KYLE BUSCH NOTES & QUOTES
‘5’ TESTS ‘THE GLEN’:
NEXTEL Cup rookie Kyle Busch and Kellogg’s Racing tested Aug. 1-2 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in preparation for Sunday’s 90-lap event. The race will mark the rookie’s second appearance on a road course at the Cup level.
LOOKIN’ FOR LUCKY SEVEN:
Rick Hendrick’s six Watkins Glen victories put him first among NEXTEL Cup team owners. Jack Roush is second with three wins at the track, while Joe Gibbs and Raymond Beadle are knotted for third with two each.
BUSCH SIGNING AT ‘THE GLEN’:
Busch will sign autographs on Sunday, Aug. 14 beginning at 10 a.m. ET at the No. 5 Kellogg’s Racing souvenir rig. Tickets will be handed out to the first 100 guests in line Sunday morning.
CHASSIS 281 FOR BUSCH:
Kellogg’s Racing crew chief Alan Gustafson has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 281 as the primary option for Watkins Glen this weekend. Busch piloted the car earlier this season at Infineon Raceway.
WHERE’S WALTER:
Chad Walter, chief engineer for the Nos. 5 and 25 NEXTEL Cup teams, will enjoy a homecoming of sorts this weekend when the NASCAR circuit visits Watkins Glen. Walter hails from nearby Albion, N.Y., and is a graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca.
BUSCH ON ‘NASCAR NATION’:
Busch will join the cast of SPEED Channel’s “NASCAR Nation” as a special guest host tonight. The show airs Monday-Thursday at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET.
FOR THE KIDS:
Busch will host his second “Kids Only” autograph session at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 27 beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. Tickets will be distributed on a first come, first served basis when the gates open at the track that day.
KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S CHEVROLETS:
(ON TESTING AT WATKINS GLEN.) “The point of going to Watkins Glen to test was to learn as much as I possibly could about road courses and that track. When you only run two road courses a year, it’s hard to get into the groove of turning both left and right. We broke a gear at Infineon, but had a great car out there. So we didn’t get a chance to really see what we had for them. One thing I know for sure this weekend is that I don’t want to tear up another road course car. The test session went pretty well. I have never run a car at Watkins Glen so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s a pretty cool course. The test went smoothly and we didn’t wreck any cars this time [LAUGHS] so I think if we get a good qualifying spot and the impound doesn’t hurt us we should be in good position to finish well.”
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG’S CHEVROLETS:
(ON FINISHING THIRD AT INDY.) “We took a fourth-place car at Indy and made it a 10th-place car because of a miscue in the pits. Even with that being said, I have no choice but to be encouraged by the performance of the cars and the team. We’ve got 90 percent of it down -- and that last 10 percent is probably the part we’re getting beat on. These days you have to be 100 percent or you don’t win. We learn more every week, but in order to get these finishes we need to dot our I’s and cross our T’s. That’s all we’re lacking. We’ve got to focus on the small things in order to win one of these.”
