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RED HOT KURT BUSCH READY FOR RETURN TO BRISTOL
BRISTOL, Tenn. (August 22, 2007) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch has amassed five victories in only 13 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Bristol Motor Speedway and he is hoping to add to that record in Saturday night’s Sharpie 500 on the lightening-fast half-mile high-banked track. “If we could win, it would be more than just our sixth victory on my favorite track – it would be much, much more than that,” said Busch, who claimed his second win of the season Tuesday at Michigan and holds down the 12th and final “Chase-eligible” points position by a 163-point advantage with only three races remaining to decide who makes the cut. “It would be vindication, proof that hard work really pays off and confirmation that our COT program is getting there – all wrapped up in one nice package – and we’d have the big trophy to prove it. “The spring race at Bristol was one of the lowest points of my career and I’ve never tried to hide that fact,” said Busch, who has won two of the last three races on the 2007 Cup tour and finished no worse than 11th over the last six races under the leadership of crew chief Pat Tryson. “It was the debut of our new Dodge Avenger and the very first race for the COT cars. We just fell flat on our tails and I was very embarrassed about it. “We practiced terrible, we qualified terrible and we raced terrible,” said Busch, who started 42nd and finished 29th in the March 25 Food City 500. “That’s about all there is to say about that weekend. As much as I love Bristol, I can’t ever remember being so glad to climb out of a race car and hurry out of the track. “But that was then and this is now,” said Busch. “We’re light years ahead of where we were back then with our COT program at Penske Racing. We left the track that day back in March pretty down in the dumps, knowing that we had our work cut out for us. “The determination and hard work our team has put forth has put us back in contention again. We may not be as consistently strong as the Hendrick cars or the Gibbs teams with our COT cars, but we’re getting there. We’ve definitely seen tremendous improvement. “We left Bristol and ran mediocre the next week at Martinsville to finish 12th,” Busch explained. “We were running sixth at Phoenix and got caught by a caution. We were much better than that 18th-place finish showed. “We really started turning the corner at Richmond in May, I feel,” said Busch. “We started the race from back in the pack (33rd) and got spun out early in the race. We were actually dead last (43rd) and running a lap down because of a lug nut getting stuck on our pit stop. We came blasting on up through there and blew by every car on the track to take the lead. We had a car strong enough to win the race, but we pitted out of sequence and gave away the track position we’d earned during the final quarter of the race. “We’ve had strong Dodge Avengers in the other races, too. We definitely had a top-five car at Dover before the incident with (Tony) Stewart. Our road course COT cars have been plenty strong enough to get the job done. “Now we’re heading back to Bristol looking to prove ourselves,” said Busch. “Of course there are a few question marks we have entering this weekend with the new track layout and the new racing surface. We were there for the Goodyear tire test a few weeks back (July 25), but it rained all day and we never got out on the track. We’ll be coming into Bristol this weekend hoping to be quick learners, looking to get a handle on the place in a hurry.” “Kurt is a master on this type of track and we’re confident he’ll be able to continue being the new king of the Bristol high banks,” said Tryson. “The Goodyear test would have been a big plus for us, but we’re not too worried about it. “We’ve gone back and looked at the situation the team had during the spring Bristol race and everyone here knows that we made some pretty blatant mistakes,” Tryson continued. “This is definitely not indicative of what we will look like this weekend at Bristol, I can guarantee you that. As for not getting the tire testing or any other track time there before this weekend, you have to remember that we have Kurt Busch driving our Miller Lite Dodge. That speaks volumes. I look for our learning curve there on Friday to be a very short one. “We decided to bring the (PSC-) 516 Miller Lite Dodge to Bristol this weekend and we think Kurt will have a very competitive car under him,” Tryson said. “This is the same car that the team raced at Darlington back in May (started 18th and finished 12th after late-race pit stop ended a top-five run) and it should be a great car for the demands that the concrete high-banked track we’re racing on this weekend call for.” * * * This weekend’s NEXTEL Cup action at Bristol Motor Speedway gets under way with practice on Friday from 11:30 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. Friday’s 3:20 p.m. single round of qualifying will allocate all starting spots for Saturday night’s battle. The final “Happy Hour” practice session is set for Friday at 6:15 p.m. Saturday’s Sharpie 500 is scheduled to get the green flag at 8:00 p.m. and will feature live coverage by ESPN-TV and PRN Radio. * * * Notes of interest: --Kurt Busch and his Pat Tryson-led Penske Racing Team will be racing their PSC-516 Miller Lite Dodge at Bristol this weekend. “We think that Kurt will have a very competitive car under him,” Pat said. “This is the same car that the team raced at Darlington back in May (started 18th and finished 12th after late-race pit stop ended a top-five run) and it should be a great car for the demands that the concrete high-banked track we’re racing on this weekend call for.” --A big congratulations to the Pat Tryson-led Miller Lite Dodge “over-the-wall gang” who won the Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge for their outstanding performance in Tuesday’s race at Michigan. Their quick work saw Kurt stay only a total of 206.320 seconds on pit road and earned them the weekly award. “Just like I said after the race, this win was indeed a total team effort and for my guys to win the Checkers/Rally's Challenge is very fitting,” said Kurt, whose win was his 17th overall career victory and second at M.I.S. “They keep on getting better and better and, just like our entire program; we are showing the great consistency that a championship-caliber team needs.” “The guys were awesome out on pit road and this award is the icing on the cake for a great race win,” added Pat. “They were flawless on a day where it seemed every other team faced problems. I’m so proud of our guys for winning the Checkers/Rally’s award and we look forward to getting our picture made with the big check.” The “gang” is made up of Ray Gallaghan (jackman), David Littau (front-tire carrier), Jay Hackney (front-tire changer), Larry Robinett (rear-tire carrier), Travis Johnson (rear-tire changer), Chris Williams (gasman), Steve Williams (catch can) and Dustin Coonfield (eighth man). Kurt and the “Blue Deuce Crew” also earned the EA Sports Award, the Mobil 1 Performance Award and the Sunoco Diamond Performance Award during Tuesday’s victory outing. ----Kurt is scheduled for his weekly “top-12 points” media interview opportunity/Q & A session on Friday at 10:15 a.m. in the Bristol Motor Speedway infield media center. Kurt continues his effort in reaching out to the media rather than making them come to him at the team transporter. --Kurt’s most memorable wins…his favorite…and his “coolest” have all come at Bristol…Of all 15 of Busch’s career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victories entering this weekend’s Sharpie 500, the 2004 series champ points to three of his Bristol wins as most memorable, among his favorite…and “coolest.” “Yeah, without a doubt, that first win at Bristol back in 2002 will always be special,” Kurt said. “You only have one first win and that’s mine there. It was a great feeling that I’ll always treasure. The same goes for my first win for Penske Racing at Bristol back in the spring. But, that win in the night race at Bristol in 2003 probably rates as my biggest career win to date. At least it does in my eyes. It is spectacular to win at Bristol at night. There’s just so much electricity and excitement in the air. The fact that we won the Sharpie race in the Sharpie car added to the importance and significance of that win. It was probably my favorite and coolest win so far, but the two wins over the last three weeks have been pretty special.” -- Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch is quick to point to Bristol Motor Speedway as being his favorite track of them all, but his soft spot for B.M.S. certainly had to undertake a learning curve before coming to fruition. “Oh, was there ever a learning curve -- a learning curve indeed,” Kurt recalled with a chuckle “All you have to do is go back and look at my first Cup race at Bristol back in 2001.” The official race report for the March 25, 2001, edition of the Food City 500 shows that Busch started 39th and finished 42nd. He completed only 118 of the 500 laps and exited the race due to an accident. “It wasn’t pretty,” Kurt said. “As a matter of fact, it was downright ugly. The first time I crashed that day, it was on my on. The second time I wrecked, I was in a big pileup. I guess you could say that the third time was the charm, in that we punctured the radiator in that crash. “That put us out for good,” Kurt continued. “They just kept on fixing it and putting me back out there to get track time. When we were finally done for the day, I looked up on the board and there were still about 400 laps of racing left. They didn’t have the tunnel down in the third turn at the time, so I was forced to sit there and watch all the others go at it for another three hours. “I promised myself that day a situation like that would never happen again. It became a necessity in my mind to become a good racer at Bristol. You also have to consider the fact that they announced that very weekend that my car sponsor (Sharpie) was going to also start sponsoring the August race there. “Seriously, I think that good racing luck has had a little to do with it, too,” offered Kurt, who went on to claim his first career win the following spring at Bristol and then posted three consecutive Bristol wins in 2003-2004. “I was able to develop a real positive attitude about racing at Bristol and I look forward to every Bristol race week. “I looked at guys like Darrell (Waltrip) and Rusty (Wallace) and saw just how much they genuinely enjoyed each and every time the circuit raced at Bristol,” said Kurt. “Having a positive attitude about racing there is so important at Bristol and we always have that going for us when we get there. “As far as the strategy behind my success, I learned from the very first race that you have to be around at the finish to do well at Bristol. It really is a situation of surviving the first 400 laps – keeping the fenders on the thing and staying out of the wall. Then, if you’re in good shape after four-fifths of the race, it’s time to really get down to business during the final 100 laps.” --If he wins on Saturday night, what could Kurt do to top that? Hard to forget Kurt’s now-famous victory celebration after winning last year’s spring Food City 500. The weather had been extremely cold all weekend. Qualifying was cancelled due to adverse weather. It was actually spitting snow during Sunday’s race. As a treat to the fans, Kurt celebrated with his first performance of “snow angels,” along with burnouts and a “Polish Victory Lap.” That celebratory lap was made famous by the late Alan Kulwicki, who was the 1992 Cup series champion. Kulwicki was killed, along with three others, in a plane crash while attempting to land at the local airport prior to the spring race of 1993. Rusty Wallace won that race and performed the backwards victory lap in honor of his fallen friend. He continued to do the special tribute after every race win until he hung up his Cup racing helmet at the end of the 2005 season. Kurt honored Wallace after winning last year’s Food City 500 by naming his winning car “Rusty” during the Victory Lane celebration.
--Kurt’s Bristol “quick stats” (courtesy of NASCAR PR):
--In case you missed last Friday’s news, Kurt announced that he will be hosting two exciting fundraising events whereby Kurt’s fans can purchase a “Ride with Kurt for the Kids”. Kurt will take the first 30 people at each track who make a $2,000 donation to the Kurt Busch Foundation for a high speed ride around the Lowe’s Motor Speedway or Las Vegas Motor Speedway. These high-speed, white-knuckle rides with Kurt behind the wheel will be in a special NASCAR Nextel Cup-style stock car provided by event sponsor – the Richard Petty Driving Experience. These events will be extremely limited so that each participant will get the opportunity to spend time with Kurt. At each of these two great race tracks, 30 people will get to “Ride with Kurt for the Kids”, 120 people will get to ride with Richard Petty instructors, and an additional 50 will be allowed to attend as event supporters. Each of the 200 participants will get an autographed 1/24 scale Kurt Busch diecast, a t-shirt, dinner, the opportunity to participate in a silent auction plus photos, autographs and a meet and greet with Kurt. Doug Rice, co-host of PRN’s Fast Talk will be donating his time and talents to “call the event” as well as handle MC duties, moderate Q&A’s and assist with the auction. Ride with Kurt for the Kids – Schedule
October 18, 2007
November 6, 2007
All funds raised will go toward the completion of the Kurt Busch Superdome complex currently under construction at the Victory Junction Gang Camp. For complete event information and to purchase one of these exciting experiences, please visit www.kurtbusch.com, send an email to ridewithkurt@kurtbusch.com, or call 704-799-2428. This opportunity is extremely limited and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. --Kurt was “very impressed” with Berlin Raceway, Michigan Late Models and Benson – “We had a great time at Berlin last Wednesday night for the big race (the 8/15 The Chet 100-lap feature),” Kurt said. “The weather was threatening, but they still had a nice turnout. What a great little race track and they really know how to put on a super show for the fans. It was the first time that I’ve seen the Michigan-style Late Model cars up close and they’re pretty wild. The cars we ran at the Vegas Bullring more resembled what we ran on the old NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour. These cars were more like what we would have called Outlaw Late Models. Whatever you want to call them, they put on a great race out there and Johnny Benson really knows how to drive that track. He’s got to be looked at as the man to beat every time he comes home to race there.” Benson, a part-owner of the famed 7/16ths-mile paved oval, won for the third time in the seven-year history of the annual event. Racing for the first time this season at Berlin, Benson started fifth, took the lead on Lap 22 and led the remainder of the race. --“Don’t knock the weather. If id didn’t change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn’t start a conversation.” –Kin Hubbard
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