race like they normally would. They take a few more chances, so you can't really tell if it's how the car is handling or if it's in the driving style. We did get a lot of notes from the Cup teams here at Hendrick Motorsports, which is a big help. We've got a couple of things to try out. All four teams were pretty stout last weekend, so I look forward to our performance as well.

"Kyle had a great weekend really. Winning the Truck race and winning the first segment of the Challenge was great to see. There's no doubt that the kid knows how to win at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Hopefully we'll give him a car where he can do it again on Saturday."

WALTER: (IS THERE PRESSURE TO WIN AT LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY?) "It's just added incentive to perform your best and hopefully see them all in Victory Lane at the end of the night. Kyle's history at the track doesn't really add any pressure. It just fuels our need to do it again. This race is important for the whole Lowe's team. It's our home track, it's our backyard and it's in front of our family. We definitely want this win."

WALTER: (WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO SUCCESS SATURDAY NIGHT?) "Tire management will be critical this weekend. Scuffing tires will be more important than usual as well. Stickers won't be the hot item. Really, you could put on tires that have 20 laps on them to start a run. You cannot wear these tires out, but tires that are 50 laps fresher than that of your competitors could make a difference. More than likely, though, teams will be changing tires because of air-pressure adjustments, not because of tire wear. There may be a few fuel-only stops as well. Track position will be important, too. If there are a lot of cautions, it's going to be hard to pass. Starting up front would definitely help."