KURT BUSCH FINISHES 16TH AT DOVER; UP ONE SPOT IN POINTS
-Miller Lite Dodge Driver Rallies From 30th Spot To Finish 16th And On Lead Lap-

DOVER, Del. (June 4, 2006) – Perhaps team engineer Derek Stamets best summed up the day Kurt Busch and his Miller Lite-sponsored Penske Racing South team had here at Dover today in the Neighborhood Excellence 400.

            “We were certainly hoping for much better, but it certainly could have been much worse,” Stamets stated back in the garage immediately after the race.  “With 150 laps to go, I would have told you it would take a miracle for us to finish 16th.  Somehow we did.”

            After falling down a lap after a round of green flag pit stops on Lap 210, a tight handling condition saw Busch fall all the way back to 24th and almost two laps down.  Fortunately, the third yellow flag of the race came out on Lap 263 for debris on the track.  Chassis changes that included application and removal of spring rubbers, track bar adjustments and air pressure alterations never remedied handling woes.

            Busch and his Roy McCauley-led team caught the lucky break they needed on Lap 320 when the eighth caution period of the race fell for Kevin Lepage’s blown engine.  Busch was the first car running a lap down at the time and received the “lucky dog” free pass to return to the lead lap.

            The team gambled when the ninth yellow flag flew on Lap 344 for Robby Gordon’s spin.  While several of the lead lap cars pitted, Busch stayed out and advanced from 18th up to 10th for the restart with 50 laps remaining in the race.

            The gamble paid off in the end with Busch able to hang on to his ill-handling racecar to finish 16th.

            “We’re going to have to take a real serious look at the front suspension stuff we’re running,” a disappointed Busch said back at the team transporter after the race.  “It’s just way too tight or super loose and there seems to be no adjustments we make to reach middle ground.  We’ll keep at it and find the answer sooner or later.

            “It was the right call there at the end to stay out,” Busch added.  “We ran our fastest laps on tires that had 30 or more laps on them.  When we would take on sticker tires, the thing would be so loose that I could barely hang on.  As we got laps on the tires, the car tightened up enough that I could at least drive it without worrying about spinning out in every corner.

            “We’re not happy at all with this performance, but we’ll keep at it and get it turned around,” said Busch.

            Up front, it was Matt Kenseth’s fresher tires that paid dividends as he was able to chase down Roush Racing teammate Jamie McMurray to take the lead with three laps remaining and go on to take his second win of the season and 16th of his career. 

            McMurray held off Kevin Harvick for second, with Jeff Burton finishing fourth and Kyle Busch fifth.  Jimmie Johnson came back from a lap down to finish sixth, with Kasey Kahne finishing seventh, Greg Biffle eighth, Mark Martin ninth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10th.  Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, KB, Clint Bowyer, Jeremy Mayfield, Reed Sorenson, Scott Riggs and Casey Mears rounded out the top 21 drivers that finished on the lead lap here today.

            Busch climbed a spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings to 18th.  He now trails leader Johnson by 704 points.  Most important, in his bid to make “the Chase” for 2006, he now is 265 points behind his brother, Kyle, who holds down the 10th spot.

The Cup tour now moves on to the picturesque Pocono Mountains and Pocono Raceway for next weekend’s Pocono 500.  This weekend’s schedule at Pocono calls for practice on Friday at 12:05 p.m.  A single round of qualifying at 3:40 p.m. will determine Sunday’s 43-car stating field.  Saturday’s action includes practice sessions at 9:30 a.m. and 11:05 a.m.  Sunday’s Pocono 500 (500 miles/200 laps) has a 2:10 p.m. EDT starting time and features live coverage by FX-TV and MRN Radio.

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