KURT BUSCH HOPING TO MAKE GREAT LAST IMPRESSIONS AT HOMESTEAD
Miller Lite Dodge Driver In Tight Battle For Most Poles; Labels 2006 Successful For First-Year Team

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 14, 2006) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch is hoping to close out the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway by making some great last impressions.

The greatest drama Busch and his Roy McCauley-led Penske Team will face this weekend will come during Friday’s qualifying session for Sunday’s Ford 500 season finale. Busch enters the weekend leading in the battle for the most poles, with six top qualifying spots to his credit. Kasey Kahne is currently second with five poles.

If the career track record has anything to do with it, Busch may be considered a favorite to take Friday’s pole. After all, entering the 2006 season, he had claimed only three poles in 184 races and two of those had come at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kahne is certain to be a challenger as he has started fourth and third in his only two visits to the South Florida track. He has been a phenomenon in both qualifying and racing on the intermediate tracks this season.

“Man, I’d like to think that we’ll have a shot at the pole there on Friday,” said Busch, who has claimed poles on short tracks, intermediate tracks and road courses this season. “But, judging from the testing we did down there several weeks back (on Oct. 15-16), it would be a big surprise to me if we can pull it off.

“I really didn’t feel that our car was strong enough in qualifying trim during the test,” Busch continued. “We’re going to have to be much stronger when we get back down there this weekend to be able to get the job done.”

Those comments certainly didn’t take away any of the confidence that crew chief McCauley has in his driver getting the job done.

“That’s just Kurt,” McCauley said with a chuckle. “You know, it’s one of those the glass is half empty or half full type deals. He’ll be strong down there, I’m sure of that. He is so good at that track that he’ll probably get down there and surprise himself. He never thought he’d win both poles at California this year. He never thought he could win a road course pole and he went out there and won them both. His Bristol pole came as a surprise and winning the pole at Martinsville just about blew his mind. He’ll be great down there, I’m confidant of that.”

The battle for the season’s most poles and the $100,000 prize that goes with it comes down to this scenario at Homestead on Friday:

Of course, if Busch could claim another pole, he would win the award outright. If neither Busch nor Kahne take the top qualifying spot, Busch is the winner.

If Kahne takes the pole and matches Busch’s six top qualifying spots, then the picture gets a little complicated. The tie-breaker for this award resorts to second-place starts. Kahne currently has two (Watkins Glen & October Lowe’s) to Busch’s one (June Pocono).

Should Kahne take the pole and Busch qualify second, the number of third-place starts would be the deciding factor. However, both Busch and Kahne officially have three third-place starts each. So, statisticians will fall back on the number of fourth-place starts to decide the award winner. Entering Homestead, Kahne has two fourth-place starts to Busch’s one.

“If that’s what it comes down to, it will certainly be a shame,” said Busch. “We can only look back at what happened in the last race at Charlotte (October at Lowe’s Motor Speedway) and start kicking ourselves. We qualified third there before getting sent to the back for the shock absorber infraction.

“So if the deal did unfold all the way down to that, the third-place effort that got wiped out at Charlotte would be the difference,” said Busch. “With it, we would have won the tie-breaker, but without it, Kasey will win the award. You could do some really abstract thinking and say that was a very costly shock that we had on the car that day.

“But regardless off the outcome, we’re not going to beat ourselves up about it,” Busch said with a grin. “We’re smart enough to look at the big picture and know we can all keep our heads held high.

“The fact that we won the six poles this season makes a big statement,” said Busch. “It shows just how strong these Penske Racing Dodges are. With Ryan (Newman, Penske teammate) winning the award for the most poles for the last four years, I’m so proud to have had a hand in attempting to keep that tradition going for Roger’s (Penske) teams.

“And we can also be very proud of what we were able to accomplish overall this season,” said Busch. “This team wasn’t even put together until last December and it’s truly a first-year team. It’s a totally different No. 2 roster than it was in 2005. There’s a different driver, a different crew chief, a different car chief, a different shock specialist – heck, even the truck drivers are different than they were last season. Derike (Stamets), our team engineer, is the only carry-over guy from Rusty’s team one year ago.

“So with that in mind, a season with a win, six poles, seven top-fives and 12 top-10s is pretty darned successful for a first-year team, I think,” said Busch. “But the way we’re looking at it is that Homestead offers us the opportunity to add to those great numbers. We’re looking to make some great last impressions down there this weekend.”

The 1.5-mile Homestead track is certainly a place where Busch should be able to carry out his plans. In his five career Cup starts there, he has posted one win, two top-five finishes and two poles. He scored his first “double-dip” race weekend by taking both the pole position and the race win in the 2002 season finale at Homestead. In one of the most dramatic races in NASCAR history, Busch started from the pole (his third pole in 150 races) and finished fifth at Homestead on Nov. 21, 2004, enough to clinch the title by a mere eight points over Jimmie Johnson. He survived a near catastrophic situation when he lost the right front wheel while running second on Lap 94. He just missed hitting the barrier at the pit road opening and the team was able to bounce back and finish fifth. That was his most recent race on the track as he was forced to sit out the 2005 event.

This weekend’s schedule at Homestead calls for practice on Friday from 11:35 a.m. till 1:05 p.m. The single round of qualifying on Friday at 3:10 p.m. will allocate all 43 starting positions for Sunday’s race. Saturday’s schedule features Cup practice sessions from 1:00 p.m. till 2:00 p.m. and from 2:35 p.m. till 3:20 p.m. Sunday’s season-ending Ford 500 at Homestead-Miami Speedway has a 2:55 p.m. starting time. NBC and MRN Radio will broadcast the race live beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST.

Notes of interest:

--Homestead-Miami Speedway has been the site of much success for Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch. In his five career Cup starts there, he has posted one win, two top-five finishes and two poles. He scored his first “double-dip” race weekend by taking both the pole position and the race win in the 2002 season finale at Homestead. In one of the most dramatic races in NASCAR history, Busch started from the pole (his third pole in 150 races) and finished fifth at Homestead on Nov. 21, 2004, enough to clinch the title by a mere eight points over Jimmie Johnson. He survived a near catastrophic situation when he lost the right front wheel while running second on Lap 94. He just missed hitting the barrier at the pit road opening and the team was able to bounce back and finish fifth. That was his most recent race on the track as he was forced to sit out the 2005 event.

--The scenario shaping up for Friday’s qualifying session could be as dramatic as Sunday’s battle for the NEXTEL Cup points title. Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch enters this weekend’s Homestead season finale with six poles to Kasey Kahne’s five. The battle for the season’s most poles and the $100,000 prize that goes with it comes down to this set-up at Homestead this Friday: Of course, if Busch could claim another pole, he would win the award outright. If neither Busch nor Kahne take the top qualifying spot, Busch is the winner. If Kahne takes the pole and matches Busch’s six top qualifying spots, then the picture gets a little complicated. See the release for all the details.

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch wasn’t overly impressed with his team’s recent testing at Homestead and says he will have to be stronger in order to compete for Friday’s pole. “Man, I’d like to think that we’ll have a shot at the pole there on Friday,” said Busch, who has claimed poles on short tracks, intermediate tracks and road courses this season. “But, judging from the testing we did down there several weeks back (on Oct. 15-16), it would be a big surprise to me if we can pull it off. I really didn’t feel that our car was strong enough in qualifying trim during the test. We’re going to have to be much stronger when we get back down there this weekend to be able to get the job done.” -- Those comments certainly didn’t take away any of the confidence that crew chief Roy McCauley has in his driver getting the job done. “That’s just Kurt,” McCauley said with a chuckle. “You know, the glass is half empty or half full. He’ll be strong down there, I’m sure of that. He is so good at that track that he’ll probably get down there and surprise himself. He never thought he’d win both poles at California this year. He never thought he could win a road course pole and he went out there and won them both. His Bristol pole came as a surprise and winning the pole at Martinsville just blew his mind. He’ll be great there on Friday, I’m confidant of that.”

--With his eighth-place qualifying effort last Friday at Phoenix, Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch maintained the best average start of any Cup driver, a 9.714 average after 35 races. He and Jeff Gordon, who started on the pole at Phoenix, are the only drivers with starting averages under 10. Busch has amassed 24 top-10 starts, more than any other driver, and has started in the top five in 12 races. He has only time-trialed out of the top 20 once, when he started 29th at Talladega. He started 42nd at Lowe’s for the 10/14 race, after a post-qualifying infraction disqualified his third-place effort. Without that infraction, his average start would be at 8.600.

--How does Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch stack up against Kasey Kahne (five poles), his closest rival in the season-long battle for most poles in 2006, in qualifying consistency? Kahne started 11th at Phoenix and now has a 13.114 average start, with 19 top-10 starts, but he has started outside the top 20 in nine races.

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch and his Roy McCauley-led Penske Racing Team will be racing their PRS-093 Dodge Charger this weekend at Homestead. The car has proven to be one of the strongest in the No. 2 team’s stable. The car has been raced four times this season, with runner-up finishes in both Pocono races giving the team much confidence in their choice of cars for the 2006 season finale.

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch will be the special featured guest on Friday’s edition of “Trackside” on Speed TV. He is scheduled to be on the live set just after 7:00 p.m. EST.

--“Statistics: The only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions.” Evan Ezar