Daytona 500 * Daytona Int'l Speedway * Sunday, February 15, 2004
Kurt Busch
Team: No. 97 Sharpie Ford Taurus
Owner: Jack Roush
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis Number: #55 - finished second in the 2003 Daytona 500.
Kurt Busch on racing at Daytona:
"I'm looking forward to getting the season started. Our team has
worked hard during the off-season to put together some great cars, and I
think we've got a great one for Daytona. We've had two great
finishes the past couple of trips here, so we just want to continue that
success. I'd love to take the No. 97 Sharpie Ford to the first NASCAR
Nextel Cup Series victory lane."
Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Daytona:
"We were happy with how we tested here in January, and we took what
we learned back to the shop and applied it to the car we brought down
here. It's the same car we ran here last year. Kurt's proven that he
can be patient during this race to be up front at the end. We're just
going to try to do one place better than we did last time we were here
at Daytona for the 500."
ROUSH RACING FAST FACTS:
Mark Martin has started a record 16-straight Budweiser
Shootouts.
Martin won the 1999 Bud Shootout.
This will be Martin's 20th running in the Daytona 500.
Martin has finished in the top six in five of his last seven
starts at Daytona. This will be his 38th Nextel Cup start at the track
and his 16th straight start in the Daytona 500, dating back to Feb. 14,
1988.
Martin is one of only 22 drivers who have completed every lap of
the race on five or more occasions.
Martin has six top-10 and three top-five finishes in 11 Busch
starts at Daytona.
This will mark Martin's 201st start in the Busch series.
Matt Kenseth posted the 10th overall fastest time in the
pre-season Daytona testing sessions, held in January. His time was
48.727 seconds for a top speed of 184.703 miles per hour.
The DEWALT pit crew remains intact from last year after placing
third in the World Pit Crew Championships.
Kurt Busch is running the No. 97 Sharpie paint scheme for the
first of 18 events in the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.
Busch is going for his third consecutive top-five finish in the
Daytona 500, finishing fourth in 2002 and second last year (his best
finish in the event).
Busch has completed 94% of the laps in his three Daytona 500
starts, and 93% of the laps in his eight events at the speedway.
Busch's crew chief Jimmy Fennig is tied for winningest active
crew chief in the Winston Cup Series with 24 wins.
Jeff Burton has five top-five and seven top-10 finishes at
Daytona International Speedway including one win at the July race in
2000.
Burton has completed 95% of his total laps run at the track and
94% of his total laps run at the Daytona 500 race.
Burton's best finish at the Daytona 500 was second in 2000.
In 2003 a wreck in Tuesday's practice sidelined the primary No.
99 Ford but in a back-up, Burton was able to race his way to a ninth
place starting position in the 125's and ultimately an 11th place
finish.
Jon Wood and Carl Edwards will compete in Friday's season
opening NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.
