Daytona 500 - Kyle Busch Notes

FIRST DAYTONA 500 FOR KYLE BUSCH:
Kyle Busch was the top Raybestos Rookie in Daytona 500 time trials on Sunday, putting his No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet 16th overall in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rundown. The 19-year-old will start 11th in Thursday's initial Gatorade Duel qualifying race prior to his first-ever Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 20. Busch has started three previous races (all in 2004) at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway -- finishing first in last season's ARCA Series event, 24th in the February NASCAR Busch Series race and 11th on the same tour in July.

HOMECOMING FOR GUSTAFSON:
Alan Gustafson, new crew chief of the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolets, is a native of Ormond Beach, Fla., and will make his debut as a NEXTEL Cup crew chief during Speedweeks 2005. He also attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach for mechanical engineering.

DOUBLE DUTY FOR BUSCH:
At Daytona, Busch will begin a limited 2005 Busch Series schedule as driver of the No. 5 Chevrolets. The Las Vegas native earned Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors and finished second in the Busch Series championship standings in 2004, breaking numerous rookie records in the process.

RAYBESTOS ROOKIE 'RC' BATTLE:
Busch and his Raybestos Rookie of the Year competitor Travis Kvapil will trade paint using remote control cars in front of the Daytona International Speedway media center on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 1:15 p.m. ET.

KELLOGG'S SUPPORTS MARROW PROGRAM:
For every Kellogg product that is purchased/scanned in any Albertson's grocery store in Florida during the month of February, Kellogg Company will donate 10 cents to the Hendrick Marrow Program (up to a maximum of $15,000). In addition, if a Hendrick Motorsports driver wins the NEXTEL Cup race in Daytona or California, Kellogg's plans to double the contribution.

NO. 5 AT DAYTONA:
The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team has made one trip to Victory Lane in the Daytona 500, courtesy of driver Geoffrey Bodine and crew chief Gary Nelson in February 1986. Bodine started second, led the most laps and crossed the finish line ahead of second-place Terry Labonte for the win. Kyle Busch was less than 1 year old at the time.

CHASSIS NO. 270 FOR BUSCH:
Busch will pilot Chassis No. 270 this week at Daytona. Labonte drove the car in the Bud Shootout last February and Pepsi 400 July 3, finishing eighth and seventh, respectively.

KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLETS:
(2005 MARKS YOUR FIRST DAYTONA 500. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?) "I remember watching Jeff Gordon win his first Daytona 500 and the Hendrick Motorsports cars finishing 1-2-3 in 1997. I always dreamed of racing in this particular race and now that dream is a reality thanks to Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and Kellogg's. The '500' is one of the most prestigious races of a driver's career and it's the season opener for the NEXTEL Cup Series. So many months of testing and preparation is poured into this race. It's a good way to start off the year. It would be awesome for this No. 5 team to have a good showing in the 'Super Bowl of Racing' and head to California with some momentum."

BUSCH: (BETWEEN THE GATORADE DUEL AND ALL THE PRACTICES, YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF TRACK TIME BEFORE THE DAYTONA 500. HOW IMPORTANT WILL THAT BE FOR YOU?) "I think it's going to be real important for me, having to gain some friends and stuff like that. We'll spend plenty of time just riding around getting the car to handle really well so we're not moving around all over the place looking stupid (laughs). We'll make sure we look good."

BUSCH: (HOW DOES THAT YELLOW ROOKIE STRIPE PLAY INTO EVERYTHING?) "Racing in the Daytona 500 as a rookie is going to be a great experience. We qualified 16th on Pole Day and that was a big boost to the morale of this No. 5 team. I hope that being a rookie doesn't matter too much when it comes to drafting in the Duel and in the big race. It's hard to find friends sometimes, especially in the draft, so we hope that our car is good and we can get out there and run in the draft with the best of them."

BUSCH: (YOU WON LAST SEASON AT DAYTONA IN THE ARCA SERIES. WILL THAT TRIP TO VICTORY LANE HELP?) "Last year it was really cool to enter and win the ARCA race for my first-ever start at Daytona. I will be racing in the Busch Series on Saturday this year and, even though there is a significant aerodynamic difference between the Cup and Busch cars, I think the extra drafting experience will pay off."

BUSCH: (WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM JANUARY DAYTONA TESTING?) "The main thing we learned from the test session was how to get all we can get out of the Kellogg's car. We brought the car back to the shop and made some chassis changes. It's all about getting the rear spoiler out of the air and being good in both qualifying trim and in the draft."

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLETS:
(HOW HAVE YOU PREPARED THE KELLOGG'S TEAM FOR DAYTONA?) "As a crew chief, I have to take a different approach than the driver. This is the most prestigious race of the year, but I have to look at it as just one out of 36. We can't put all our eggs in one basket by placing all the emphasis on one event and risk losing focus on the races that might be better indicators of how the Kellogg's team is going to run this year. I will be happy to leave Daytona with a decent finish and move on to California and Las Vegas."

GUSTAFSON: (WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM DAYTONA TESTING? HOW WAS YOUR FIRST DAYTONA INSPECTION AS A CREW CHIEF?) "We took all the data acquisition from the test and made some changes to be more competitive. We think the car should draft really well and hope the changes we made can help us in qualifying trim. As far as getting through NASCAR inspection, I've learned tons. We need to beef up in certain areas and concentrate our efforts in others. I am really just learning about speedway racing from the vantage point of a crew chief. As the team engineer, I didn't handle as many aspects of it, and now that I have to handle pretty much everything. I've started to learn very quickly."

GUSTAFSON: (CAN YOU PREVENT A TEAM FROM BEING COLLECTED IN "THE BIG ONE"?) "Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) are 'wild card' races, and although we can't control what other drivers do on the track, we can control the risks we take by the situation we put ourselves in. If Kyle is running four-wide, his chances of getting caught up in something are greater than if he is patient and running with good cars in the draft. Patience will be something we will be preaching this week."

GUSTAFSON: (HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS HAS BEEN STRONG IN DAYTONA SO FAR. ARE YOU SURPRISED?) "I've worked at Hendrick Motorsports for six years and the place still amazes me. We have so much talent, so many good people and it all starts with Mr. (Rick) Hendrick. He's the best, and has aligned the best driver talent, crew chiefs, and pretty much everybody here, so it doesn't surprise me that we run as well as we do."