KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 KELLOGG'S/CARQUEST MONTE CARLO SS, TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT HIS PERFORMANCE AT SPEEDWEEKS SO FAR IN LEADING THE MOST LAPS AND HIS CHANCES FOR A WIN IN SUNDAY'S DAYTONA 500:
HOW DO YOU FEEL FOR SUNDAY?
"I feel pretty good for the way we've run so far down here in Speedweeks, we've been the class of the field, I feel like. And the guys haven't got enough recognition for being able to bring me the best car down here, leading the most laps both times round in the Shootout and in the Duels.
"So a lot of praise should go to those guys for bringing me a well-prepared car. We just haven't been able to close the deal out and we need to turn that around Sunday."
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SAYING YOU'RE THE CAR TO BEAT. WHAT DO YOU REALLY HAVE FOR (THE RACE)?
"I think we've got a lot of form. The biggest thing is getting out there and getting the respect of the competitors and that we've got a good race car, that it's good enough to draft with.
That it's a good race car that can run up front, hopefully for the full 500 miles. If we can stay up there, it'll definitely help our chances of staying out of a wreck."
LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEKEND, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD IN CALIFORNIA?
"The biggest thing about going to California is getting out of Daytona and restrictor-plate racing. It's not that that's a terrible thing but it's not one of my specialties. You're more in control in California - there's more on the hands of the driver, the crew chiefs and the setup and everything else that goes on there to enable you to have a fast race car."
PEOPLE SAY THAT CALIFORNIA IS THE FIRST REAL RACE OF THE YEAR. WITH ALL THE DRAMA THAT'S GONE ONE HERE IS THAT STILL TRUE?
"There's enough that's gone on that probably everyone's ready to get out of here and go on to California. But (Daytona) is the first race of the year, it's a points race so you have to go about it as if it's the same as any race and do the best you can."
YOU WERE RIGHT BEHIND MONTOYA. HOW WAS HE DOING?
"He was doing just fine. He was leading the race and we were just biding our time riding behind him. The handling on his car started to go away on him and he started sliding up the racetrack a little bit. Then as soon as we were able to get past him - by him - it looked like he had a right front wheel bearing problem. I saw a little bit of smoke from the right front corner a couple of laps before he had the problem and we got by him. So all in all, it was a tough break for him and he needed the laps to get the experience and finish the race and get accustomed to what happens out there and what it comes down to at the end of the race."
IF HE'D FINISHED HOW DO YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE DONE?
"I don't know. It's hard to go back and predict what could or should have happened. I feel like we should have won the race. I think that David Stremme had a very fast race car and (Montoya's) teammates' cars are pretty good so I would predict him for at least a top-five finish."
YOU THINK YOU'VE GOT A GOOD CAR FOR SUNDAY?
"Yes. I think we've got a good shot for Sunday. We've led the most laps down here in Speedweeks and (the team) guys haven't got the recognition I think they deserve."
ARE YOU CONCERNED EVERY TIME YOUR CAR GOES INTO INSPECTION?
"No."
WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS DONE TO ADJUST TO THE NEW, HARDER TIRES?
"Well it's hard to do anything really. All the stuff in the rear is given to you: the shocks are given to you, the springs are given to you, you can mess with track-bar heights but there's a limit on how high and how much split you can go on that. You can mess with the front end but anything you do in the front pretty much helps the grip in the front not the back. So far in Speedweeks, people have been complaining of tight but if you get the tight out of it then you're loose and you can't really do much to fix that. The tires just don't have the grip that we need in order to go through the corners as comfortable as we'd like. We can start going as fast as you want to but that's all until the tires start to slip and you have to start lifting."
HOW WILL WEATHER AFFECT THE RACE ON SUNDAY?
"If it's warm and sunny then it's going to be a single-file, follow-the-leader kind of race. Everyone's going to get spread out, the cars that really handle will get to the front and it will look more like a July race, with the leaders sliding around and everyone all over the place. Hopefully there won't be too many wrecks, but there are a lot of people complaining about their cars, that they can't get them to do what they'd lie to do and follow in line and stuff. It's definitely going to be a wild race, I think."
WHAT DO YOU THINK NASCAR CAN DO TO GET CONSISTENCY IN THE PENALTIES HANDED DOWN?
"There's not much that can be done. If you look at it, every scenario's different. The Jeff Gordon scenario whether that was on purpose or on accident. It was on accident to me because it was something that just happened. If you misalign those little teeth and it will slip and it's very easy to do. As a matter of fact, I've done that a couple of times on the rear end. We have the same mounting setup on the shocks as we do on the rear end side of it. So it's happened before there but it doesn't hurt you or help you as much anywhere else as much as it does here at Daytona. Jeff Gordon's situation was different from Michael Waltrip's situation, which was different from Chad Knaus's situation last year, which was different from the 9, the 19, the 10 and the 17 from this year. It's all in NASCAR's hands and they have to do what they feel is right. What comes of that is what comes of it and it's difficult to pinpoint all the reasonings for what goes on."
WHAT'S GOING TO STAND OUT MOST FOR YOU ABOUT SPEEDWEEKS THIS YEAR?
"Probably in everyone's minds it's all the scrutiny and all the stuff that's happened to Michael Waltrip Racing."
BUT YOU'VE LED THE MOST LAPS OF EVERYONE. WHY ISN'T ANYONE TALKING ABOUT THAT?
"You're right. It's not necessarily a big story to me, but it is for my guys. They're the ones that gave me top-notch race cars, the equipment to come out here and race as well as we have. They deserve more of the recognition than I do. It's a shame they haven't got that and that I haven't had even one post-race interview on TV. I guess I'm not worthy enough."
LAST YEAR YOU LEFT HERE AND SAID "I HATE THIS PLACE." STILL FEEL THE SAME?
"I've gotten over that from last year. The biggest thing is that last year we didn't have a very good car for the Shootout and I was so frustrated to go up there and lead some of the race and then get back in traffic and not finish very well. This year I'm frustrated again as the same thing happened in the Shootout - I led the most laps and then I got shuffled to the back and then couldn't quite make it back up to the front at the end. The same thing happened in the 150s but it's just a part of racing. I've become more accustomed to it and you can't expect the best all the time. You just have to accept what comes with it."
BUT DO YOU STILL FEEL THE SAME ABOUT DAYTONA?
"It's restrictor-plate racing. I'm not a very big fan of it but I'm getting used to it. I know I'm getting better at it - I'm understanding more about it. To tell you the truth I like being down here, I like the way everything goes on with it being the biggest race and so on. The whole program is a little drawn out I think. If it was a four day event I think everyone would be more happy than having to be down here for a week and a half."
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IN THE PRACTICE SESSIONS TODAY?
"We need to get our car to handle better. Because yesterday, even leading, our car was getting a little tight out front and when I got back in traffic I was out of the racetrack - the car wouldn't get planted into the racetrack into the corners. You can't make the car as good on old tires and others on new tires - that's just the situation - but if I can make it handle better we can have a better shot at winning."
THE WEATHER FORECAST CALLS FOR A WINDY DAY ON SUNDAY. HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE CARS IN THE RACE?
"The wind is going to be terrible. For as bad as the cars are already driving it's going to make it worse. Two days ago we had the wind blowing behind us down the back straightaway into Turn 3 and we were all driving up the racetrack and having to lift and fight a terrible push. If the wind is the same you'll see that again. If the wind reverses and blows up the back straightaway, you're going to see terrible conditions for our cars coming off Turn 2 and pushing up off 2."
WHO ARE THE DARK HORSES IN THIS RACE?
"People that will surprise include Junior - he can always surprise you - he doesn't have the car, it looks like, to be excellent but it looks like he'll be pretty good.
WHO WILL BE REALLY GOOD?
"Tony Stewart. Jeff (Gordon). Jimmy (Johnson) may be a dark horse as he hasn't run as well as he'd like yet. Kurt (Busch) has had some pretty good race cars and Matt Kenseth is pretty good too."
WHO'S THE TOUGHEST GUY TO PASS WITH FIVE TO GO?
"Pretty sure it would be Tony Stewart. I haven't had that opportunity yet. But it looks like he can make the moves and get by anybody any time he needs to - so he'd be the toughest to pass."
YOU NEED A DRAFTING BUDDY OUT THERE. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE ONE?
"You don't necessarily choose one. You try to get behind whoever's good and do what you can. Guys will do the same to you. They'll get behind you if they think you're good and they'll help you out as much as they need to, to get themselves out front. It's not necessarily who you have to choose it's who you can run well with.
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Kyle Busch Wins at Bristol, Notches Milestones in Process
BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 25, 2007) – Kyle Busch and his No. 5 CARQUEST/ Kellogg's team scored a milestone win Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
It was the eighth victory for Hendrick Motorsports at Bristol and car owner Rick Hendrick's 200th career NASCAR win.
Busch's performance marked the 600th win for Chevrolet and it was the first win for any driver with the manufacturer's new Impala SS.
Busch started 20th and exhibited patience moving through the field. He had difficulty turning the new car and relayed to his team that it was loose off the corners.
On Lap 50, crew chief Alan Gustafson and the No. 5 crew made a track-bar adjustment and changed four tires. The changes worked as Busch sailed into fifth place by Lap 109. The team pitted again on Lap 121 for more chassis tweaks to help the car turn better.
Over the next few rounds of pit stops, Busch maintained the sixth position. His car was better on longer runs and he slowly crept into the third position by Lap 282. Long green-flag runs are uncharacteristic of Bristol, but helped Busch remain in the top three.
With just 12 laps to go, the caution flag flew moments after Busch passed Denny Hamlin for the lead. The team then made the decision to stay on the track for the restart, but only four others joined them.
The remaining cars pitted for fresh Goodyear tires, but Busch held his own on the restart and led until another caution sparked a green-white-checkered flag finish. When the green flag fell, Busch had held off Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton, who were both racing on fresh rubber.
Busch took the checkered flag to win his fourth NEXTEL Cup race, moving the team into sixth position in the championship standings.
"I need to thank Jeff Gordon for giving me a break there in [turn] one," Busch said. "Jeff Burton could have dumped me there in [turns] three and four, but I think our Vegas finish helped me out a little bit with that. I think I had some brownie points to use up.
"I really want to thank everybody at CARQUEST and Kellogg's and everybody on this Hendrick Motorsports team and everybody at the shop. This is [win] 200 for [Hendrick Motorsports], and 600 for Chevrolet, so [I'm} glad we could do that for everybody."
Busch wasn't the only Hendrick Motorsports driver who enjoyed a solid day at the Bristol half-mile
Teammates Gordon and Casey Mears recorded top-10 results, finishing third and 10th, respectively. Jimmie Johnson was 16th.
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CHEEZ-IT UP: Kellogg Company's tasty baked snack cracker Cheez-It will adorn the hood of Kyle Busch's No. 5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS for Sunday's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at Texas Motor Speedway. The Cheez-It logo will make another appearance at the California Speedway event later this season.
BUSCH COMING OFF CAREER BEST AT TEXAS: Busch earned a fourth-place finish and posted the fourth-best driver rating in November at Texas Motor Speedway. It was Busch's career-best result at the 1.5-mile tri-oval in NEXTEL Cup competition.
TESTING AT RICHMOND: Busch and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team participated in the NEXTEL Cup Series test at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway on April 3 and 4. Busch has never finished out of the top five in his four Cup starts at the .75-mile D-shaped oval.
HENDRICK MATCHES BEST-EVER START: With its performance thus far in 2007, Hendrick Motorsports has matched its best start to a NEXTEL Cup season. In 1995, Jeff Gordon (three victories) and Terry Labonte (one) combined to win four of the first six Cup races. With 10 victories, car owner Rick Hendrick posted his first double-digit win total that season as Gordon went on to clinch the organization's first Cup Series title. Hendrick's drivers have combined for four wins through six 2007 events and have three drivers among the top five in championship points.
CONGRATS TO THE HULSTEINS: Kellogg's/CARQUEST crew member Kevin Hulstein took advantage of the off-weekend to marry his fiancée Nicole. Hulstein, a mechanic on the No. 5 team, is a native of Willmar, Minn., and has worked at Hendrick Motorsports since 2002.
CAR SELECTION FOR TEXAS: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 388 for Texas. The car has been used as a backup and has not seen action since last fall's event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
* * * * * * * * * *
BUSCH IN SUNDANCE SQUARE: Kyle Busch will appear in Sundance Square, located in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, at 6:30 p.m. local time Friday evening on behalf of Chevrolet.
* * * * * * * * * *
KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CHEEZ-IT/CARQUEST CHEVROLET:
(ON HIGHS AND LOWS AT TEXAS.)
"Last season we had our best finish at Texas Motor Speedway to date -- a fourth-place finish. I've run well there, but haven't been able to really finish the deal. We either had hard crashes coming out of turn four or just had weird stuff go wrong. One race I had the ignition just shut off on me, and it was a problem with the kill switch. I'd love to say we can better a fourth-place finish but we'll see. I've run good in the Busch and Truck series but struggled in Cup. We're taking a good car that we think will be solid from the time we unload."
(ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FIXING "THE BUMP."
"There was always a substantial bump between turns one and two. I'm glad Texas has fixed that, but we'll have to wait and see how smooth it is."
(ON THE OFF-WEEKEND AND HIS SEASON SO FAR.)
"Last weekend was relaxing. It was good to not have to be anywhere or do anything. I just bought a boat and I can't wait until the weather gets better to take it out on the lake. I'm fairly certain I will get a lot of use out of it. This season we've had some ups and downs. I think we've shown that we can be dominant, but we definitely haven't closed the deal on every opportunity. Fifth in the points isn't too bad. It's good to see three of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars in the top five. It means we've done our homework."
* * * * * * * * * *
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 CHEEZ-IT /CARQUEST CHEVROLET:
(ON TEXAS.)
"We're looking forward to getting back on the mile and a half tracks. We had a terrible outing in Atlanta and have to redeem ourselves this weekend. We touched on something last fall in Texas and finally got ourselves out of the slump we experienced at that track. Our goal is to improve on our best finish (fourth) and maybe get a top-three."
(ON THE NEW R07 ENGINE PACKAGE.)
"We feel like the R07 puts us in the best position to win. The Hendrick Motorsports engine department has done substantial testing and they feel comfortable with the reliability. We're excited to be one of the first teams to try it out in a race."
(ON THE QUICK TURNAROUND BETWEEN TEXAS AND PHOENIX.)
"We really had to turn things around in the shop over the off weekend. We took a car to the seven-post test and then had to get Texas and Phoenix cars ready at the same time. We will have another transporter meet our primary truck in Texas and switch out the cars there, so the truck driver doesn't have to come back to Charlotte after Texas and then head to Phoenix. It's a little more work on the guys in the shop, but it makes it easier on the ones who have to drive our equipment across the country."
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Kyle Busch Joins Matt Kenseth at the Slinger Nationals
Kyle Busch Joins Matt Kenseth at the Slinger Nationals
Tuesday July 17th 2007
By Todd Thelen
(Slinger, WI); March 28, 2007 - Fresh off his first Nextel Cup win of the season Kyle Busch has committed to racing in the 28th Annual Miller Lite Slinger Nationals Tuesday July 17th. Kyle called yesterday confirming details of his venture to the Worlds Fastest Quarter Mile Asphalt Oval stating he plans on winning! Kyle will be piloting his own Late Model prepared at Kyle Busch Motorsports by Wisconsin Native Richie Waters. Richie knows Slinger very well and will prepare a potent machine for the hard charging Busch.
Kyle joins defending and three time Slinger Nationals Champion Matt Kenseth as the list of impressive drivers starts to build for this year’s event. Kenseth won the 2006 title after battling an ignition problem early in the race and a very fast David Prunty late in the race. Prunty dominated the event until late in the race when Kenseth caught him and the two raced side by side in one of the most thrilling Slinger Nationals races since Lowell Bennett beat Brad Mueller by a fender at the 2000 event.
Busch and Kenseth are two of the hottest NASCAR drivers right now. Each has a Cup and Busch win and have been up front every race this season. Kenseth sits 4th in the Cup point standings while Busch is 6th.
For a chance to meet Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch a limited number of VIP Meet and Greet Hospitality tickets are available. VIP Hospitality tickets will allow lucky fans the opportunity to get an autograph and attend a Q&A session. Food, Drink and a general admission ticket to the race will be included with the VIP Ticket.
VIP and Advance tickets for the July 17th Miller Lite Nationals are on sale now at the Slinger Speedway track office (262-644-5921), B&S Liquor in Hartford or on line at: www.slingersuperspeedway.com. Fans can save $3.00 when they purchase Adult General Admission tickets in advance.
Slinger Speedway is located off of Hwy 41 and Highway 144 at 280 Cedar Creek Road in Slinger, WI. For more information on upcoming events call the track office at 262-644-5921 or visit our web site at www.slingersuperspeedway.com.
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KYLE BUSCH, NO. 5 CHEEZ-IT/CARQUEST MONTE CARLO SS, 5ND IN POINTS, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA DURING THE WEEKLY TOP-10 BEHIND THE HAULER CHAT TO DISCUSS THE NEW RACE CAR, THE SUCCESS OF HIS TEAM AND OTHER SUBJECTS
HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU SWITCHING FROM CAR TO CAR?
"It's all about balance. We've just got to work on some things to try and get better. We've been pretty good with the new one and pretty good with the old one. We'll just keep going and keep trying to learn; just try to do what we know how to do and try to win races."
"I don't think so. That's Jeff Gordon - he's a four-time champion. He's got 74 wins already. How many more trophies does the guy need on his shelf?"
IS THAT THE WAY YOU AND JIMMIE JOHNSON LOOK AT IT?
"You'll have to ask Jimmie how he looks at it but for me, he's as competitive as any of the rest of us. I mean, he wants to win just as bad as all the rest of us but there's still 40 other competitors out there that want to win just as bad."
PHOENIX WILL BE A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALL GAME.
"Yeah, it's the Car of Tomorrow. It's going to be a whole different ball game. Phoenix is a good place, I tend to run well there. There's been some good races there for us but some bad races as well. We'll just go out there and see how it's going to be for the new Impala SS on a bigger race track."
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE RIGHT NOW?
"We've got some confidence. We've got some know-how on what we need on our cars to get the job done but I know it changes every week."
IS ID DIFFICULT SWITCHING BETWEEN THE OLD CAR AND THE NEW ONE?
"No, it's just like anything else. If you're a race car driver then you can pretty much switch between anything?"
ON YOUR COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP WITH CREW CHIEF ALAN GUSTAFSON:
"We've been working together since the beginning, since my beginning in Cup, and it's just gone well. We've been able to keep maturing and keep developing together. Like I say, it keeps getting better and better every week and that's what matters most."
ARE YOU HAPPIER WHEN YOU'RE NOT IN THE NEW RACE CAR?
"Probably. But it's here and it's going to be here so we'll just keep working on it and try to make it better."
ARE YOU MORE COMFORTABLE IN THE NEW CAR OR OLD CAR?
"It's no different, really. The new car or the old, I don't see much difference between the two. The only thing I do notice is that I hit my elbow on the left-side door bars in the new car. They said they were going to give us more room and I fit my arm fine in the old car so we'll see if we can't move our seat or something."
ARE YOU MORE CONFIDENT SIDE-BY-SIDE RACING IN THE TRADITIONAL CAR?
"Not really. Short tracks don't have much aero dependency really but running side-by-side was a little bit of an issue at Bristol. It was really, really slick, trying to run side-by-side because we were all sliding around anyway. But we're here this weekend and just back to normal."
WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE SUCCESS OF YOUR TEAM THIS SEASON?
"Work. Everyone's been working really hard and putting their focus in depth and trying to get done what they want to get done. Working on the new car, working on the old car and trying to get everybody on the same page."
HOW MUCH BETTER IS THE DIP IN THE TRACK NOW?
"It's not bad. It's pretty good. The new dip is the same as what it was, just a little bit better. It's still there but they ground on it a little bit and made it smoother than it was before. Now we can drive over it faster. Before it was actually kind of a tool that would slow you down a little bit and you wouldn't be able to get back on the gas until after it but now you can probably be able to drive through it and go faster."
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TRANSFER FROM DRIVING THE BUSCH CARS AND THE IMPALA SS IN A WEEKEND?
"Not really. Just mainly racing lines, tire pressures and stuff like that. There are some things that we've done with the Impala SS is completely different than what we've done with the car that we have now so not much."
WILL IT BE WORTH IT TO RUN BOTH SERIES IN A WEEKEND?
"There's not much transfer between car to car but the extra track time I believe helps. For my age, I'm still only 21 so I'd love to be able to get more track time any time and just get more experience. To become a little bit better quicker."
HOW HAS YOUR TEAM FARED HERE IN THE PAST?
"Jeff's had terrible wrecks here. Just stupid things have taken him out of races and wins here. Jimmie has been pretty good here at times but hasn't been able to hit it on the dot and I've just been terrible here. It doesn't much matter but the No. 5 car has won here before with Terry Labonte and that's pretty cool and we'll just see if any of us can change that around this weekend."
DO YOU THINK THIS MIGHT BE THE WEEKEND FOR YOU GUYS?
"We hope so. Any weekend we try to go out and win the race anyway so I think Jimmie probably has the best chance out of all of us. He ran really strong at Atlanta and Tony Stewart pretty much lapped everybody at Atlanta and Texas here last fall, so hopefully Jimmie's got something for him but we'll try to work on our stuff."
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Behind The Hauler Chat With Kyle Busch & Crew Chief Alan Gustafson
GM Racing Communications, Press Release
Kyle Busch and Alan Gustafson, No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Impala SS driver and crew chief, currently seventh in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series points, met with members of the media at PIR:
ON RUNNING IMPALA SS ON A ONE-MILE TRACK, THE BIGGEST TRACK SO FAR FOR THE NEW-GENERATION NASCAR RACE CAR:
KYLE BUSCH (KB): "It is going to be something new for all of us except Jeff Burton who did the Goodyear tire test out here. For us, it something where none of us haven't been on this big of a track with it yet. I haven't, our team hasn't but Hendrick Motorsports has when they went to the Milwaukee Mile when they were developing it. I am looking forward to it, it is a new task at hand, hopefully we have a pretty good piece where we can go out there and try to win."
ALAN GUSTAFSON (AG): "This is going to be the first race where aerodynamics is going to come in to play and something obviously we are all interested to see is the interaction between the cars in traffic as well as by themselves in clean air. Where Bristol and Martinsville were more mechanical grip race tracks, now the aero is going to play a bigger part of it and that will be neat to see. Phoenix has always facilitated good racing in the past, we just hope that trend continues."
ON WHAT HAPPENED AT TEXAS THAT RESULTED IN DALE EARNHARDT, JR. CLIMBING IN THE NO. 5 FOR THE LAST FEW LAPS:
KB: "As It has been stated, there was a bit of a miscommunication there. As I came in, I presumed that the car was finished, that (the damage) was too extensive to repair it. I could barely turn it; I couldn't even turn it to my own garage stall at all to the right. I took that as an indication we were done for the day. I went in to the hauler, changed my clothes and walked out. Never had a team member or anybody say further that we were going to try to go back out or anything. So we didn't talk with each other after the incident."
ON WHEN FOUND OUT THAT DALE EARNHARDT, JR. WAS IN THE CAR AND WILL THERE BE A CHANGE OF PROCEDURE IN THE FUTURE:
KB: "I heard on the radio broadcast that the No. 5 car was ready and they were looking for a driver and that Dale, Jr. was in the thing, so that is how I heard. I was on my way to the airport to get on the team plane in order to go back to Charlotte, NC, that is how I found out.
We have something in place now to try and help us out that will make it easier with crash procedures. Alan has his crash procedures for him and the team guys built but there has never been one built where the driver is a part of that. We have some changes in place now."
ON FEELING IF HE LET TEAMMATES DOWN AND ON WHAT HE LEARNED:
KB: "No, I don't feel like I let my teammates down and they tell me that I didn't let them down. You know, there were two really hard hits I took last weekend. I was pretty beat up and pretty sore. That was another reason that facilitated me to pack it up early and say let's go home. But, we have talked about it as a team and we see it as a non-issue. We are looking forward to this weekend Phoenix and keep the streak alive with the COT for Hendrick Motorsports.
"The biggest thing I learned was there has to be more communication not only from the team to me but from myself. I didn't go to the team and ask if we were going to get back out. That is partially my problem, but we want to make sure we have it straightened out for the future."
ON HEARING ANYTHING ABOUT THE CAR GETTING BACK OUT ON THE RACE TRACK AND ON IT HE HAS SPOKEN WITH DALE, JR.:
KB: "Negative. I never heard anything about the car getting back on the race track. When I got out of the car, I was disconnected from radio communications with the team. They were all so busy working on the race car that nobody came in to the hauler to inform me so I just assumed. But my assumptions were wrong.
"I tried calling Dale, Jr. this week, but I had the wrong cell phone number. I got somebody else on the phone who didn't speak very good English. I must have an old cell phone number. I came in here this morning to play the roll of team owner with my West Series program team, but I didn't think that 9:00 a.m. was Dale, Jr.'s up time yet so I didn't want to knock on his door. We will let him get his beauty rest."
ON FEELINGS ABOUT IMPALA SS NOW AFTER TWO RACES:
"Kenny Wallace said all he ever heard about were people complaining about the old car and how it is tight and how there doesn't seem to be much difference between the cars, they both won't turn. But at least we can get the car we have been running to turn, we can make it to where it will be free through the corner and it will be handling pretty well. With the COT, we keep struggling with a tight condition and it just won't turn. Everybody is pretty much fighting the same thing. It is just who can get it the best. I haven't heard anybody say they have been able to get it to turn in the center and have good drive off like we can with the current car.
"For me, it is still a hindrance to get it to drive the way I want it to drive. But that is why Alan and the engineers get paid to do what they do to try and make it better and I get paid to do what I do."
ON ACCIDENT THAT TOOK HIM OUT OF TEXAS:
"There was a visibility problem and I couldn't get slowed down quick enough. If you go back, no one has rewound the tape back far enough, Dale Jr., went in to turn three and loose in the center of turns three and four so he had to check up, so he was probably about 10 miles-an-hour slower than I was going through the center of the corner. When he got loose, just right after that is when we saw Tony (Stewart) spinning and he was already 10 mph slower than me so he had a head start on it and was already on the brakes. I was off the gas and just kind of rolling through there.
"I have spun out at Texas twice like that on the front straight away like that and both times I have gone up and hit the outside wall so I was aiming for the infield. But when I couldn't see anymore because the whole track was filled with smoke from Stewart going from the top to the inside, I didn't know where he was, or where he was going to go so I was on the binders once I saw him going across the race track, I was pushing on the brake pedal as hard as I could, trying to slow down as hard as I could, Earnhardt disappeared in to the smoke and I went in after him and just plowed him. It was a pretty heavy hit, I felt it through my knees and my hands so it definitely was a hard one."
ON CONFIDENCE LEVEL GOING IN TO TALLADEGA:
KB: "I am looking forward to it. Everybody ran that coil-bind setup last year and I think we are going to try it again this time. The track definitely has a lot of grip; it was really easy to drive there last fall. I would say it is probably going to be the same way because the track hasn't had time to age much. I think it is going to be good for us. I think with Hendrick Motorsports success on restrictor plate tracks of late, we probably are the favorites. I think with the way we have run in the past few plate races with Alan building some pretty great race cars, with all the restrictor plate programs we have at HMS, it has come a long way. I am pretty confident we can run up front and try to win the race."
ON MAKING A DIFFERENT DECISION NOW IF COULD DO OVER LAST WEEK AND WHAT WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY:
KB: "I probably would have at least gotten with a PR representative from the team or a team member or somebody to discuss my well-being and the car's well-being and trying to get back out on the race track."
ON WHAT HMS HAS DONE TO BE SO FAR AHEAD OF OTHER TEAMS WITH IMPALA SS PROGRAM:
AG: "There are a lot of things. We have done a lot of research on this thing for a long time. I believe I am correct in saying we were the first ones to build a roll cage on this car in the development stages of the car. We have a whole engineering group that is working on this car. As I have mentioned before, David Green does a lot of testing for us with the car, so we know where we are on the car. A lot of issue in improving the car is knowing where you are with the car and identifying the problem. Se we were able to go out early in the development stages of the car and identify the issues we were going to fight to get a jump-start on what we were going to have to do to fix them.
"Another thing is not emphasized enough is that part of the car is designed to do a good job emphasize the driver's talents as well as the team's talents with pit stops, pit crews and race strategy, etc. I think you are looking at HMS, you are looking at the best drivers in the series and the best pit crews in the series, and you are looking at some of the better strategies in the series and that has lended itself to our team. If you put Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Casey Mears in anything they are going to be good and if you lean anything a little bit more toward the driver, that is going to give us an advantage."
ON HAVING A BACK INJURY AND ICING IT AND HOW HE FELT MONDAY MORNING WHEN HE WOKE UP:
KB: "I had a few back issues during the race. For some reason that seat we have never been able to come to a conclusion of what it takes to fix it. There is a pressure point that it pushes on my lower back and it was very sore. I told Alan the problem so he could write it down so we would have a reminder of trying to fix it when we got back to the shop, and then I would get some ice afterwards so I could ice it down because it was so sore. I been sore all week pretty much from my neck down, but just because of two hard impacts in one weekend but getting over those and getting better.
"As far as somebody else getting in and driving my car, that was awfully nice of Junior to be there and be available, I guess I knocked him out. It was a tough break for both of us. But for the friendship we have and the friendship he and Pigeon have so he could come over and help us out and get us three more points, that was pretty cool."
ON WHAT WERE INITIAL FEELINGS WHEN HE FIRST HEARD SOMEONE ELSE WAS GETTING IN HIS CAR WHILE HE WAS AT THE AIRPORT AND WHAT WILL HE SAY TO DALE, JR.:
KB: "The first thing that came to mind was I didn't know they were fixing the car to go back out, I never got that news. The second thing was well, at least somebody was available so we could try and get more points. I am going to talk to Junior about is just basically thanks for taking the chance with everything and getting in the thing, not knowing what kind of car it was or what kind of shape it was in. I know these guys did a great job; I have been in crash repairs before and never had any kind of problem. I have always had all the confidence in the world to go back out there. I knew they were going to be fine and there was absolutely no worry about the car or the way it was going to drive. So just thank him for being there and giving us the opportunity to get more points."
ON BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF RACING IMPALA SS AT PIR:
AG: "The biggest challenge is going to be and I think it is a little bit of why Kyle has had issues with these cars, is they just don't make the downforce and don't have the grip our other cars have. You typically struggle with the differences in the corners here. It is hard to get the car consistent and have the car turn good consistently through the corner. So that is what we are going to focus on. The nighttime is always a variable here that you struggle with. Qualifying kind of shades from sun to early evening and you struggle with that during qualifying. Practicing during the day and racing at night is tough. You have to have a lot of adjustability with spring rubbers. We have to have a good game plan on where you are going to go based on where the balance of your car goes. You struggle with the normal things you struggle with here. You are going to struggle with getting your car to turn good in the center and then you struggle with getting the drive off the corner and these cars at the race tracks we have run previously have been worse for situations. We are geared up. We have done a lot of research, the guys have worked really hard on having a lot of options and different packages to try and that is what we are going to go after."
ON TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH KYLE TO GET BACK OUT AND ON CONSIDERING PUTTING JIMMIE IN THE CAR:
AG: "Yes, what happened there in thinking we had a backup, you have to look at the whole situation. Our team as a whole, we had to pull out our backup car on Saturday afternoon, had to thrash to get it ready and start in 43rd spot. Came from 43rd to third at a race track we historically don't run very good at, had a very good race car. So when we got in to the incident, which in my opinion was through no fault of our own, that is a huge swing in emotions. Personally I was very frustrated at that point in time and was focused on fixing that race car and ripping as much sheet metal off to get my anger and frustration out as possible in that situation. Kyle, unfortunately had been in two bad incidents and probably wasn't necessarily in the greatest shape in the world. So we continued to fix that car, there is a couple things we do by the way when we fix a car, we put a crash nose on and we want to learn about it for the Chase and for the experience. There were a lot of different things going on and I guess basically what I am trying to say is when all that happened, there was a huge change in circumstances and emotions and we as a team didn't do the best job handling that. We should have went and communicated with Kyle, took five minutes to talk to Kyle and see where he was with all of it. That was our flaw.
"As far as Jimmie goes, how Dale, Jr., came up, I was speaking with our general manager Brian Watson who was tracking everyone's position on the race track and the points positions and said to Brian hey Jimmie just fell out, do you think we could get Jimmie in this car. Brian said, well I think he will do it but we are going to ask Jimmie to take three points away from Jimmie, which we didn't think was a very fair thing to do.
At that point in time, one of our team members overheard us and Junior was in close proximity and agreed to do it in quick fashion, so that is how all of that came transpired. Jimmie was the first choice obviously and will be in the future, but we didn't want, I actually think if we would have went and ask Jimmie, he would have done it, but, it wouldn't have been fair to put Jimmie in that position so we chose not to do that."
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thanks for the great post!! Kyle is a good driver with some great skills...Just waiting for him to mature a little more. Fiery little guy though!
thanks again, HMS5242548
GONE FISHING: Kyle Busch, an avid fisherman, and his team members will join forces with Kellogg’s-sponsored pro anglers Clark Wendelandt and Dave Lefebre of the Wal-Mart FLW Outdoors Tour for a fishing excursion on Lake Norman near Charlotte, N.C., this week. Busch will learn the basics of bass fishing and spend some time with the media.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KYLE: Busch, the youngest race and pole position winner in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series history, will turn 22 years old on Wednesday, May 2. Busch, who signed with Hendrick Motorsports at age 17, is in his third season of NEXTEL Cup competition.
BEST TALLADEGA FINISH: Of the four NEXTEL Cup races Busch has competed in at Talladega (Ala. ) Superspeedway, his career-best start and finish there came last October with a sixth-place qualifying effort and an 11th-place result. Prior to that, his best showing was 32nd.
BUSY MAY: The month of May is a busy one for Busch. In addition to his regular track activities, he will participate in two test sessions at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for both the NEXTEL Cup Series and Busch Series, and will also make a trip to Dover (Del. ) International Speedway to test on May 14 prior to the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge.
VOTE FOR BUSCH: Busch, driver of the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet, is one of 19 drivers eligible for this year’s Talladega/Texaco Walk of Fame, located in the Davey Allison Memorial Park in Talladega, Ala. The driver who receives the most votes will be inducted. Fans may vote at www.talladegawalk.com from April 15-July 15.
CAR SELECTION FOR TALLADEGA: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 362 as the No. 5 team’s primary option for Talladega. The car has run in the last three races at Daytona Beach, Fla., averaging a running position of 9.514 in those events. It posted the top average running position in the 2007 Daytona 500 (4.614) and finished second in last July’s Pepsi 400.
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KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG’S CHEVROLET: (ON TALLADEGA. ) “It’s a wild-card race. You expect the unexpected. Hendrick Motorsports definitely has the upper hand, it seems, when it comes to the restrictor plate races. And even though Kevin Harvick won the Daytona 500, our team really flexed some muscle throughout Speedweeks. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the body shop have built some great cars. “
BUSCH: (ON THE TRACK. ) “The track had a ton of grip last year and it was fun to drive. Everyone gets worried when a track repaves but Talladega did a great job with it. The track hasn’t had much time to age since we were last there in October but it should be a good race. I expect us to run up front. “
BUSCH: (ON WRECKING, TALLADEGA STYLE. ) “I hope, of course, this doesn’t happen to us, but when the ‘Big One’ happens, as a driver you have to be prepared. Since I was involved in the Big One in three of the four races I’ve run at Talladega, all I can say is when it starts, I just curl up into the fetal position and wait for the noise to stop. You get bounced around like a pinball and hit from every direction. Some of the hits are harder than others, but usually the wreck travels, so the momentum absorbs some energy. It’s kind of a scary thought, but it happens, and when it does you need to be prepared. “
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ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG’S CHEVROLET: (ON PREDICTIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND. ) “This year was one of our best showings at Speedweeks to date. Kyle drove well, the car performed and the pit crew did their job. All in all, we had a shot to win the Daytona 500. We didn’t lead the most laps in that particular race and spun out at the end going for the win, but it was a strong, strong car. We expect the No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet to have a shot to win this weekend. I wouldn’t expect any less. “
KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST/KELLOGG'S MONTE CARLO SS, TALKED WITH MEDIA ABOUT PLATE RACING, TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS, AND THE NEW GENERATION RACE CAR
DO YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ON TONY STEWART'S COMMENTS?
"No, not really. There's been an awful lot of debris cautions this year but NASCAR's got their personnel that are around the race track. I think it's like 10 or 12 stations that they're in and if they see something that they don't believe is safe they're going to throw a caution and try to get it out of the way so someone doesn't run over it and blow a tire or whatever."
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEW BUSCH RESTRICTOR PLATE?
"This place is just so good now and there's so much grip out there now. It's a lot of fun to drive and it's easy to drive. I didn't feel like there was a necessity for that but NASCAR felt that it was in their best interest to try to reduce speeds a little bit for safety so I'm all for that. It's a little bit different than what everybody ran at Daytona; it's a little bit different than what anybody ever tested so nobody has a whole lot of engine data. We were smart enough to take part in that during our Daytona testing when we had the telemetry on the car to put four different plate sizes on it. That way we could make sure that if they were going to put on a different plate size we would have the telemetry with it so we're okay."
DO YOU HAVE ADVICE FOR ANY YOUNG DRIVER MAKING THEIR DEBUT HERE?
"Hold a pretty wheel. That's about it. Depending on what kind of car you are in, it's a tough place to make your first start. Juan Montoya did it here la
Behind The Hauler Chat With Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch Pre-Samsung 500 Race Preview
Behind The Hauler Chat With Kyle Busch
Behind The Hauler Chat With Kyle Busch & Crew Chief Alan Gustafson
Behind The Hauler Chat With Kyle Busch