MILLER LITE DODGE DRIVER BUSCH “CAN’T WAIT TO GET TO TALLADEGA”
Anticipating Another Opportunity To Become Winner In “High-Speed Chess Match On Wheels”

TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 24, 2007) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch may still be looking for his first career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup win at Talladega Superspeedway, but he nevertheless should be considered as one of the strong candidates for a victory in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 on the mammoth 2.66-mile Alabama speed plant.

After all, the 2004 series champ has recorded five top-10 finishes and nine top-10s in only 12 races there. Furthermore, he has finished no worse than eighth in the last five races, posting two top-fives, five top-10s and an average finish of 6.0 during that period.

Perhaps one of the biggest factors attributing to Busch’s success on NASCAR’s biggest race track is his true love for the white-knuckled, three and four-wide by 10-deep, nerve-racking “days at the office” always associated with the restrictor-plate racing at Talladega.

“The truth is that I really enjoy plate racing,” said Busch, who has climbed to 13th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, trailing 12th-place Jamie McMurray by 31 points with eight races now in the 2007 record book. “It’s a different kind of challenge than what we do during the other 32 races of the season. There’s a big mental demand and it’ll wear you out, but the biggest thing about that type of racing is it truly is a total team effort.

“I’ve heard plate racing referred to as a high-speed chess match on wheels and that’s a pretty good description, I think,” said Busch, who finished third in his first-ever visit to the Talladega track back in 2001. “But at the same time, I have enough experience at the track and respect for the other competitors that I realize it can also turn into a scene that could be depicted as 190-mile-per-hour Russian roulette.”

Busch certainly has plenty of incentive to win on Sunday at Talladega.

“The bottom line is that I’ve never won a plate race, Roger’s (Penske, team owner) teams have never won a plate race and Miller Lite has never been to Victory Lane in a plate race,” said Busch, who has two second-place finishes in his plate racing career entering Sunday’s Aaron’s 499. “We’re coming into Talladega looking for a breakthrough weekend for all involved and we’re confident we’ll have a car that can get the job done. We’re just super excited.

“The key to being successful at Talladega and in restrictor-plate racing in general requires the best from everyone on the team,” contends Busch, who led his first-ever lap in Cup competition during his first race at Talladega in 2001. “In my eyes, it’s about 90 percent car and 10 percent pit strategy. You need to have the equipment capable of running up front and you must make the right calls in the pits to help keep you up there. That’s how you avoid getting caught up in the big multi-car crashes and that’s how you bring her home in one piece and with a great finish at the end of the day.

“We’ve been fortunate to have all of that working for us through the years and I have really enjoyed driving our Penske Racing-prepared cars in the plate races,” said Busch, who has a 20.4 average start and a 10.8 average finish during his career at Talladega. “We’re bringing the same car back this weekend to Talladega that we raced there in both races last year. We showed strength last season and we look to have winning potential this time around. They’ve re-bodied the car again, taken it through the wind tunnel and done all their homework going into this race. The guys in the engine shop are always looking for additional horsepower and I can’t wait to see what they’ve come up with for this weekend.”

The recent strong performances in restrictor-plate racing by the No. 2 Miller Lite-backed Penske Racing Dodge team marks an abrupt change to what was the case in the past. Busch was named at the end of the 2005 season as the replacement driver for racing legend Rusty Wallace, who is now enjoying a successful second career in the broadcasting field. Wallace, injured in a spectacular end-over-end crash on the last lap of the spring Talladega race in 1993, struggled on the track for years, posting only one top-five finish in 45 races. He was well known for having an aversion to restrictor-plate racing.

In five restrictor-plate races piloting the Miller Lite/Penske Dodge, Busch has recorded two top-five finishes and three top-10s. He has been a serious threat to win in both editions of the Daytona 500 he has competed in for Penske Racing. In last year’s race, Busch led and was running eighth when he was crashed out of the race by Jamie McMurray with only 13 laps remaining. In February’s race, he led the most laps and was battling Tony Stewart for the lead with less than 50 laps remaining when an incident in Turn 4 took both drivers out of contention.

Busch and crew will be racing their PSC-066 Miller Lite Dodge this weekend at Talladega. The team raced the car in both Talladega races last season, starting fifth and finishing seventh in the May event and finishing third from a 29th-place start in the October race. They raced it in the Feb. 10 Bud Shootout, where Busch finished a strong third. Wallace debuted the car in the qualifying races prior to the 2004 Daytona 500 and raced it in four restrictor-plate races during the 2004-2005 seasons.

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This weekend’s schedule at Talladega calls for practice on Friday from 1:30 p.m. till 2:30 p.m. and from 3:05 p.m. till 3:55 p.m. The single round of qualifying on Saturday at 10:15 a.m. will allocate all 43 starting positions for Sunday’s race and all cars will be impounded after qualifying. Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway (188 laps/500.08 miles) has a 1:10 p.m. local (2:10 p.m. EDT) starting time. FOX-TV and MRN Radio will feature live broadcasts of the event beginning at 12:30 p.m. CDT.

Notes of interest:

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch is making his radio co-hosting debut when he sits in with noted veteran broadcaster Doug Rice on tonight’s edition of “Fast Talk” on the Performance Racing Network. “I’m really looking forward to it,” Kurt said. “I’m sure we’ll be talking about what happened at Phoenix over last weekend and what we expect for Talladega coming up. We may even talk about me having the opportunity to hang out with Eddie Van Halen at the track last Friday. It’ll be a lot of fun taking the calls and talking with all the race fans. The bottom line is that this show had been hosted by Benny Parsons for some 14 years and nobody can ever take his place. I’m just hoping that I can do a job behind the microphone that would make B.P. proud.” The PRN show airs at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Monday nights and is heard on more that 200 radio stations, XM Satellite Radio and NASCAR.com. For a complete station list, please visit www.goprn.com.

--Kurt is still looking for first Talladega (and plate racing) win, yet he nevertheless has to be considered as one of the strong candidates for a victory in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 on the mammoth 2.66-mile Alabama speed plant. After all, the 2004 series champ has recorded five top-10 finishes and nine top-10s in only 12 races there. Furthermore, he has finished no worse than eighth in the last five races, posting two top-fives, five top-10s and an average finish of 6.0 during that period. (much more on this in release)

--Kurt and the Miller Lite Team will be racing their PSC-066 Dodge Charger this weekend at Talladega. The team raced the car in both Talladega races last season, starting fifth and finishing seventh in the May event and finishing third from a 29th-place start in the October race. They raced it in the Feb. 10 Bud Shootout, where Busch finished a strong third. Rusty Wallace debuted the car in the qualifying races prior to the 2004 Daytona 500 and raced it in four restrictor-plate races during the 2004-2005 seasons.

--Happy Birthday wishes to Eva (Mrs. Kurt) Busch, who turns a year older and even more beautiful on Thursday.

--After eight races have gone into the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup record book, Kurt is 13th in points and trails 12th-place Jamie McMurray by 31 points. His record sports no wins, no top-five finishes and one top-10. Yet still he is ahead of last year’s pace, from a big-picture standpoint. After eight races last season, Busch had posted a win (top-five and top-10), but was only 17th in points, trailing 12th-place Clint Bowyer by 97points.

--Kurt continues to move forward in the NEXTEL Cup point standings, now up to 13th, even with only the one top-10 finish so far this year. It is quite amazing in that he trails 12th-place Jamie McMurray by only 31 points because McMurray has one top-five finish and four top-10s to his credit. Kurt is 18 points ahead of 14th-place Greg Biffle, who has one top-five and two top-10s.

--Kurt is still looking for his first career Cup victory at Talladega, but he is still a race winner in the track’s record books. Kurt started 11th and went on to post a dominant win in the 4/5/03 International Race of Champions (IROC) race there. He led 32 of the 38 laps and the victory was a major factor leading to his 2003 IROC Series championship.

--After eight races have been completed during the 2007 NEXTEL Cup season, Kurt is tied for fourth in most bonus points accrued. Only Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart have accumulated more bonus points so far.

--Kurt Busch Loop Data (courtesy NASCAR PR)
Five top fives, nine top 10s
10.833 average finish
Average Running Position of 10.486, third-best
Driver Rating of 96.6, fourth-best
Second-Fastest in Turn 3; Fourth-fastest in Turn 4
1,587 Green Flag Passes, third-most
603 Laps in the Top 15, third-most
1,264 Quality Passes, most of any driver
Fifth-fastest Speed in Traffic

--Kurt will be among the NASCAR stars appearing at Friday’s 22nd Annual Race Fever Night Dinner and Auction. The annual fund-raiser for the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) is going to be held again at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Speed Channel Dome. “We attended last year for the first time and had a great experience visiting with those kids, signing autographs, taking photos and all,” Kurt said.

--“Laughter is the closest distance between two people.” –Victor Borge