Goody’s 250 - Kyle Busch Notes

PREVIEW: KYLE BUSCH (NO. 5 LOWE'S/SHOP-VAC CHEVROLET)
VENUE: MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY (.526-MILE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE 21 OF 35)
EVENT: SATURDAY, JULY 22 (250 LAPS, 131.5 MILES)

FIRST TIMER: Kyle Busch will make his first career NASCAR Busch Series start at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Saturday. The last time the Busch Series competed at Martinsville, in October 1994, Busch was 9 years old and had not yet begun racing.

MARTINSVILLE SUCCESS: Busch has competed in four races at Martinsville -- three in the NEXTEL Cup Series and one in the Craftsman Truck Series. In his first career Cup start, Busch finished 39th due to overheating issues, but since then he's posted nothing but top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place effort in April. He also came in fifth in his sole Truck Series start.

POLE WINNER: Busch's pole position Saturday at New Hampshire International Speedway was the eighth of his Busch Series career.

WEEKEND COMMUTE: For the fourth time this season, Busch will commute between NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series events. He will participate in the majority of Thursday's Martinsville practice session before flying to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Busch will return to Martinsville on Saturday prior to Busch Series driver introductions.

SETZER SUBBING: Veteran Dennis Setzer will once again substitute for the No. 5 Lowe's/Shop-Vac team as Busch commutes between Cup and Busch Series events this weekend. Setzer has raced in each of NASCAR's top-three divisions at Martinsville, earning two NCTS victories and posting a top-10 finish in the fall 1993 Busch Series event. He will be responsible for practicing and qualifying the No. 5 Chevrolet.

HENDRICK HISTORY: Although Hendrick Motorsports has yet to earn a Busch Series victory at Martinsville, the team has picked up 13 NEXTEL Cup wins there, with Jeff Gordon posting the most recent last October.

IT'S A NEW CAR: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 378 as the primary option for Saturday's Busch Series event at Martinsville Speedway. This car has never been raced or tested.

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KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 LOWE'S/SHOP-VAC CHEVROLET: (ON RUNNING THE BUSCH SERIES AT MARTINSVILLE.) "The Busch Series hasn't been to Martinsville in like 10 years or something like that. It's going to be a good place to go back to. It represents the roots of the Busch Series, really. It's finally another short track where we can go and hopefully have a good run. The way we've had success there in Cup, I hope that we can run just as well in the Busch car and hopefully have a shot at winning."

BUSCH: (HOW HAVE YOU BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL AT MARTINSVILLE SO EARLY IN YOUR CAREER?) "I have a great teammate in Jeff Gordon. He helps me quite a bit. He basically taught me how to run that place. Every time I go back I need a refresher course. Jeff really knows the place and he runs well there every time."

BUSCH: (WILL THIS TRACK BE ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT FOR THE BUSCH SERIES REGULARS?) "The open test day that Martinsville is giving the series on Thursday is going to bring the competition closer. Everybody, both the regulars and the Cup drivers, is going to be on track Thursday. Then the Cup drivers will go to Pocono Friday and return Saturday after Cup happy hour. The Busch guys will actually have more practice than the Cup guys will, so hopefully they'll get accustomed to the track quickly."

BUSCH: (ON COMMUTING BETWEEN CUP AND BUSCH ACTIVITY.) "This will be the last race until Memphis and Atlanta where we're flying back and forth. It's not bad. The lack of sleep is tough, though. You just have to try to catch up on that on the way back and get well rested for Sunday's activities. At least this is only about a thousand-mile trip instead of the 8,000-mile one from Sonoma."

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CHAD WALTER, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 LOWE'S/SHOP-VAC CHEVROLET: (ON MARTINSVILLE.) "I'll put it this way: If I was racing at Michigan and went into a corner and missed my line, it would be OK. If you miss your line at Martinsville, you're going to lose a lot of positions. At Martinsville you have to be perfect. Ideally your car is set up to hug the bottom and hold that inside line. The car has to accelerate well, brake well and rotate well. You can't lose any of those things. Martinsville requires a perfect-handling race car."

WALTER: (ON WHAT A CREW CHIEF HAS TO BE PREPARED FOR AT MARTINSVILLE.) "Braking power is crucial at Martinsville. I'm thinking it will be even more of an issue in this race due to it being in July and the outside temperature being so much hotter than what we're used to at Martinsville. The track can be hard on the car's drive train and on the driver as well. We need to give Kyle a good race car and he needs to stay focused and keep himself from getting overheated."

WALTER: (ON SHORT-TRACK RACING.) "I would prefer that we race at short tracks all the time. These races really put the racing back into the team's hands. These tracks can exploit how good or bad your car really is. Track position can determine the outcome of races on a bigger track and the best car doesn't always win. At short tracks, you know the winner had an awesome race car."