KYLE BUSCH NOTES & QUOTES
KELLOGG’S RACING LOOKING TO POCONO:
Driving a No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevy, Kyle Busch this weekend will make his second career Pocono Raceway start in NEXTEL Cup competition. In June the Raybestos Rookie worked his way from the 38th starting position to finish fourth in his first-ever Cup race there. Kellogg’s Racing will field the same car on Sunday -- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 349.
PERFECT 10 AT POCONO:
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).
TOP-FIVES PILING UP FOR BUSCH:
Following Sunday’s fourth-place result at New Hampshire, Busch has five top-five finishes so far this season. Only four drivers -- Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch -- have more.
BUSCH AT OXFORD PLAINS JULY 31:
Kyle Busch will enter the Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine, on Sunday, July 31. The 20-year-old Las Vegas native will team with SP2 Motorsports in hopes of winning in the Pro Stock division.
BRICKYARD NEXT FOR LABONTE:
Driving a No. 44 ditech.com Chevy, two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte will next see action Aug. 7 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His “Shifting Gears” tour also is scheduled for stops at Kansas Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway later in the year.
INDY TESTING JULY 18-19:
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Busch, Vickers and Labonte began two days of Indianapolis Motor Speedway testing on Monday.
KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S CHEVROLETS:
(ON GOING BACK TO POCONO.) “I’m looking forward to the second time around at Pocono. I think it’s going to be really good for us. Running well there the first time makes it so much easier to think about going back again. Last time we struggled with qualifying, but we were good in the race, so hopefully this time we can figure out qualifying to be in a better position to start with. If we have fewer cars to pass in order to get up front, then hopefully we can lead some laps and be able to work on our car a little more in order to stay out front.”
BUSCH:
(ON LUCK.) “We’ve had such good cars over the past few weeks and haven’t been able to close the deal. Everyone asks, ‘Why?’ I guess if I knew I’d fix it [LAUGHS]. It seems if we didn’t have bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck. It’s the way things go. We were awesome in Darlington and had a tire problem. We were solid at Lowe’s and had a mechanical problem. We had some tire problems early in the race at Michigan and never recovered. Normally, when you have a problem early on, these races are long enough that you have time to fix it in order to be there at the end. As a driver it’s mentally hard to deal with bad luck and it’s so easy to just say ‘I want to give up right here and now.’ But you can’t because you have all these people who work so hard on your car and give up so much of their time in order to run well. You can’t let them down. You always have to try. If you look at the No. 24 car last weekend at New Hampshire, a problem with 15 laps to go is going to hurt you, no matter how well you ran all day long. Those guys have had such bad luck lately, it’s bound to turn itself around. I mean, it’s Jeff Gordon. They will recover.”
BUSCH:
(ON RACING INTO THE CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP.) “I think there are two sides to that deal. There’s the group of drivers who are in the top-five right now and secure. Those are the guys who are being careful, trying to finish consistently and remain where they are. The guys in the sixth through 10th positions are racing just as carefully, but trying hard to gain points every week. Then you’ve got guys on the bubble racing their hearts out -- last lap, every lap -- to make it in. That’s where guys start making mistakes and things happen. It should be interesting to see the way things shake out over the next month.”
BUSCH:
(WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE OFF-WEEKEND AFTER POCONO?) “This is the last off-weekend of the season and I hope all the teams take the time to spend with their families and relax a little. This sport is so non-stop that these breaks are rare. I’ll be doing what I love most -- racing and having some fun.”
