KYLE BUSCH NOTES & QUOTES
BUSCH BACK TO POCONO:
In his only career outing at Pocono Raceway in July 2003, Kyle Busch broke the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) track record during time trials. Busch’s lap of 52.678 seconds (170.849 mph) not only shattered the ARCA mark held by Casey Mears, but it bested Ryan Newman’s Cup Series qualifying effort of that same week. Newman earned the pole position and went on to win the Cup event that Sunday.
PERFECT 10:
Rick Hendrick leads all car owners with 10 Cup Series wins at Pocono Raceway. Hendrick Motorsports has sent five different drivers to Victory Lane there: Tim Richmond (3), Jeff Gordon (3), Jimmie Johnson (2), Geoffrey Bodine (1) and Terry Labonte (1). Roger Penske is second all-time with five first-place finishes at the 2.5-mile venue.
RIDE 349 FOR ‘5’:
Kellogg’s Racing crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 349 for this week’s NEXTEL Cup festivities at Pocono Raceway. It is the same car Busch led 55 laps with May 29 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway before an engine issue arose.
‘5’ GOING FOR THIRD ‘W’ AT POCONO:
The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team has made two trips to Pocono’s Victory Lane. Geoffrey Bodine won June 19, 1988 and Terry Labonte took the checkers June 11, 1995. Kyle Busch was ages 3 and 10 at when those victories occurred.
TIM RICHMOND IN ’87:
The legendary Tim Richmond won the final two races of his career in 1987, the first coming at Pocono Raceway on June 14. He went to Victory Lane again one week later at the now-defunct Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. The triumphs marked the first two of Richmond’s eight Cup Series starts for Hendrick Motorsports that season. He won nine of his 37 races -- including three at Pocono -- in 1986 and 1987 combined.
‘5’ GOIN’ BACK TO CALI:
Following Sunday’s Dover event, Kellogg’s Racing traveled to California’s Napa Valley for a June 7-8 test session at Infineon Raceway. The NEXTEL Cup Series will visit the Sonoma-based road course June 26.
SIGN ME UP:
Busch will sign autographs at the No. 5 Kellogg’s Racing souvenir trailer on Sunday from 10:30-11 a.m. ET. A limited number of tickets will be distributed the morning of the event on a first come, first served basis.
KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S CHEVROLETS:
(POCONO HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS THREE TRACKS IN ONE. HOW DO YOU SEE IT?) “I’ve run at Pocono in the ARCA Series and it’s a fast track. You carry a lot of speed down the frontstretch and into Turn 1, but there are a few bumps on the track you have to deal with. We need to make sure our car is down out of the air and the spoiler is up so we can get through the corners fast. With the cars being impounded after qualifying that will make the race even more interesting.”
BUSCH:
(HOW WILL THE TRANSMISSION RULE CHANGES THE RACE?) “With the transmission rule, we will not be able to shift, so in order to slow down we’ll have to use our brakes. It’s going to be hard on brakes and passing might be challenging.”
BUSCH:
(AFTER THE RACE AT DOVER, MARK MARTIN SAID YOU DRIVE LIKE A 15-YEAR VETERAN. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?) “A compliment like that coming from a veteran like Mark Martin is just awesome. It’s been an honor to race against him and the other guys in the NEXTEL Cup Series. Mark raced me clean (at Dover) like he does every week. As he said, it was a day of give and take. That’s why the race ended under green and the guy with the best car won at the end.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S CHEVROLETS:
(ON THE PROGRESS OF THE NO. 5 TEAM.) “This No. 5 Kellogg’s team has been having some great runs. We have our eyes on that 400-point spread and want to be in the ‘Chase.’ I tell these guys every week that they can do it and they are just as good as the rest of these guys who are winning races each week. We have the cars, we have the driver and we have the team, so there isn’t any reason why we can’t continue to perform like we have been. Being there at the finish and racing our race is what we aim for every week. It’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time.”
