KURT BUSCH WANTS TO BE “THE SPOILER” AT RICHMOND THIS WEEKEND
Miller Lite Dodge Driver Knows All Eyes Will Be On The Chase Battle, But He Looks To Steal Thunder

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 5, 2006) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch has come to live with the fact that he will not be a participant in this year’s “Chase for the Championship.” But instead of considering it a defeat, he looks at it as an opportunity to learn while possibly stealing the thunder from the “Chasers” during the remaining 11 races of 2006.

“Like I’ve been saying, this hasn’t been too bad of a season for our first-year team,” Busch said of his Roy McCauley-led unit that was put together just last December to work with Busch during his initial season driving for Penske Racing. “We’ve accomplished a lot already and our future is so promising. It wasn’t that hard to accept. I just kept going along with Roger’s (Penske, team owner) advice. Rome wasn’t built in one day.

“We know that almost all of the attention from here on out will be focused on the Chase,” said Busch, who claimed the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup title in 2004, the inaugural season with the Chase format. “But that doesn’t mean that we have to roll over and play dead. We’re looking at it as a chance to play the role as a spoiler during the remaining races.

“We left Bristol knowing that our chances for making the Chase were over, but we still carried the same level of commitment into last weekend’s race at California,” said Busch. “We won the pole and led some laps early in the race. Even though we weren’t among the group involved in the Chase, we still were able to get some ink and TV time.

“That’s the exact attitude we’ll take into all of the remaining races,” said Busch. “We don’t have it all on the line like the Chase guys will, so we can take chances and go for it. We hope to learn all we can. We can try some off-the-wall things. If we stub our toe, maybe it didn’t work. But if it does, we get to relish in a nice victory. So that’s the way we’ll be approaching the rest of the races.

“If we can continue to win poles, that’ll get their attention going into the race. When we figure out how to keep our cars fast for the entire race, we’ll win some more races. They’ll have to talk about us if we win the race.”

Busch, McCauley and crew have their immediate focus on the return to Richmond International Raceway this weekend for Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400.

“I’ve never won a pole at Richmond, but before this season, I’d never won a pole anywhere but at Darlington and Homestead,” chortled Busch, who took his fifth pole of the year at California and now leads in the battle for the most poles in 2006. “With it being another impound race this weekend, we may have to utilize a different game plan than we would have otherwise.

“We definitely had a top-five car at Richmond back in the May race, maybe even strong enough to have won the race,” said Busch, the defending champion of this weekend’s race. “Qualifying was really weird in that the clouds rolled in at the end and the temperature must have dropped about 15 degrees. We went out early and qualified on back there (in the 13th spot).

“That was an impound race, too,” Busch said. “They dropped the green flag and we just took off. I remember getting all the way up to third when our night just started falling apart. We had a flat right-front tire and had to hit pit road under the green (on Lap 241). We came down pit road and made our stop. Then we got slapped with two straight penalties – one for a tire rolling into another team’s pit and another for speeding. In just an instant, we saw a top-three finish get blown away.

“I’m confident we can be just as strong again this weekend at Richmond,” Busch said. “We just need to avoid the problems, get a little luck on our side and finally close the deal.”

Busch, McCauley and team will be racing their PRS-083 Miller Lite Dodge Charger this weekend at R.I.R. “It should be a strong car for Richmond,” McCauley said. “We haven’t raced it yet. We tested with it down at Lakeland (USA International Speedway in Florida) back in January. We put a new body on it and really dressed it up for Richmond this weekend.”

Busch’s Richmond career record sports the win last September and a total of only two top-10 finishes in 11 races. His best Richmond start, a third, also came in this race last year. Busch has a 20.181 average start and a 19.363 average finish at Richmond.

This weekend’s schedule at Richmond International Raceway calls for Cup practice on Friday from 11:15 a.m. till 1:15 p.m. Cup qualifying is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. (live on Speed Channel) and the 43-car field will be impounded immediately after the qualifying session concludes. Saturday’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 has a 7:40 p.m. EDT starting time and features live coverage by TNT-TV and MRN Radio.

Notes of interest:

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch continued to reinforce his new nickname of “Professor Friday” as he won his fifth pole position of the season last Friday at California Speedway. Making a sweep of the poles this season on the 2.0-mile Fontana, Calif., track, KB also broke a three-way tie with Kasey Kahne and Jeff Burton for the most poles for the year going into last weekend.

--Not only has Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch proved himself a worthy candidate for the season-long battle for the most pole positions, he continues to display the top qualifying consistency. KB’s 8.120 average start is by far the best in the sport. Jeff Gordon is the only other driver with an average start of 10th or better (10.000), but he has gone 45 straight races without winning a pole. KB has amassed 18 top-10 starts, more than any other driver. He has started no worse than 20th in any race.

--How does KB stack up against Kasey Kahne and Jeff Burton, the drivers with four poles and his closest rivals for most poles this season? Kahne has a 12.080 average start, with 15 top-10 starts, but he has started outside the top 20 in seven races. Burton has a 12.880 average start, with 12 top-10 starts. He has started outside the top 20 in four races.

--Instead of viewing his fate of not making the Chase for 2006 as a defeat, Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch looks at it as a new challenge. “Like I’ve been saying, this hasn’t been too bad of a season for our first-year team,” KB said of his Roy McCauley-led unit that was assembled just last December to work with Busch during his initial season driving for Penske Racing. “We’ve accomplished a lot already and our future is so promising. It wasn’t that hard to accept (not making the Chase). I just kept going along with Roger’s (Penske, team owner) advice. Rome wasn’t built in one day. We left Bristol knowing that our chances for making the Chase were over, but we still carried the same level of commitment into last weekend’s race at California. We know that almost all of the attention from here on out will be focused on the Chase, but that doesn’t mean that we have to roll over and play dead. We’re looking at it as a chance to play the role as a spoiler during the remaining races. We don’t have it all on the line like the Chase guys will, so we can take chances and go for it. We hope to learn all we can. We can try some off-the-wall things. If we stub our toe, maybe it didn’t work. But if it does, we get to relish in a nice victory. So that’s the way we’ll be approaching the rest of the races.”

--If you didn’t have the opportunity to see the film clip of Kurt and Eva’s beautiful July 27 wedding, streaming video is now available on KB’s web site. The link to the footage is: http://www.kurtbusch.com/schedule/2006/wedding_video.html

--This weekend’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond will mark the fourth of five “impound” races for the 2006 season (both at Talladega, both at Richmond and Daytona in July).

--It would certainly come as no surprise if KB could put his Miller Lite Dodge on the pole for this weekend’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400. After all, there have been 13 different pole winners in the last 13 races at Richmond and KB is looking for his first pole there. Qualifying up front is very important at Richmond as 10 of the last 11 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including two from the front row and six from the top five.

--Miller Lite is kicking off race weekend Thursday night at Brown’s Island by treating fans to a concert hosted by Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch. Southern rock standouts The Black Crowes will headline the concert beginning at 6:30 p.m., with Will Hoge as the opening act. Prior to the concert, KB will participate in an on-stage question-and-answer session with the audience.

--Just in case you wondered, here is the Chase scenario entering this weekend’s 26th (and deciding) race of the 2006 NEXTEL Cup season:

Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are the only drivers to clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.

Third-place Kevin Harvick will clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by starting the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway and finishing 39th or better, regardless of where 11th-place Kasey Kahne finishes at Richmond. (Lap leader points are not included.)

Fourth-place Jeff Gordon will clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by starting the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway and finishing 24th or better, regardless of where 11th-place Kasey Kahne finishes at Richmond. (Lap leader points are not included.)

Fifth-place Kyle Busch will clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by starting the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway and finishing 22nd or better, regardless of where 11th-place Kasey Kahne finishes at Richmond. (Lap leader points are not included.)

Sixth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. will clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by starting the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway and finishing 16th or better, regardless of where 11th-place Kasey Kahne finishes at Richmond. (Lap leader points are not included.)

Seventh-place Denny Hamlin will clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by starting the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway and finishing 16th or better, regardless of where 11th-place Kasey Kahne finishes at Richmond. (Lap leader points are not included.)

Eighth-place Tony Stewart will clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by starting the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway and finishing seventh or better, regardless of where 11th-place Kasey Kahne finishes at Richmond. (Lap leader points are not included.)

Ninth-place Mark Martin will clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by starting the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway and finishing fourth or better, regardless of where 11th-place Kasey Kahne finishes at Richmond. (Lap leader points are not included.)

Tenth-place Jeff Burton will clinch a spot in the 2006 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup if he finishes third or better, regardless of where 11th-place Kasey Kahne finishes at Richmond.

Eleventh-place Kasey Kahne trails 10th place Jeff Burton in the point standings by 30 points.

--KB, Roy and team will be racing their PRS-083 Miller Lite Dodge Charger this weekend at R.I.R. “It should be a strong car for Richmond,” Roy said. “We haven’t raced it yet. We tested with it down at Lakeland (USA International Speedway in Florida) back in January. We put a new body on it and really dressed it up for Richmond this weekend.”

--“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” –John F. Kennedy