PREVIEW: KYLE BUSCH (NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET)
VENUE: CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY (TWO-MILE D-SHAPED OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES (RACE TWO OF 36)
EVENT: SUNDAY, FEB. 25, 2007 (250 LAPS, 500 MILES)
BUSCH ABOVE AVERAGE AT DAYTONA: Although Kyle Busch finished 24th in Sunday's Daytona 500, he spent 201 of the 202 total laps among the top-15 cars and posted the field's highest average running position by more than four spots. Busch's No. 5 Chevrolet averaged a running place of 4.614, topping Matt Kenseth's second-best 8.708 average position.
LEADER OF THE PACK: Busch held the lead in each of the four NASCAR events he entered during Speedweeks at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and paced more laps (120) than any other driver during the nine-day stretch. He led 39 laps in the Feb. 10 Budweiser Shootout, 31 in his 150-mile Gatorade Duel on Feb. 15, 46 in the Feb. 17 Busch Series race and four in the Feb. 18 Daytona 500.
CALI RECORD HOLDER: Busch holds the NEXTEL Cup Series track qualifying record at California Speedway. It was set Feb. 23, 2005 with a lap of 188.435 mph (38.248 seconds) around the two-mile D-shaped oval.
STILL THE YOUNGEST: Busch is fond of California Speedway, where he notched two career highlights during his rookie NEXTEL Cup campaign. In February 2005, he became the youngest-ever Cup pole winner at 19 years, 9 months, and 24 days of age. Later that year, Busch broke the record for youngest Cup race winner at 20 years, 4 months, and 2 days. Both of the records were previously held by Donald Thomas and stood for more than 50 years.
CALIFORNIA CAR: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 394 for Sunday's NEXTEL Cup event at California. Last season, the car led the No. 5 team to a seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway in October and paced 28 laps in the November season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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CALIFORNIA APPEARANCE: Kyle Busch will appear at the Stater Brothers Race Festival at California Speedway on Thursday, Feb. 22 beginning at 6 p.m. local time. Busch will sign autographs for fans at the Kellogg's booth on the grounds of the speedway.
INAUGURAL KYLE BUSCH FAN CLUB EVENT: Busch will host his first-ever fan club event in his hometown of Las Vegas on March 8. The event will take place from 5-7 p.m. at Fast Lap Indoor Kart Racing located at 4288 Polaris Avenue. Busch will sign autographs, take pictures and race against fans. Tickets and additional information are available at www.KyleBusch.com.
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KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET: (ON THE LAST LAP OF THE DAYTONA 500.) "We were running in second at the green-white-checkered finish and I was on Mark Martin's bumper pushing him because that was two Hendrick Motorsports engines working together. I tried to move up for a block (on Kevin Harvick), but it was too late. I settled back in line and when we went down the frontstretch I got loose from the air off the 17 car (Matt Kenseth) and went down to the apron and spun out. It was the last lap of the biggest race of the year and there were five guys going for a win. It could have happened at any point during the race, but it happened then. I didn't want it to end that way and I know no one else did either. It's unfortunate because we really stepped up this year and had a dominating performance throughout the entire week."
BUSCH: (ON RUNNING WELL AT CALIFORNIA.) "I was able to sit on the pole two years ago and we won a race there, too, so we've had some real good luck at California. It's a sister track to Michigan, and we're always fast at Michigan, but I have the worst luck there. I'm looking forward to California because we can run well and it's a West Coast race so I'll be able to get In-N-Out Burger, too (LAUGHS)."
BUSCH: (ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY.) "I like the 'flatness' of California. I grew up on a relatively flat track at the Las Vegas Bullring and I've done well at New Hampshire and Phoenix, so I guess it just suits my style of driving."
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ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S CHEVROLET: (ON GOING BACK TO CALIFORNIA.) "I think we've shown our potential at California in the past, but, as Kyle said, we've also run mediocre there. I think Daytona showed a good dose of what is to come from this CARQUEST/Kellogg's team. It's too bad we didn't finish the deal, but Kyle figured out the draft, the team did their job and everything was in line to win that race. This week, we're going to a race track where we can win and we're taking a really good car, so we hope to have at least a top-five finish."