PREVIEW: KYLE BUSCH (NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET)
VENUE: NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (ONE-MILE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE 27 OF 36)
EVENT: SUNDAY, SEPT. 17 (300 LAPS, 300 MILES)

IMPRESSIVE NEW HAMPSHIRE RECORD: Kyle Busch has competed in three NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races at New Hampshire International Speedway, scoring two top-five finishes with an overall average result of 10.66. He led 107 laps en route to winning the July 2006 event at the one-mile track, finished fourth there in July 2005 and placed 27th one year ago.

YOUNGEST CHASER: Busch became the youngest driver to ever clinch a berth in NASCAR's Chase for the NEXTEL Cup with a second-place finish at Richmond, Va., on Saturday night. He goes into this weekend's race at New Hampshire fourth in the standings, 15 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. Busch turned 21 on May 2.

THE PUNISHER RETURNS: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 323 for Sunday's NEXTEL Cup race at New Hampshire. The car, dubbed "The Punisher" by Busch and his team, won the most recent New Hampshire event -- the New England 300 in July -- and also nabbed the pole position at Phoenix in April.

HE'S CONSISTENT: In 2006 NEXTEL Cup competition, Busch has posted just one DNF (did not finish). It came after an accident at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May.

NEW ENGLAND HOMECOMING: Two members of the Kellogg's Racing crew will be close to home when the NEXTEL Cup Series rolls into New Hampshire this weekend. Front-tire changer D.J. Richardson is from Leomister, Mass., while jackman Rick Pigeon hails from Fairfax, Vt.

BUSCH PULLING DOUBLE DUTY: Even with the NASCAR Busch Series on hiatus this weekend, Busch will still pull double duty. He will drive a No. 15 Chevrolet Silverado fielded by Billy Ballew in Saturday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

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KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET: (ON GOING TO NEW HAMPSHIRE.) "New Hampshire is fun for me. I'm not sure why, but I tend to run well there. Every time we've taken the right car, we've finished in the top five. If we can keep that string going this weekend, I think we'll be in pretty good shape."

BUSCH: (HOW MUCH HAS RUNNING THE FULL BUSCH SERIES SCHEDULE HELPED YOU WITH YOUR CUP EFFORT THIS YEAR?) "Running at all the companion races has helped me. The biggest thing is being able to have the track time and being able to understand what the car does over the long run and things like that. The Cup car and Busch car are so different that you can't really translate information back and forth. At least we can't. Some of the other teams might be able to. For me, it's been about how the track changes and trying to keep ahead of the game. You know where to run at what time in the race, which helps me a lot on the Cup side."

BUSCH: (YOU FINISHED THE SEASON STRONG IN 2005. HOW MUCH DOES THAT SET THE STAGE FOR 2006?) "Last year, we put ourselves in as a 'fake' Chase player. We put ourselves 10th, like we barely made it in. We went out there and tried to race it as if we were in it. We didn't do too bad. We figured about seventh in points with our calculations. It definitely could have been a little bit better. We had a wreck at Talladega and I wrecked myself at Homestead. There were a couple of other things in there we had happen to us. I think we fared OK and ran well enough with all those guys, even with them being in the Chase, so we feel confident about it."

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ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET: (ON MAKING THE CHASE.) "Part One of our season goals has been accomplished. Now we're racing for a title. This team has been in championship form all year long and we're not going to worry about what the other guys are doing. We got this far by racing our races and doing our own thing -- and that's the plan moving forward. I couldn't be prouder of the results the Kellogg's team has produced and I'm excited about these next 10 races."