KURT BUSCH STICKING TO PLAN IN RICHMOND’S FINAL RACE TILL CHASE
Miller Lite Dodge Driver & Pat Tryson-Led Team Will “Stay The Course” In Saturday Night’s Battle

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 4, 2007) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch and his Pat Tryson-led Penske Racing Team know what has gotten them this far in their quest to make the 2007 “Chase for the Championship” along the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tour. You can expect more of the same in Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway, the final race that will determine this year’s Chase players.

“We just have to stay focused and keep on doing what we’ve been doing,” said Busch, who holds down the 11th position in the point standings entering Richmond, enjoying a 13-point lead over 12th-place Kevin Harvick and a 141-point advantage over Dale Earhardt Jr., who is 13th in the standings and on the outside of making the cut. “While we know all the attention will be on what’s going on behind us as far as the points go, we still hope to gain a few spots up the ladder at Richmond.

“It doesn’t really mean anything big-picture-wise, because when you make the cut the clock goes back to zero for the top 12 teams, but we still prefer to focus on trying to catch the guys right in front of us,” said Busch, who will earn a spot in this year’s battle for the title by finishing 36th or better on Saturday night. “We’re only 20 points out of 10th and 25 out of ninth right now and it would make our strong run over the last two months even more impressive if we can gain some more spots.”

Busch enters Richmond with 3,022 points, while ninth-place Clint Bowyer has 3,047 and 10th-place Martin Truex Jr. has 3,042. Harvick has 3,009 points and Earnhardt has 2,881.

“I don’t mean to sound like a politician, but our plan is to stay the course,” said crew chief Tryson, who has been responsible for engineering the amazing comeback by Busch and the No. 2 Dodge team over the last eight races. “Our strategy will remain the same as it has been. We’ll come in there hoping to win and if we don’t have a car that’s capable, we’ll just be looking to get all we can out of the night.”

That strategy certainly has paid off for Busch, Tryson and the Miller Lite Dodge Team. With Tryson leading and coaching his driver and crew on, their efforts have accounted for two wins, three top-five finishes and six top-10s in the last eight races. Since the July 1 race at New Hampshire, the team has finished no worse than 11th and has a 6.0 average finish during the period. Most importantly, however, is the fact that the Tryson-led team has battled back from a 236-point deficit to “Chase eligibility” to the 141-point buffer they have entering this weekend.

“It’s going to be an interesting race in Richmond, but for us we feel like our short track program is where it needs to be right now,” said Busch. “We finished fifth there in the spring race and our COT program has made monumental gains since then. So, we’re coming in there with a lot of confidence and hoping to be a contender to win the race.”

Busch career NEXTEL Cup record at Richmond sports one win, two top-five finishes and three top-10 finishes in 13 career starts. He has a 21.0 average start and an 18.8 average finish on the 0.750-mile banked oval.

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Busch, Tryson and crew will be debuting their PSC-520 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger at Richmond this weekend. “It was a brand new car that we had in the trailer as a backup at New Hampshire in July,” crew chief Tryson explained. “The first time it ever got on a race track was last Tuesday (Aug. 28), when we tested it at Memphis (the 0.750-mile Memphis Motorsports Park). We had a very good test there with the car and think it can get the job done for us this weekend at Richmond.”

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This weekend’s NEXTEL Cup action at Richmond International Raceway gets under way with practice on Friday from 11:15 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. Friday’s 6:10 p.m. single round of qualifying will allocate all starting spots for Saturday night’s battle. All cars will be impounded immediately after qualifying. Saturday’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 (400 laps/300 miles) is scheduled to get the green flag at 7:30 p.m. EDT and will feature live coverage by ABC-TV (ESPN on ABC) and MRN Radio.

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Notes of interest:

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch and his Pat Tryson-led Penske Racing Team will be debuting a new car this weekend at Richmond. “It was a brand new car that we had in the trailer as a backup at New Hampshire in July,” Pat explained of the team’s new PSC-520 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger. “The first time it ever got on a race track was last Tuesday (Aug. 28), when we tested it at Memphis (the 0.750-mile Memphis Motorsports Park). We had a very good test there with the car and think it can get the job done for us this weekend at Richmond.”

--Kurt needs to finish 36th or better in Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond in order to secure a spot in this year’s “Chase for the NASCAR Championship.” Kurt enters Richmond with 3,022 points, while ninth-place Clint Bowyer has 3,047 and 10th-place Martin Truex Jr. has 3,042. Kevin Harvick is 12th and has 3,009 points and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the outside looking in with 2,881 points.

--Both Kurt and Pat agree that the strategy entering this weekend’s Richmond race will remain the same as it has been over the last two months. “We just have to stay focused and keep on doing what we’ve been doing,” Kurt says. ‘Our plan is to stay the course,” said Pat. “Our strategy will remain the same as it has been. We’ll come in there hoping to win and if we don’t have a car that’s capable, we’ll just be looking to get all we can out of the night.” However, he did add this during a lunchtime chat on Tuesday: “It only makes good sense to play it a little cool at the beginning of the race…at least until we're locked in and then run like hell till the end..."

--Can enough be said about the amazing comeback by Kurt and the No. 2 Dodge team over the last eight races which Pat has been responsible for engineering? Their efforts have accounted for two wins, three top-five finishes and six top-10s in the last eight races. Since the July 1 race at New Hampshire, the team has finished no worse than 11th and has a 6.0 average finish during the period. Most importantly, however, is the fact that the team has battled back from a 236-point deficit to “Chase eligibility” to the 141-point buffer they have entering this weekend.

--Kurt recorded his 100th top-10 finish at California last Sunday, meaning he has now posted top-10 finishes in 40.9 percent (100 of 245) of all his races…Sunday’s race was also monumental in that Kurt eclipsed the $40 million mark in career winnings (now has $40,006,813 in career earnings over the span of 245 NEXTEL Cup races).

--Compared to recent weeks, the weather forecast for this weekend at Richmond looks ideal. Friday’s forecast calls for sunny skies with a high of 91 degrees. Fair and 67 degrees on Friday night. Mostly sunny skies and 90 degrees on Saturday with fair skies and 68 degrees for Saturday night’s low. Sunset at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7:29 p.m. EDT on Saturday.

--Kurt may enter Richmond 11th in points overall, but he is third among all drivers in bonus points earned during the 2007 season. With 95 bonus points, Kurt has led laps in 15 of the races and led the most laps in four events. Only Jeff Gordon (110 bonus points) and Tony Stewart (100) have picked up more bonus points this season.

--“Pat, you’re gonna’ have to work some of that crew chief magic of yours.” Those were the words used by Kurt on Lap 109 of Sunday’s 250-lap California race. “It’s dead sideways loose and I can’t even begin to tell you what to do.” After starting from the pole and leading two times for a total of 21 laps, the handling went away on the Miller Lite Dodge and with the sun setting, the track began to change. In order to stay on top of the track’s transitioning, Pat called for a spring rubber removal during a Lap 113 pit stop under the eighth caution of the race. Still fighting the extreme loose condition, Pat called for the team to “open up the right-rear shock to the max” on a Lap 165 pit stop under the ninth caution of the race. Kurt fell to 23rd in the running order for the lap 168 restart, but charged back during the final 80 laps to finish ninth. “That’s what Pat brings to the table,” Kurt said as he walked back to the team transporter after the race. “We got another top-10 finish out of a situation where we in the past would wind up 17th or 18th.”

--There is a new addition to the Kurt & Eva Busch household. A former resident of Oklahoma City, Lola, a four-month old black & tan Norwich Terrier, is Ginger’s new pal. L-O-L-A, Lola…as the Kinks’ rock classic went…

--Did you catch Jeff Wolf’s great feature on Eva in Monday’s edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal? Here is the link: http://www.lvrj.com/sports/9547207.html

--Kurt’s visit to his souvenir trailer at Richmond International Raceway this Sunday will mark the 235th time in the last 238 races that he has been out on race day mornings to meet his fans and sign autographs. His continuing tradition began during his first full year on the Cup circuit back in 2001. Kurt is tentatively scheduled to be at his souvenir trailer from 3:00 p.m. till 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Please verify that time by visiting the trailer in advance and picking up the free tickets for the autograph line.

--“Little things make the difference. Everyone is well-prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.” –Coach Paul William “Bear” Bryant