KYLE BUSCH LMS NOTES & QUOTES
CARQUEST COLORS FOR ‘5’ CUP TEAM:
CARQUEST Auto Parts will be featured on Kyle Busch’s No. 5 Chevy this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Sunday’s NEXTEL Cup race will mark the third of five times this season the CARQUEST shield will adorn the car’s hood, with still-to-come events at Kansas Speedway in October and Texas Motor Speedway in November.
ON THIS DATE:
Darrell Waltrip took a No. 17 Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 29, 1988, marking the first of Rick Hendrick’s record 11 car-owner wins at the track. Hendrick has seen five of his drivers score first-place finishes in points-paying Cup Series events at LMS: Waltrip (2), Ken Schrader (1), Jeff Gordon (4), Labonte (1) and Jimmie Johnson (3).
BUSCH CHASING ‘THE CHASE’:
Busch is only 76 points back of the magic 400-point cutoff for the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. The Las Vegas native is 22nd in the overall driver standings while leading the Raybestos Rookie battle by 21 markers over second-place Travis Kvapil.
BUSCH HOPING FOR NBS REPEAT AT LOWE’S:
Busch will again pull double duty this weekend in an attempt to repeat as winner of the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300. Making his fifth NASCAR Busch Series start of 2005, Busch will pilot a No. 5 Chevy on Saturday with backing from Lowe’s and Sta-Green. He has never finished worse than second in two May NBS starts at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
HOME OF THE FAMOUS BURNOUT:
After Busch took the checkered flag in last May’s CARQUEST Auto Parts 300, he executed one of the most talked-about celebrations in recent memory. After a crowd-pleasing burnout on the frontstretch pavement, Busch quickly exited his No. 5 Chevy under a cloud of smoke and stood atop the driver’s-side door. As the haze cleared, he appeared with arms raised for one of the more memorable photo opportunities of 2004.
BUSCH ON ‘E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY’:
Busch is one of the NASCAR drivers featured in an episode of “E! True Hollywood Story” set to air on Monday, May 30 at 8 p.m. ET.
‘5’ GIVES BUSCH NEW CAR:
Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 349 for Busch to pilot in Sunday’s NEXTEL Cup event at LMS. The team had a successful test with the car earlier this month at the 1.5-mile oval.
KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST CHEVROLETS:
(THE “600” WILL BE THE LONGEST RACE OF YOUR LIFE. HOW WILL YOU PREPARE?) “Well, the first thing I need to do is mentally prepare myself. Something I’ve been trying to do throughout the year is race the track for the majority of the race. There is no sense in going out there full tilt and using up my equipment or racing someone and something stupid happens. The ‘600’ is a really long race. It’s 400 laps and physically it’s hard on your body. I will probably lose around eight pounds since we sweat so much throughout that time. The good part is that it’s a lot cooler at night so that helps.”
BUSCH:
(HOW DO YOU PREPARE A “600” CAR?) “We just have to build adjustability into the car. Since the track has been ground, it’s not going to change as much as it has in years past. We can start the race with spring rubbers in the car and the track bar in a certain position, which can all be changed within a pit stop. Track position will be important and those guys on pit road will earn their money on Sunday night. There will be a lot of pit stops and lots of changes. Hopefully we will be up front in clean air and can set the pace on pit road as well as on the track.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST CHEVROLETS:
(YOU TESTED LMS EARLIER THIS MONTH. WHAT DID YOUR LEARN ABOUT HOW TO PREPARE FOR SUNDAY’S RACE?) “We were very pleased with the session. The car we tested is brand new and Kyle was really comfortable in it. There are so many things to get your hands around as a crew chief in preparing for this race. Our test session was at night, so we feel like the results of that will be a good indicator of what to expect during the actual race. We have to build adjustability in the car so that we’re prepared when the sun goes down and the track changes.”
