Kurt Busch
Team: No. 97 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford Taurus
Owner: Jack Roush
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: #62 (finished 11th at Lowe’s in May)
Kurt Busch on racing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway:
"These mile and a half tracks are so important in the ‘Chase’ because there are so many of them in these final races. Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a track where we need to have another consistent run. We tested here last week during the evening in conditions that should be similar to what we see here Sunday evening, so we feel good about what we’ve learned.”
Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway:
“This is the same car we brought to the 600. Kurt got his best finish at this track in that race, and now with what we’ve learned in testing here last week we want to go out and top that.”
Fast Facts
Kurt Busch finished sixth in last week’s Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway. Busch increased his lead in the 2004 NEXTEL Cup Series point standings to 29 points ahead of second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Busch and Earnhardt Jr. are the only drivers to score top-10 finishes in each of the first four races in the Chase.
Busch has now scored ten consecutive top-15 finishes and has been among the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Top 10 for 29 consecutive race weeks (his only week out during 2004 was following a 16th place finish at the season-opening Daytona 500).
Busch is running the No. 97 Sharpie paint scheme for the 18th of 20 events in the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season this weekend.
Though Busch has not recorded a top-10 finish in eight career starts at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (the only track on the NEXTEL Cup Circuit with that distinction), he has managed five finishes among the top 15, including 11th in the Coca-Cola 600 in the spring.
Busch has extra incentive to run well this weekend to benefit low-income families. For a top five-finish, IRWIN will donate $10,000 in product to the charitable foundation Rebuilding Together, and $20,000 for a win.
