Federated Auto Parts 300 - Kyle Busch Notes

KYLE BUSCH -- NO. 5 LOWE'S/SPECTRACIDE CHEVROLET
NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY PREVIEW

WEEKEND COMMUTE: Kyle Busch will enter two NASCAR events in two separate time zones this weekend, traveling from Pennsylvania to Tennessee on Saturday to qualify and race his No. 5 Lowe's/Spectracide Chevrolet in Busch Series competition at Nashville Superspeedway. Busch will then fly back north for Sunday's 500-mile NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway.

FREQUENT FLYER: The NEXTEL Cup Series and Busch Series will compete at separate tracks for the next three weeks. Busch's racing schedule will take him roundtrip between Long Pond, Pa., and Nashville, Tenn., this Saturday; Brooklyn, Mich., and Sparta, Ky., on June 17; and Sonoma, Calif., and West Allis, Wis., on June 24. Busch is attempting to complete full schedules on both circuits in 2006.

JUSTIN CASE: With Busch taking part in NEXTEL Cup activities at Pocono Raceway, veteran Busch Series driver Justin Labonte will practice the No. 5 Lowe's/Spectracide Chevrolet prior to Saturday's qualifying session at Nashville. Labonte, a past winner on the circuit, will remain on standby throughout time trials and the 300-mile race that evening.

CHASSIS 356: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 356 as the primary option for Saturday's Busch Series event at Nashville. The car has been raced twice in 2006 -- at Nashville in April and last month at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

'TEX' TAKES OVER: With Jake Brzozowski moving to the No. 25 NEXTEL Cup team, Jeffrey "Tex" Reeves will take over as rear-tire carrier for the No. 5 Lowe's/Spectracide Chevrolet beginning with Saturday's event at Nashville.

BUSCH AT NASHVILLE: In three Busch Series starts at Nashville, Busch has posted one top-10 finish -- a sixth-place effort in June 2004. In the April 2003 ARCA Series event, Busch won from the pole position in his first-ever race with Hendrick Motorsports.

KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 LOWE'S/SPECTRACIDE CHEVROLET: (ON HIS TRAVEL SCHEDULE.) "It'll be hectic. The Busch Series race is on Saturday night, so it won't be too bad. I know there have been a lot of meetings and conversations about the itinerary and just making sure there's no possible way for anything to go wrong, whether it's getting me to the Busch race or getting me back to Pocono for the Cup race on Sunday. We're going to have Justin (Labonte) there to practice and qualify the car for us if I'm not quite able to make it. As long as I'm there to start the race, we'll still get points and can still fight to win the championship for Lowe's and Hendrick Motorsports."

BUSCH: (ON HIS TRACK RECORD AT NASHVILLE.) "Hopefully the Lowe's/Spectracide team can just finish it out OK. Last time we were there, we didn't end up too well. I think we spun like three times and didn't look very good. This time, we're going to try to change that and get a good-handling race car where we can try to run in the top-10 and finish there, too. A solid top-10, or better yet a top-five finish, is exactly what we need this weekend. There will be a lot of teams that are going to have someone else practicing and qualifying their cars. If we're the best out of those guys we'll be pretty decent."

BUSCH: (ON THE RISKS OF RUNNING BOTH NEXTEL CUP AND BUSCH SERIES SCHEDULES ON "STAND-ALONE" WEEKENDS.) "We really don't need any bad weather. The last couple of years it seems like we've had some bad weather at Nashville. This year, I'm really hoping it holds off and I can get back to Pocono at a decent hour Saturday night or Sunday morning."

CHAD WALTER, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 LOWE'S/SPECTRACIDE CHEVROLET: (ON NASHVILLE.) "The April race was my first at Nashville, and I didn't really know what to expect, but the track is great. It's a great facility, so I really liked it right off the bat. As far as racing goes, there was a lot more braking at Nashville than I thought. It's basically a flatter Darlington. They're the same size, but they have differences. Nashville is primarily a one-groove race track, as Kyle proved last time we were there. To win there, you have to be handling well on the bottom. Track position plays a major role as it's very hard to pass."

WALTER: (ON JUSTIN LABONTE AS A SUBSTITUTE DRIVER.) "I really appreciate Justin's help this season. I have a lot of confidence in his ability and hope someone will take notice of his help and his performance. The hardest part about having a substitute driver is making sure that I'm not setting the car up for him, but for Kyle. I'm going to need good feedback from Justin on what the car's doing, but I need to make sure that I don't get too far out of the box for what Kyle wants in a race car. Over the next three weeks, this team is going to play conservatively. We don't want to get the setup too far off, nor do we need any issues to put us further behind the No. 21 car. Between the team, Justin and Kyle, our goal is to be conservative, be consistent and earn a solid finish Saturday night."

WALTER: (ON ENTERING THE WEEKEND WITHOUT KYLE AT THE TRACK.) "Kyle and I have talked a lot lately about Nashville. The good thing is that we've already been there once this year, so we have notes to fall back on. Our only concern is applying those notes from a day race to this Saturday's night race. It's a completely new circumstance to adjust to."

WALTER: (ON THE TEAM'S RECENT PERFORMANCE.) "We've learned a lot as a team since the season started, but we're still learning. We're realizing that we can't go off the deep end as far as setups are concerned and we can't take risks that don't make sense. We've got to play it more conservatively if we're going to catch the No. 21 team."

WALTER: (ANY CONCERNS GOING INTO THESE NEXT THREE RACES?) "I really have no worries as far as weather is concerned. There's nothing I can do about that. It's out of my control. I hope it's not an issue, but if it becomes one, I can't get worried about it. Going into these three weeks, I'm not too worried overall. Kyle has won at Nashville. He dominated at Kentucky. He's had quite a bit of seat time at Milwaukee, too. So, at least we're not going into anything blindly. I know the driver is going to be ready when he gets there. As a team, we have to make sure the car is adjustable to his needs come race time."