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News and Results | Point Standings | 2007 Schedule | 2007 Teams | 2006 Schedule and Results | 2005 Schedule and Results
KURT BUSCH LOOKING TO CONTINUE “THE BIG MO” AT WATKINS GLEN
WATKINS GLEN, N. Y. (August 7, 2007) – Fresh off a dominant win in Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway, Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch heads back to the Watkins Glen International road course hoping to defend his Saturday Zippo 200 crown and score a vindicating win in Sunday’s Centurion Boats at the Glen NEXTEL Cup race. “We experienced an almost perfect weekend at the Glen last year, winning the pole for both races and coming out on top in Saturday’s Busch race after an exciting last-lap battle with Robby Gordon,” said Busch, who will again pilot the No. 39 Penske Truck Rental Dodge in this Saturday’s NBS race on the winding 2.45-mile layout located at the southern end of the Finger Lakes wine country region. “We had the car to beat in last year’s Cup race there and most likely would have won it if not for the controversial call that got us. We had led the most laps and had a dominating performance going, but it was just another one that got away. “We’re coming back in there hoping to be as competitive as we were in last year’s race,” said Busch. “With us running the new COT Dodge Avenger this weekend, it’ll be a big challenge to equal the strength we had with last year’s car, but our team is getting stronger and stronger and it’s within our potential. “That’s why we spent all day yesterday (Monday) down at Road Atlanta getting our stuff sorted out for the upcoming weekend,” said Busch of the 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course located in the rolling hills of Northeast Georgia. “I think it was time well spent and will definitely help us out this weekend.” Last year at Watkins Glen, Busch and his Penske Racing Teams were headed toward making huge marks in the NASCAR record books before the controversial and disappointing call was made in Sunday’s NEXTEL Cup race. After claiming the pole on Friday for Sunday’s NEXTEL Cup race, Busch won the pole and the race in Saturday’s NBS Zippo 200, driving his yellow No. 39 Penske Truck Rental Dodge. While there had been several drivers to win both races during a single weekend, there had never been a driver to win both poles and both races. Busch started from the pole in last year’s Cup race at the Glen with his fast Friday qualifying lap of 122.966 mph (71.727 seconds) and proved he had the car to beat. He had his Miller Lite Dodge up front for 38 laps and was leading after Lap 53 when his opportunity to add another chapter to the record books was spoiled. While making his final scheduled pit stop under the green working Lap 54, race-leader Busch veered to the right and turned down the pit lane. Just as he made his move, the caution flag came out for Joe Nemechek’s spin entering the carousel turn. NASCAR officials ruled that Busch had not made it to the commitment line before the flag was displayed and the team was notified that they would have to restart at the tail end of the longest line. Busch’s promising day unraveled from there. After being sent to the rear of the field on the following restart and surviving a multi-car crash to make it back up to 11th on the final lap, his major comeback was not to be. Getting caught up in a multi-car incident involving Penske teammate Ryan Newman, Boris Said and Ron Fellows in the inner-loop on the final lap, Busch was eventually credited with a 19th-place finish. “It was a huge disappointment the way things turned out in last year’s Cup race at the Glen,” Busch offered. “We were fastest in all the practices, won the poles and took that wild win over Robby Gordon in the Busch race on Saturday. But it was very typical of the way our luck ran last season in general on the Cup side. There were so many races where we had the potential to win, but just couldn’t pull it off for one reason or another. “There’s definitely a different feeling and confidence level within our team this time around heading into Watkins Glen,” Busch concluded. “If the opportunity is out there, we’re going to latch on and ride it all the way to Victory Lane.” “It’s all about momentum – ‘the big mo’ -- and Kurt and our entire Miller Lite Dodge Team certainly have it going for us,” said crew chief Pat Tryson, who’ll be calling the shots for his seventh race as Busch’s team leader this weekend at Watkins Glen. “If you’re fortunate enough to have ‘the big mo’ on your side, it’s best to ride it for all it’s worth and that’s exactly what we’re hoping to do. We’re not looking behind us at all. We have the blinders on and are only looking forward. You don’t look back.” When it was pointed out that his team is in what could be labeled as a precarious position in the points, holding down the 12th and final spot in “Chase eligibility” by a mere seven points over Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tryson was quick on the draw. “That’s precisely what I’m talking about,” said Tryson. “When you’re riding that momentum, you better be looking ahead and not wasting any energy looking in that rear view mirror. We’re looking at the situation right now as being only 38 points out of 11th (Martin Truex Jr.) and 153 out of 10th (Clint Bowyer). We have another five races to run before the Chase clicks in and there’s so much that can happen during that period. You have to look at it as building a cushion as far as the points go and the best way to go about that is to focus forward. This is definitely not the right time to get in any serious defensive mode.” This weekend’s action at Watkins Glen International gets under way with NEXTEL Cup practice on Friday from 11:50 a.m. till 1:20 p.m. NBS practice is set for 1:30 p.m. till 3:00 p.m. Sunday’s 43-car starting field will be determined in Friday’s 3:10 p.m. single round of Cup qualifying. NBS final practice closes out the day’s NASCAR activities at 5:30 p.m. Saturday’s schedule boasts Cup practice sessions from 10:30 a.m. till 11:20 a.m. and from 1:50 p.m. till 2:50 p.m., with 11:35 a.m. NBS qualifying fit in between. Busch will defend his Saturday Zippo 200 crown when the 82-lap, 200.9-mile race gets the green flag at 3:30 p.m. Live coverage of the race will be provided by ESPN2 and MRN Radio. Sunday’s Centurion Boats at the Glen NEXTEL Cup race has a 2:00 p.m. EDT starting time, with ESPN and MRN Radio presenting live coverage of the 90-lap, 220.5-mile battle. Notes of interest: --Kurt Busch and his Pat Tryson-led Penske Racing Team will be racing their PSC-518 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger in Sunday’s Centurion Boats at the Glen NEXTEL Cup race at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course. “This was the brand new car that we debuted out in Sonoma,” said Pat, who’ll be calling the shots for his seventh race as Kurt’s crew chief this weekend at “the Glen.” “We took it and another car down to Road Atlanta yesterday (Monday) and came away feeling that what we learned will give us a little head start for this weekend.” --Kurt, Pat and team have “the big mo” working for them heading into Watkins Glen. No, it’s not a new jackman for the Miller Lite Dodge Team. Ray Gallaghan, the six-foot-three-inch, 234-pound gentle giant continues to do an amazing job at that spot week in and week out. “It’s all about momentum – ‘the big mo’ -- and Kurt and our entire Miller Lite Dodge Team certainly have it going for us,” said Pat. “If you’re fortunate enough to have ‘the big mo’ on your side, it’s best to ride it for all it’s worth and that’s exactly what we’re hoping to do.” --Kurt will be pulling “double-duty” this weekend as he will be looking to defend his title in Saturday’s Zippo 200 NBS race at the Glen. Who could ever forget the exiting finish between Kurt and Robby Gordon in last year’s Zippo 200? A four-minute, 42-second clip of some of the most exciting action in NASCAR history can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wHDuggdVyA Here is last year’s Zippo 200 “race rewind”: During the morning’s European-style qualifying session, Kurt picked up his first career NBS pole position with his lap of 121.526 mph (72.577 seconds). When the green flag flew just before 2:30 p.m., Kurt took off. He lead the first 16 circuits before hitting pit road for the first of two scheduled stops to make the 82-lap distance around this 2.45-mile picturesque road course located on the hillside above Lake Seneca in Upstate New York. With the cars of Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer attempting to make it on only one visit to pit road, the stops finally cycled around on Lap 37. Kurt then led from Lap 37 to 46, when he was called back down pit road for what would be his final stop of the race During that stop, rear tire carrier Andy Brown accidentally brushed the jack while the team was executing the left tire change. The jack lowered, forcing the car to be raised again in order to get the tires off. The end result was a disastrous 24.553-second stop. Kurt had entered the pits with a 3.442-second advantage over second-place Robby Gordon, but when the pit stops cycled around, he was in the second spot and running 3.647 seconds behind Gordon’s No. 7 car. After a failed effort to get the lead back on a Lap 64 saw Kurt almost crashed by Gordon exiting Turn 1, he momentarily lost the second spot to Jamie McMurray. The fourth caution flag of the race flew on Lap 66 and brought the field back to a slowed pace and caused a lull in the excitement. That didn’t last for long, however, as a relentless Kurt was determined to regain the lead. Working the completion of Lap 69, Kurt got the inside run down the frontstretch and grabbed the lead from Gordon. Gordon got to the inside entering the turn and grabbed the lead back for several yards before Kurt repaid the favor and emerged again with the lead as the field headed toward the esses. The race was slowed again on Lap 80, when Todd Kluever’s car stalled on Lap 78, forcing a green-white-checkered finish. The fireworks broke out on the Lap 81 restart. Kurt got a good jump on Gordon, but the No. 7 car rallied entering the chicane at the top of the esses about midway through the 11-turn, 2.45-mile layout and hit the back bumper of Kurt's No. 39 Penske Dodge. Kurt held on and gained a two car-length lead entering the final lap. Gordon wasn't finished yet. He again pulled up to Kurt's back bumper in the chicane, and this time he drove through the grass in a last-ditch effort to make the pass, slamming the side of Kurt's car and also sending it sliding through the grass. Kurt was determined and maintained control of his Dodge and emerged with a 0.558-second win over Gordon. McMurray finished third, with Greg Biffle fourth and John Andretti fifth. Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth, with Kevin Harvick, Boris Said, Ron Fellow and Scott Pruett rounding out today’s top 10 finishers. "It was a heck of a battle because he was just trying to drive right through us,” Kurt said of the final lap battle with Gordon. “We were holding our ground and I was not going to give up. It seemed like (the chicane) was my weak point. Robby knew that. He did a great job just throwing it in there on the last lap. I just wanted to make sure our car was underneath his, go in steady, keep four tires on the ground and if there was impact, we could survive. We weren't racing for points. We're here to win and we did just that." --Roy McCauley served as crew chief for the last two winners of the Zippo 200, helping lead Ryan Newman to the win in ’05 and heading Kurt’s winning effort last year. Kurt will be driving the same car he used in winning last year’s race in Saturday’s Zippo 200, the “PBC-009” Penske Truck Rental Dodge. Kurt won the pole and led three times for 41 of the 83 laps en route to the exciting win last year. --Kurt’s dominating performance at Pocono gave Penske Racing its 289th major race win. With 8 cars competing in 4 races (ALMS – Elkhart Lake, Busch Series and Cup Series – Watkins Glen, and IndyCar – Kentucky Speedway) this weekend, Penske Racing certainly has a great shot at win number 290. A win in the NASCAR Nextel Cup event will give Penske Racing a total of 60 Nextel Cup wins. --Kurt’s new “PT Cruiser”…After his dominant win at Pocono last Sunday (leading a record 175 of the 200 laps), Kurt named his Pocono winning car (formerly the “PSC-078”) the “Pat Tryson Special” or the “PT Special” for short…”There’s a lot of Miller Lites enjoyed on a daily basis out at the PT Pubs in ‘Vegas and it was so appropriate to name it that because Pat put so much time and energy in getting that car ready to go back to Pocono with. It was a lot of his blood, sweat and tears that got us to Victory Lane again.” --Much has changed over a short period of time at Watkins Glen International, with new paved runoff area's in Turns 1, 9 and 11, repaved Turns 1 and 9, movement of the wall away from the track surface in the esses, a new grandstand on the frontstretch and new competition curbing. “Man, sounds like we maybe we won’t even recognize the place,” Kurt said. “Not really, though, because it’ll still maintain it’s unique characteristics. It sounds like it’ll make for better racing conditions and provide a safer track for us to race on. They’ve made it better for all the great race fans up there and that’s really cool. I can’t wait to get there and see everything first-hand.” --Kurt scheduled to make an appearance for Miller Lite at the Erie County Fair, located at 5600 McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, N.Y., this Thursday. Kurt will be spending time with fans from 5:00 p.m. till 7:00 p.m. in the North Agri-Center Lot. For additional information on this great fair, known as “America’s Fair,” please call the fairground office at (716) 649-3900 or visit their web site at http://www.americas-fair.com/ --Kurt will be signing autographs at his souvenir hauler on Sunday, August 12, 2007 at Watkins Glen International from 10:30 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. It’ll mark his 231st time on race days that he has been to his souvenir trailer in 234 races to sign autographs for the fans since starting his tradition during his first full year on the circuit back in 2001. --Statistics of interest: (courtesy of NASCAR PR) Below is a breakdown of how some of Busch’s stats compare to other dominant performances since 2005:
Perfect Driver Ratings
Best Average Running Position
Largest Percentage of Fastest Laps (of Green Flag Laps)
--“You cannot buy enthusiasm. You cannot buy loyalty. You cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these.” –Author Unknown
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