Food City 500 * Bristol Motor Speedway * 3/28/04
Kurt Busch
Team: No. 97 Sharpie IRWIN Ford Taurus
Owner: Jack Roush
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: #46 (this car won both Bristol races in 2003, and most recently finished eighth at Rockingham this year)
Kurt Busch on racing at BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
"If you had asked me three years ago what my favorite track was, I never would have said Bristol - it's just such an intimidating racetrack. But now after the success that we've been fortunate enough to achieve here, it's right up there. Our sponsor Sharpie stepped up a few years ago to sponsor the night race, and now this year they are sponsoring the Busch race this year for the first time, so coming to Bristol is like a second home track after Vegas. We've been so close to a top-five this year, especially last week in Darlington, and we've always had luck in special paint scheme cars here at Bristol."
Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
"I've been coming here for a long time, but nothing gets you more excited than going to Bristol. As a crew chief, you're plenty busy and you don't have the luxury of a lot of time before you have to make a call sometimes. Everything happens faster here. Bristol has been good to us the past couple of years, and we've been needing a top-five this year. We'd love for it to happen here."
Fast Facts
Kurt Busch enters this weekend's event as the two-time defending champion of the Food City 500.
Busch has won three of the last four races at Bristol, including a sweep in 2003, and has only six career starts at the track. He has not finished lower than sixth or led less than 45 laps in his last four visits to Bristol.
Busch scored his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series victory at Bristol on March 24, 2002. His most recent victory also came at the track on August 23 of last year.
Busch will run a special paint scheme for both 2004 Bristol events, commemorating Sharpie's 40th Anniversary.
On Thursday, Busch helped rename Shelbyville, TN, a town that produces millions of Sharpie markers every year, "Sharpieville USA" for the day. Busch led a "Sharpiefest" parade through town, met with the mayor, changed city signs from "Shelbyville" to "Sharpieville" and received the key to the city.
