KYLE BUSCH NOTES & QUOTES

'CARS' MOVIE PAINT-OUT FOR BUSCH: Kyle Busch will carry the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars" on his No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet this weekend. The character "Mater," whose voice will sound familiar to fans of Larry the Cable Guy, will be prominently displayed on the hood. Busch will attend the premiere of the movie on Friday evening at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: After accumulating two top-five and three top-10 finishes, Busch ranked 22nd in the NEXTEL Cup championship standings heading into the 2005 Memorial Day weekend events at Lowe's Motor Speedway. This year, he already has three top-fives, six top-10s and eight top-15s in 11 races.

'5' TAKING CHASSIS 316: The No. 5 Kellogg's team is taking Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 316 to Lowe's Motor Speedway this weekend. The Monte Carlo SS posted a third-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season.

2,952 LAPS LED: Hendrick Motorsports entries have led 2,952 total laps in 44 points-paying NEXTEL Cup events at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

FACTOID OF THE WEEK: According to calculations by Hendrick Motorsports engineers, NEXTEL Cup teams will need to pit every 18 minutes under green-flag conditions during the 600-mile event on Sunday. NASCAR has mandated a 13-gallon fuel cell for the race.

HENDRICK HAS 13 AT LOWE'S: Team owner Rick Hendrick has notched 13 points-paying NEXTEL Cup victories at Lowe's Motor Speedway, putting him first on the track's all-time win list. Junior Johnson and Petty Engineering are tied for second with eight apiece.

SIX BEST TRACKS: Hendrick Motorsports has double-digit NEXTEL Cup victories at six different tracks: Lowe's Motor Speedway (13), Martinsville Speedway (13), Darlington Raceway (11), Daytona International Speedway (10), Dover International Speedway (10) and Pocono Raceway (10).

KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARS CHEVROLETS: (WHAT DID YOU LEARN DURING THE ALL-STAR CHALLENGE?) "We learned a lot, but unfortunately don't have the luxury of taking the same car back to the '600' because of the wreck we were involved in. There is no way we can drive loose race cars at Lowe's. I'm glad I was able to compete in the Truck race on Friday night. I learned a lot, and with the smaller fuel cells in the '600,' teams are going to have to have better setups on the shorter runs. If you don't have time for the longer runs, everything is considered a short run."

BUSCH: (WILL YOU BE ABLE TO RACE SIDE-BY-SIDE ON SUNDAY?) "You saw Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin getting together in the All-Star race. It's going to be a lot better to just let guys go and give and take. The bad part is that when you're racing side-by-side you lose almost a half a second around the track and that's pretty hard to gather back up. It's going to be a tough race. There won't be a whole lot of passing and the person who has the best handling race car will be the winner."

BUSCH: (HOW WILL THE HARD TIRES AFFECT THE RACE?) "There will be some green-flag stops where people will be taking just fuel. It's going to be a mixed bag of strategy. The tires don't wear out, they just get slower."

BUSCH: (DOES THE LENGTH OF THIS RACE MAKE IT MORE PHYSICALLY DEMANDING?) "Not really. I've been working out and have been in better shape than I have been in a long time. The physical part is going to mostly fall on the pit crew having to be on top of their game all night long."

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARS CHEVROLETS: (ON LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY.) "We had really fast race cars last year at Lowe's. We had a motor issue the first race and a tire issue the second. We were essentially collected in the big wreck during the All-Star race, but showed we had a strong, strong car. The No. 5 Kellogg's team has always run well there, but we never seem to close the deal. It's a busy weekend for everyone. We're at home in front of family and friends, and we want to win the '600' because it's a test of endurance and strategy. We haven't won since Phoenix of last year, so we want a win."