PREVIEW: KYLE BUSCH (NO. 5 CARQUEST CHEVROLET)
VENUE: CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY (1.5-MILE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE 18 OF 36)
EVENT: SUNDAY, JULY 9 (267 LAPS, 400.5 MILES)

CARQUEST BACK ON THE '5': Kyle Busch's No. 5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS will carry the colors of CARQUEST Auto Parts in Sunday's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at Chicagoland Speedway. It will mark the third outing of 2006 for the CARQUEST paint scheme, which will appear later this season at Pocono Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.

BUSCH POSTS BEST PLATE FINISH: With his runner-up effort in Saturday night's Pepsi 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Busch notched his highest career finish at a restrictor-plate track on the NEXTEL Cup circuit. In six previous appearances at Daytona and Talladega, Ala., combined, Busch averaged a 33rd-place performance with a top result of 23rd, which came in this year's Daytona 500.

CAR SELECTION: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 307 for Sunday's Chicagoland Speedway race. The car saw action at Dover, Del., in early June, where Busch drove to a fifth-place finish.

TESTING AT INDY: All four full-time Hendrick Motorsports teams -- Nos. 5, 24, 25 and 48 -- will test Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 11-12 in preparation for the Aug. 6 NEXTEL Cup event.

HENDRICK AT CHICAGOLAND: Although Hendrick Motorsports has yet to post a NEXTEL Cup victory at Chicagoland Speedway, the organization has earned the past two pole positions and placed at least two cars within the top-five finishers for four consecutive seasons (2002-05).

PREPPING AT THE MILE: All four full-time Hendrick Motorsports teams -- Nos. 5, 24, 25 and 48 -- tested The Milwaukee Mile on June 27-28 in preparation for the July 16 NEXTEL Cup event at New Hampshire International Speedway.

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BUSCH RACIN' THE BASES IN JOLIET: Kyle Busch will participate in the Racin' the Bases Celebrity Softball Challenge on July 6 at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, Ill. Busch will sign autographs beginning at 5 p.m. local time and play in the softball game at 6 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp.

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KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST CHEVROLET: (YOU FINISHED SECOND ON SATURDAY AT DAYTONA. WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR YOU MENTALLY?) "Finishing second at Daytona was a tremendous boost for us. We were stuck in a 12th-place rut for a few weeks there and the race to the Chase was getting really tight. It's going to be a dogfight for 10th place, I can promise you that."

BUSCH: (ON HIS PERFORMANCE AT CHICAGOLAND LAST SEASON.) "We finished 14th at Chicago last year and weren't ever really a factor in the race. Our teammate, Jeff Gordon, has dominated there in the past, but for some reason we just didn't have a handle on the car. The car Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) selected should work well at a place like Chicago, so we're hoping for a top-10 finish."

BUSCH: (ON THE POTENTIAL CHANGES NASCAR WILL MAKE TO THE CHASE FORMAT NEXT YEAR.) "I think it could be good for the sport. It could give a lot of other teams the opportunity to get into the Chase, but I guess NASCAR will have to figure out how the awards banquet in New York will work. Right now, I like the top-10 concept because it's challenging. Where we are right now, the Nos. 5 and 24 have to be super conservative for the next nine races because every single point counts. The No. 48 is definitely in the Chase, but even though they're leading the points right now, it all goes away come the second New Hampshire. We're in the middle of a heated battle and I'm confident if we just have solid finishes we'll be there in the end."

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ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST CHEVROLET: (ON MOVING UP FOUR POSITIONS IN THE STANDINGS AFTER FINISHING SECOND AT DAYTONA.) "That was my best finish as a crew chief or a team member at Daytona. The No. 5 Chevrolet didn't fare very well at any of the plate tracks for the past two years, so I'm real proud of the effort. If we didn't get that caution on the last lap, I feel Kyle could have challenged for the win."