KURT BUSCH LOOKING FORWARD TO CHALLENGE TALLADEGA PRESENTS
Miller Lite Dodge Driver Out To Get First Restrictor-Plate Win In Sunday’s UAW-Ford 500

TALLADEGA, Ala. (Oct. 2, 2007) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch is probably among the minority as far as the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers go entering this weekend’s UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. He is actually looking forward to the race and readily accepts the challenge it will present.

“After hearing about all the guys saying how much they are dreading the Talladega race this weekend, it may sound pretty strange when I say that I can’t wait to get there,” said Busch, currently ninth in NEXTEL Cup points after finishing 11th at Kansas on Sunday. “I’ve said all along that this race will be the “wild card” race of the 10 Chase races because it’s a (restrictor-) plate race and there are so many new dimensions that enter into the equation.

“The bottom line is that it will still be a plate race and that has been one of the stellar aspects of our total program at Penske Racing,” said Busch, who now trails points leader Jimmie Johnson by 177 points with seven races remaining in the 2007 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup Championship. “We’ve gotten to the point that we are one of the strongest threats to win in all of the races at Talladega and at Daytona. We’re definitely going to have our breakthrough win soon and it very well could come Sunday at Talladega.”

Busch certainly is correct when he points to the many new variables that the drivers and teams face in this weekend’s race at Talladega.

Sunday’s UAW-Ford 500 will mark the first COT race on the largest track on the circuit. It will be the first-ever restrictor-plate race for the new car. There will be a designated plate size and gear rule for the event. Then, there’s even more.

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Director John Darby said that teams are going to practice at Talladega Superspeedway with the restrictor plate, wing angle and wicker height that they ended a recent test session (Sept. 10-11) with. But he also said that two of those could change if speeds are too high.

"Basically, we're going to start out with this size of a restrictor plate, and if everything proves out OK, we'll leave it,” Darby said. “But the ultimate restrictor-plate size won't be determined until the conclusion of final Cup practice." If the speeds do seem to be too high, NASCAR will react accordingly.”

While that approach to this weekend’s race may have many competitors a bit apprehensive, Busch prefers to take dealing with those unknown factors in stride.

“Whatever NASCAR decides for us to run, the thing to remember is that it will be the same for every driver and team out there,” said Busch, who finished third in his first Talladega Cup race back in April 2001 and has had a keen affection for the track ever since. “The basic style of racing will still be the same, but some of the components will be different, that’s all.

“It’ll be a challenge, but we’ll be up for it,” said Busch. “It really is exciting to have that many different things to work on. We don’t know what gear rule we’re going to have or what restrictor plate we are going to have. The front springs, where we run the sway bar, the track bar -- all up in the air -- so there is a bunch of different options.

“Where we were with the old car, it just seemed like everything was already ‘scienced’ out,” Busch explained. “We didn’t change much when we got to the racetrack with the old style cars. Then there is the draft itself. It seems like I don’t know if more violent is the word, or just more dramatic that if you’re in the draft you’re just motoring. You’re going pretty good with the guys with you. If you lose the draft, which it’s easier to do, then you are sitting there like a fish out of water. It will certainly put a greater premium on the pit stops. You’ll need to have fast stops to keep up with everyone else. A slow stop could mean that you’re totally left behind and not able to draft with the pack when you return to the track.

“It’s a bit different because we used to run a 55 degree spoiler angle at Daytona and Talladega which meant that it laid back a little more and so you could see a bit better through the guys windshields in front of you,” Busch said of the visibility factor while driving the new COT model. “With the wing, there is still the obstruction just like there is with a rear-spoiler on the car, you just have to look a little bit stronger and you have to predict more moves from the other guys. It’s going to be a bit different, so you have to react and make changes.

“It is a double edged sword,” Busch said of the expected increase of bump drafting in this weekend’s race with the new cars. “With how comfortable the cars are to draft, the bumpers line up and you are able to bump draft and the cars are very stable. The rules will still be enforced the same way where there is the “No Bump Zone” that NASCAR doesn’t like to see you bump draft in the corners or through the tri-oval. Hopefully the drivers will respect that, but at the same time the cars are easier to drive. So it will be interesting. It’s just part of the balance. It’s safer to drive these cars, but anytime you get safer the drivers get more aggressive.”

“With the COT cars, it's going to change the element of how Talladega races and I think it will be twice as exciting,” Busch concluded. “Whoever does the best at reacting to all the changes we’ll face will probably have the best shot at winning. Like we’ve been saying all year long, we look to be up to the challenge.”

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It is certainly easy to understand Busch’s enthusiasm entering this weekend’s return to the mammoth 2.66-mile Alabama track. After all, the 2004 series champ has recorded six top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in only 13 races there. Furthermore, he has finished no worse than eighth in the last six races, posting three top-fives, six top-10s and an average finish of 5.5 during that period. Busch started 26th and finished a strong third in the April Talladega race. He led on two occasions and was impressive in blasting up from 26th on a restart with less than 10 laps remaining to post his sixth top-five and 10th top-10 finish on the track.

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This weekend’s schedule at Talladega calls for practice on Friday from 11:00 a.m. till 12:00 noon and from 2:45 p.m. till 3:30 p.m. The single round of qualifying on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. will allocate all 43 starting positions for Sunday’s race and all cars will be impounded after qualifying. Sunday’s UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (188 laps/500.08 miles) has a 1:00 p.m. local (2:00 p.m. ET) starting time. ESPN-TV and MRN Radio will feature live broadcasts of the event.

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Notes of interest:

--Kurt, Pat and crew will be racing their new PSC-522 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger this weekend at Talladega. “It’s a brand new car that we tested with there a couple of weeks ago (Sept. 10-11) and ran it head to head against one of our older cars,” Pat explained. “We have labeled this one as a speedway car. There is not a lot you can do to this new car and that’s exactly what NASCAR wants. But it only took us a few laps comparing each to determine that the new car is the way to go.” So, what was the determining factor, Kurt? “We ran the old car first,” Kurt explained. “Then we rolled the new one out and immediately ran laps that were half-a-second faster. It was an easy choice to make.”

--Kurt weighed in on Sunday’s Kansas race incident involving the No. 20 car of Tony Stewart: “It was a case of Tony having the flat tire and experiencing an incredible decrease in speed almost immediately,” Kurt said during his Monday night stint of co-hosting “Fast Talk” on PRN with veteran broadcaster Doug Rice. “It was evident that he had a major tire issue lap after lap before the incident. It was inevitable that something was going to happen unless he hit pit road. Unfortunately, he had the flat and was almost parked. He was doing about 100 (mph) and slowing dramatically. I was committed to the high side and doing about 190. It certainly wasn’t intentional on my part and I would have done anything I possibly could to have avoided it, but that was just not the case.” Pat added these comments: “Tony shouldn’t be mad at Kurt about anything. If he’s upset, he should vent any anger at his crew chief and team for putting him in that position to begin with. Jeff Gordon hit pit road at the same time for fresh tires. There’s no doubt that Tony had a strong enough car to pit and then get back up there. We didn’t take any chances. We had the No. 5 car (brother Kyle Busch) take a look at our front fender after the contact. He gave Kurt the thumbs down and that was enough to send us to pit road immediately. The amount of smoke that was pouring off the 20 car before he fell back, you just knew that it was really bad and he needed to hit pit road. I know I couldn’t have left Kurt out there and had a good conscience about doing that. I will do everything I can to keep Kurt from getting hurt. We know if anything ever jeopardizes his safety, we would all fall with him. Roger (Penske, car owner) was up there in the spotters’ stand on Sunday. If the 2 car would have had a major tire rub like that, he probably would have ordered Kurt to hit pit road immediately and I would have been all for it.”

--Kurt has always referred to this weekend’s UAW-For 500 at Talladega as the “wild card” event in the Chase. That certainly is set to be case as Sunday’s race could work to really jumble things up. With seven races to go, Kurt is ninth and trails fourth-place Tony Stewart by only 60 points and fifth-place Kevin Harvick by only 51 points. “The 48 (points-leader Jimmie Johnson), the 24 (second-place Jeff Gordon) and the 07 (third-place Clint Bowyer) have yet to have their problems like the rest of us,” said Kurt. “If they do, it could be a real shootout down to the very end with several drivers in the mix.”

--Pat sounds off on this weekend’s UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega: “We we’re pretty good down at the test,” Pat said. “I think we probably weren’t as fast as we’d like to have been by ourselves. I think we had decent speed and then I thought we were real good in drafting, but it’s hard to say because there were pretty small packs down there. It will be interesting to see what happens when we go back this weekend. Talladega has always been just the easiest track to set your cars up for. It’s about speed. It has nothing to do with handling. So, you know, it’s not about being too tight or too loose -- it’s more about speed. For whatever reason the Car of Tomorrow, it’s got a little more downforce than our old speedway cars do on the front so, it’s going to turn fine. It’s just a matter of does it get enough speed or not.”

--Kurt’s definitely “full-throttle” this week, heading into Talladega…co-hosting Fast Talk” last night (Monday); shooting special interview for Speed’s “Survival of the Fastest” today (Tuesday); Dodge filming, a charity clay shoot and a Mazak trade show appearance on Wednesday; the Miller national sales accounts meeting in Chicago and potential visit to Williams-Brice Stadium for the South Carolina Gamecocks-Kentucky Wildcats football game on Thursday and then on to Talladega. Track activities and Miller appearance set for Friday…qualifying and either Alabama-Houston football game or Chicago Cubs-Arizona Diamondbacks playoff game on Saturday…the UAW-Ford 500 on Sunday. He gets a day off after that, right? No way. Kurt will be in Las Vegas on Monday for the big Dodge Dealers show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

--Sunday’s UAW-Ford 400 will mark Kurt’s 250th career NEXTEL Cup start. The 29-year-old Las Vegas native has registered some pretty lofty credentials during that period, including 17 career wins, 10 poles and the 2004 NEXTEL Cup Championship. He has recorded 55 top-five finishes, 101 top-10 finishes and has led a total of 4,494 laps in 111 races. His career winnings total $40,466,975 entering this weekend’s Talladega battle.

--Kurt Busch Inc. has scheduled its special “Grand Opening” celebration on Thursday, Oct. 11 at the KBI complex. From 11a.m. till 1:00 p.m., 106.5 The End Miller Lite Lunch with Rozak will be on-site broadcasting. Random drawings for prizes will be held and you must be present to win. Free pizza and drinks for all guests will be provided by CiCi’s Pizza. There will be a “blow-out tent sale” (cash-only please) on all Kurt Busch merchandise, including No. 2 items and cool retro No. 97 gear. Kurt is scheduled for an autograph session from 11:00 a.m. till 12:00 noon. Wristbands will be distributed starting at 8 a.m. -- first come, first serve. Only 200 wristbands will be given. Once you obtain a wristband, you may leave and then return, but you must be wearing your wristband for the autograph session. The KBI complex is located at 151 Lugnut Lane in Mooresville, N.C.

--Kurt 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 UAW-Ford 500 on the mammoth 2.66-mile Alabama speed plant. After all, the 2004 series champ has recorded six top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in only 13 races there. Furthermore, he has finished no worse than eighth in the last six races, posting three top-fives, six top-10s and an average finish of 5.5 during that period.

--Perhaps one of the biggest factors attributing to Kurt’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 Kurt. “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. 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.”

--Kurt 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 Kurt. “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. 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.”

--Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) Quick Stats (courtesy of NASCAR PR):