BRIAN VICKERS NOTES & QUOTES
IT’S A WINNER:
Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 5 Chevrolets, has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 344 as the primary option for this weekend’s UAW-GM Quality 500. Kyle Busch drove the car to Victory Lane at California Speedway last month, becoming the youngest-ever Cup Series winner.
HENDRICK GOING FOR LUCKY 13:
Jimmie Johnson’s May 29 NEXTEL Cup victory was the 12th for car owner Rick Hendrick at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. No other owner has more than eight wins at the track.
DELPHI PAINT FOR ‘5’ AT LMS:
Busch’s No. 5 Chevrolet will have a different look this weekend, with the red oval of Delphi taking over the hood at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Saturday will mark the final appearance of the Delphi car design in 2005.
LOWE’S SWEET LOWE’S:
Hendrick Motorsports has won at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with five different drivers in three different decades. Johnson and Jeff Gordon have four victories apiece, with Darrell Waltrip (2), Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader also scoring wins for Rick Hendrick. Three came in the 1980s (Waltrip and Schrader), five in the 1990s (Gordon and Labonte) and four since 2000 (Johnson).
BUSCH PULLING LOWE’S DOUBLE:
In an effort to win consecutive Busch Series events at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Busch will pilot a No. 57 Chevrolet Friday night. The 20-year-old Las Vegas native won the May 28 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at the 1.5-mile track.
MUSEUM EXPANDS HOURS:
The Hendrick Motorsports museum will expand its business hours Oct. 10-16 to accommodate visitors during Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s UAW-GM Quality 500 race week. Fans may visit www.HendrickMotorsports.com for a full operating schedule.
RAIN, RAIN, CARAWAY:
Rain canceled a scheduled testing day for Busch and his No. 5 NEXTEL Cup team this week at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C. The session would have provided a warm-up for the Oct. 23 event at Martinsville, Va.
FOCUS ON DRIVING:
On Monday, Oct. 17, Busch will visit Leon High School in Tallahassee, Fla., to participate in the national kickoff of “Focus on Driving.” The new program was created by Sprint to educate teenagers about the importance of attentive driving.
TRUCKIN’ AT MARTINSVILLE:
In addition to driving his customary No. 5 Chevrolet in the NEXTEL Cup Series, Busch will compete in the Oct. 22 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway. His No. 15 Chevy Silverado will be fielded by Billy Ballew Motorsports.
KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S/DELPHI CHEVROLETS:
(ON RUNNING AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY.) “Lowe’s Motor Speedway is my favorite place to race. We’ve preformed really well there in the Busch Series car and had a good test there a few weeks ago in the Cup car. I’m running the Busch race on Friday night so I hope that information will be helpful for our Cup car. We led 55 laps in the ‘600’ back in May and unfortunately had some back luck and couldn’t close the deal because of mechanical problems. The track has been ground even more since we raced, and during the test sessions there were a lot of wrecks. I think the racing will be exciting for the fans. Hendrick Motorsports has been successful at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the past few years and we hope to carry on that trend this weekend. Our plan is to just race our race and be there at the end.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S/DELPHI CHEVROLETS:
(ON SATURDAY’S EVENT AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY.) “We’re taking one of the best cars we have in the No. 5 stable to Lowe’s and we should have some great results. Our test went really well and Kyle was the second-fastest car out there. The track conditions are a little different this time because they ground the surface again, so there will probably be some wrecks. I think the No. 5 team will race and finish well.”
