Richmond International Raceway, May 13-14, 2005
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series: Chevy American Revolution 400, Saturday at 7:35 pm (EDT)
Kurt Busch
Team: No. 97 IRWIN Industrial Tools/Sharpie Ford Taurus
Crew Chief: Jimmy Fennig
Chassis: #52 (Won at Phoenix earlier this year and twice at Loudon in 2004.)
Kurt Busch on racing at Richmond:
“Richmond is a terrific racetrack. The side-by-side racing action provides a little bit of balance between a speedway attitude and a short track feel. The track is its own unique length. There’s no other track on the circuit that’s 3/4-of-a-mile, but the way that the Cup cars run here, it feels like it is a mile in speed, but it feels like it’s a half-mile in handling characteristics. So, it’s really a unique track.”
Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig on racing at Richmond:
“We haven’t had finishes at this track like we wanted, even though Kurt has shown that he really knows his way around some of these short tracks. We’ve got a good car and a great driver though, so we’re looking forward to this week.”
Fast Facts
Kurt Busch, who is fourth in the point standings, remains in the top 10 NEXTEL Cup Series competition for the 45th consecutive race week (since Rockingham 2004), currently the longest streak on the circuit.
Busch’s No. 97 Ford Taurus sports the colors of IRWIN Industrial Tools at Richmond for the fifth time this season. The IRWIN car will run through the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte on May 21st.
The IRWIN Industrial Tools Racing team brings chassis #52 to Richmond, the same car that won at Phoenix earlier this year and twice at Loudon in 2004.
Though Busch’s success at short-tracks cannot be disputed, he has only managed one top-10 finish in eight career starts at Richmond. He has led races in the past two visits to the facility, including 96 laps in the most recent visit to the track when he was forced to pit for fuel in the closing laps.
The No. 97 team won the National Pit Crew Championship Monday night in Mooresville, N.C., defeating the No. 19 crew in the final round with a mistake-free 16.342-second stop. The winning crew members were: Mark Full (front tire carrier), Scott Ward (front tire changer), Scott Radel (jackman), Doug Newell (fueler), Jim Gaudette (catch can), Kevin Gilman (rear tire changer), Jason Binger (rear tire carrier) and Wayne DeLoria (coach).
