Samsung/Radio Shack 500 - Kyle Busch Notes

SECOND CUP START FOR BUSCH: Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 84 CARQUEST Chevrolets, will attempt to make his second career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start on April 4 at Texas. The 18-year-old Las Vegas native has competed in one NASCAR-sanctioned event at TMS, starting fifth and finishing 25th in the Oct. 5, 2001 Craftsman Truck Series race.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RICKY: Ricky Hendrick, co-owner of the No. 25 Chevrolets and spotter for GMAC Racing, will celebrate his 24th birthday in Texas on Friday, April 2.

TWICE IS NICE FOR BUSCH: Sunday's NEXTEL Cup race will mark the second event of the weekend for Busch, as he will also enter Saturday's NASCAR Busch Series 300-miler in the No. 5 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports.

DYNAMIC DUO: Crew chief Gary DeHart, who won a Cup Series championship with Labonte in 1996, will be at the helm of the No. 84 Chevrolets in 2004. Lance McGrew, Busch's crew chief in the Busch Series, also will be available to consult the CARQUEST team on race days. McGrew led Vickers to the Busch Series championship in 2003.

DOUBLE FOR THE CREW: Busch won't be the only one pulling double duty for CARQUEST Racing on Sunday as the pit crew of the No. 84 Chevy will be the same group that services Busch's No. 5 Busch Series ride on Saturday.

HENDRICK UP FRONT: Hendrick Motorsports has both qualified and finished in the top 10 in all seven Cup Series races held at Texas, with the exception of April 1998 event. Labonte finished fifth that year, but no HMS team qualified in the top 10.

KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 84 CARQUEST CHEVROLETS: (TALK ABOUT GOING TO TEXAS FOR YOUR SECOND CAREER NEXTEL CUP RACE.) "I'm really excited about it. We had a test last week (March 23-24) in Texas and the CARQUEST Chevy was really fast. It's a challenging race track, especially coming off Turn 2 and getting into Turn 3 where there's not much banking. If we can get the balance of the car just right, I think we'll have a great day."

BUSCH: (HOW WILL TEXAS BE DIFFERENT THAN LAS VEGAS?) "Vegas was pretty emotional, with all the friends and family in the stands. From that standpoint, it'll be different. But going into the race at Texas, I'm just as excited. I think our Vegas result was partly due to my lack of experience. We started off tight and I wanted to try really hard to keep the car up front. I probably should've taken it easy and given my guys an opportunity to get us better in the pits. At Texas, putting the car in the show will be the main goal. After that, hopefully we can finish every lap and maybe get a top-20 finish."

BUSCH: (HOW BIG OF A LEARNING EXPERIENCE WAS LAS VEGAS?) "It was huge. I have to understand that I can't expect the car to be perfect every time. I need to be patient, although it's tough when your ultimate goal is to run up front with the best. But I have to get more experience and work toward it, instead of going after it right off the bat."