Samsung / RadioShack 500, Texas Motor Speedway, 4/4/4
Kurt Busch
Team: No. 97 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford Taurus
Owner: Jack Roush
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: #58 (finished 12th at Atlanta earlier in the year)
Kurt Busch on racing at Texas Motor Speedway:
"I know that at first glance this track looks a lot like Atlanta and Charlotte, but for the drivers it’s a completely different scenario than what you have at the other mile and a half tri-ovals. Texas is very fast and smooth with a lot of grip in the corners. Over the years the racing surface has developed nicely, and the second groove should work its way in over the weekend. We’ve had some consistent runs the past two weeks, and were able to lead the most laps at Darlington and Bristol. We’re where we need to be in the point standings right now, so we just want to continue to hit our marks this week in Texas.”
Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Texas Motor Speedway:
“We decided to test here the end of last month since we have run okay here, but never as well as we’ve wanted to. We learned a lot of things on our first day here – so much that we originally had planned on testing for two days, but we decided to save that second date for later in the season. The car ran well in Atlanta, so we’ll have to see how it handles on this smooth track with the new tires.”
Fast Facts
A Roush entry has won three times in the seven races at Texas Motor Speedway, once each with Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth.
Roush Racing has combined to win three of the six races complete on the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series schedule, twice with Kenseth and once with Kurt Busch.
Kurt Busch comes to Texas looking for his second win of the season after his win at Bristol last week.
Busch jumped up two spots in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings following the win, and trails Roush Racing teammate Matt Kenseth by only 21 points.
In Bristol, the No. 97 car led the most laps for the second straight week.
The Sharpie Racing team brings chassis #58 to Texas, the same chassis that finished 12th at Atlanta earlier in the season, and the car they brought to the Texas test on March 23rd.
Busch is running the No. 97 IRWIN paint scheme for the fourth of 19 events in 2004.
Busch will compete in the second of four events on the 2004 Crown Royal IROC Series on Friday evening in Texas. The event will mark IROC’s inaugural trip to the speedway.
Defending 2003 IROC champion Busch is currently second in the 2004 IROC standings (one point behind leader Ryan Newman) following his second place finish at Daytona in February.
