NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series: Chevy Rock & Roll 400, 7:30PM, Sept. 11
Kurt Busch
Team: No. 97 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford Taurus
Owner: Jack Roush
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: RP-48 (first time in 2004)
Kurt Busch on racing at Richmond International Raceway:
"Richmond provides a great atmosphere for all the venues we partake in, whether it's the IROC race, a truck race, or the full-blown 400 laps of a Cup race, there's different excitement levels in each of those races. The side-by-side racing action provides a little bit of balance between a speedway attitude and a short track feel. The track is its own unique length. There's no other track on the circuit that's ¾ of a mile and the way that the Cup cars run here, it feels like it is a mile in speed, but it feels like it's a half-mile in handling characteristics. So, it's really a unique track.
"We're also running the IROC cars here this week, and that should be pretty cool to have these Crown Royal cars on such a tight, fast racetrack. This is the first short track that IROC has ever visited, so it feels pretty special to be a part of that."
Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Richmond International Raceway:
"We haven't had finishes at this track like we wanted, even though Kurt has shown that he really knows his way around some of these short tracks. This week we're just looking for another solid finish so that we're locked in this deal and we can go racing for the final 10."
Fast Facts
Busch finished 11th at California to narrowly end his streak of consecutive top-10 finishes at four and drop him a position to seventh in the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series standings. Busch, who spent the last two weeks in sixth, fell 18 points behind race-winner Elliott Sadler.
In order to secure his spot in the inaugural "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup," Busch must gain 37 points this weekend in Richmond. He can do that by either finishing 42nd or higher in the event, or starting the race leading one lap.
Busch is running the IRWIN Industrial Tools paint scheme for the 16th of 19 events in 2004.
Though Busch's success at short-tracks cannot be disputed, he has only managed one top-10 finish in seven career starts at Richmond. He has led races twice at the facility, including 17 laps on his way to an eighth place finish in May of 2003, and six laps earlier this year before a mechanical failure took him out of contention.
Busch has extra incentive to run well at Richmond 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.
Thursday evening Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch will compete in round three of the Crown Royal IROC Series. Busch and Kenseth are fifth and ninth in the points respectively, following events in Daytona and Texas earlier this year.
