KURT BUSCH LOOKS TO CONTINUE THE MOMENTUM AT MICHIGAN
Miller Lite Dodge Team Going The Extra Mile In Preparation For 3M Performance 400 At MIS

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 13, 2006) - Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch says last weekend's performance at Pocono Raceway was a major step in getting his team back on track to make the 2006 "Chase for the Championship." He and his Roy McCauley-led team are going the extra mile in preparation for this weekend's stop at Michigan International Speedway in hopes of keeping their momentum going.

"I said that last weekend's Pocono race would be the perfect spot for our Miller Lite Dodge team to get headed back on the right track and we did just that," said Busch, who qualified on the outside pole last Friday and finished second in Sunday's 500-mile race, after leading 77.5 miles along the way. "It was just the solid weekend we were hoping for. Our goal is to keep on logging those top-fives and top-10s all the way through the September Richmond race and make our way back up there into the top 10 in the points. What we accomplished at Pocono is a great start to launch us in that direction."

"That right there was just what the doctor ordered," said an equally enthusiastic McCauley. "We needed a race where everyone performed at their best and that certainly was the case at Pocono. Kurt was on the wheel and in championship form, the guys had an absolutely incredible day in the pits and our communication, strategy and execution were terrific all day long."

The Pocono performance by the No. 2 Penske Team propelled Busch up to 17th in the NEXTEL Cup point standings with 12 races remaining to determine the players in this year's Chase. In just that one race, they were able to make up 78 points in the deficit to 10th and now trail 10th-place Kyle Busch by 187 points.

"We know that we have a strong enough team to get the job done down the stretch in making the Chase," said McCauley. "We have some strong tracks coming up for us and we're going the extra mile to make sure we're as prepared as possible."

McCauley cited his team's schedule this week as an example of what he calls "going the extra mile" and what Busch has labeled a "full-court press" approach to making this year's Chase.

"We'll be testing all day Tuesday (June 13) at Kentucky Speedway, looking to pick up everything we can to apply at Michigan and the other intermediate tracks," said McCauley. "The car we'll be racing at Michigan is the (PRS-0) 89 car, the car that Kurt won the pole at California in. It was a Dodge Intrepid out there and we've transformed it over to the new Dodge Charger for Michigan and beyond. We'll be testing our (PRS-0) 73 car at Kentucky. The logistics just wouldn't allow us to test the Michigan car, but the 73 is pretty much a carbon copy of the 89.

"Kurt has shown that he knows how to win at Michigan and the Penske cars have historically had a strong package there," McCauley continued. "Dodges have won three of the last five races at Michigan and we're hoping to keep all those trends going this weekend."

Busch started 13th and finished 12th in last June's Michigan race. He started 17th and finished seventh there last August. His overall record at MIS boasts one win and four top-10 finishes in 10 starts.

"We got off to a pretty slow start in our beginning at Michigan, but it has become one of our strongest tracks in recent years," said Busch. "We won the June race there in 2003 and were in contention to win several others, but it just didn't turn out that way. We were leading the race there last June with 30 laps to go, but chose to not pit with the leaders and the fresher tires just killed us at the end. We led the most laps there last August and were again leading with about 30 laps to go. The way it played out, we had to pit for fuel one last time with less than 20 laps remaining and finished seventh. That's the thing about the Michigan races - the strongest car doesn't always win. There seems to always be an element of fuel or tire strategy that comes into play."

This weekend's schedule at Michigan calls for practice on Friday at 11:35 a.m. A single round of qualifying at 3:10 p.m. will determine Sunday's 43-car stating field. Saturday's action includes practice sessions at 9:00 a.m. and 10:35 a.m. Sunday's 3M Performance 400 (400 miles/200 laps) has a 1:40 p.m. starting time and features live coverage by FOX-TV and MRN Radio beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Notes of interest:

-- Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch and his Roy McCauley-led Penske Racing South No. 2 team are testing on Tuesday (June 13) in preparation for this weekend's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway. "We'll be looking to pick up everything we can to apply at Michigan and the other intermediate tracks," Roy said. "Kurt has shown that he knows how to win at Michigan and the Penske cars have historically had a strong package there. Dodges have won three of the last five races at Michigan and we're hoping to keep all those trends going this weekend."

-- KB, Roy and crew racing the "California car" this weekend at MIS. "The car we'll be racing at Michigan is the (PRS-0) 89 car, the car that Kurt won the pole at California with," Roy offered. "It was a Dodge Intrepid out there and we've transformed it over to the new Dodge Charger for Michigan and beyond. We'll be testing our (PRS-0) 73 car at Kentucky. The logistics just wouldn't allow us to test the Michigan car, but the 73 is pretty much a carbon copy of the 89."

-- KB picked up 78 points on his deficit to 10th in the NEXTEL Cup standings with his second-place finish at Pocono on Sunday. "Kurt was using what Matt Kenseth and the 17 team did last season as an example of getting it done in the final have of the races leading up to the Chase," said Roy. "So we're making up a chart up that reflects those numbers to see how we're progressing compared to what they did last year. They were 320 points back after 14 races and we're 187 right now. Looks like we have a pretty good jump right entering Michigan, but it'll be interesting to chart our progress and compare from week to week." During the final 12 races which culminated with the September Richmond race cutoff point, Kenseth recorded a win, six top-five finishes, nine top-10s and most importantly, no additional DNFs. He only had two finishes out of the top 10 and managed an 8.3 average finish.

-- "There was no better over-the-wall performance out there than what my guys put together," KB said of his pit crew's performance at Pocono on Sunday. "They were second to none. They had me in and out at the front all day long. That last stop - they said it was something like a 12.3 (-second stop) - that was pretty spectacular. That helped us get back up to second when the green flag stops cycled back around." There were five four-tire pit stops on Sunday. The Miller Lite Team clocked in with stops of 13.1, 14.3, 14.1, 13.0 and 12.2 seconds for an average of 13.3 seconds on the day. KB's 2006 Miller Lite Dodge crew personnel includes tire changers Jay Hackney and Kevin Hebert, tire carriers Dave Littau and Andy Brown, jack man Ray Gallahan, gas man Chris Williams and gas catch man Steve Williams. Jeremy Brickhouse serves as spotter, while Dustin Coonfield handles the windshield duties and car chief Corey Tucker assists with the second fuel can. Kristy Cloutier, executive assistant at Kurt Busch Inc., is serving as KB's scorer this season.

-- KB's qualifying effort for 2006 continues to be impressive. He has qualified out of the top 10 in only three races this season and his worse start in the first 14 races was 20th at Lowe's. He has an 8.2 average start for the year. After winning the pole at California back in February, he took the outside-front-row starting spot at Pocono last weekend.

-- "Success isn't permanent, and failure isn't fatal." -Mike Ditka