but first, these notes of interest:

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch and his Roy McCauley-led Penske Racing Team are hoping their participation in the recent Goodyear tire test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway will pay dividends in this weekend’s Bank of America 500.  “We were able to get in several 20 and 30 lap runs and many of the laps were on the exact rubber that we’ll be using at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend,” KB said of the Aug. 29 day-long test his team did for Goodyear in preparation for this weekend’s return to LMS by the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tour.  “I look at it as definitely being extra help in preparing us for this weekend’s race.  Hopefully it will pay us some dividends.” (More on this in release.)

--While he played an instrumental role in Goodyear’s decision as for the left-side tire compound for this weekend’s race at Lowe’s, he is still a bit concerned about the effect that the predicted cold weather may have.  “I can’t blame them at all for going the conservative route, but you have to wonder just how effective it’ll be this weekend,” KB said.  “It was hot there back in August, with the outside temperatures up around 90 degrees.  Maybe they thought it would still be rather warm at the track here in October.  They are calling for temperatures to dip down in the 40s this weekend and now I’m wondering if maybe the choice of compounds will prove to be a little too conservative.”

--Crew chief McCauley believes that his team’s participation will be beneficial, regardless of the tire compound situation. “It’ll be a big plus for Kurt and our Miller Lite Dodge team, regardless of the situation with the rubber compound,” Roy explained.  “The bottom line is that we used the exact same car there in the test that we’ll be racing on Saturday night.  Just like we’d planned all along, we used it in the tire test at Lowe’s and then took it up to Dover to race.  Kurt qualified in the top 10 (started 10th) and ran up front all day long.  He was so jazzed up about the car during that race that he came over the radio and thanked us for putting such a strong ride under him.  He finished a strong fourth at Dover and that’s bound to create some extra confidence as we’re using that car again this weekend.”

--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch is proving to be one of the best restrictor-plate racers in the business.  Although he is still looking for his first victory in the races held on the Talladega and Daytona tracks, he certainly appears headed toward that initial win.  KB looked to have a shot at winning this year’s season-opening Daytona 500, leading the race before getting punted into the wall with only 13 laps remaining in the race.  He led again and finished seventh in May’s race at Talladega.  He finished third in July’s Pepsi 400 at Daytona and backed that up with Sunday’s third-place performance at Talladega.  The Talladega finish marked his fifth consecutive top-10 finish on the mammoth 2.66-mile track and was his third third-place there.  After Sunday’s race, KB’s 24th career restrictor-plate race, he has recorded 10 top-five finishes (top-fives in 41.7% of the races) and 14 top-10s (top-10s in 58.3% of the races).  He has two second-place finishes at Daytona.  “I look at it as a high-speed chess game and I really enjoy it,” said KB, who finished third in his first-ever restrictor-plate race back on Oct. 21, 2001 at Talladega.  “It truly is a total team effort in that the driver can only do so much out there.  The team has to have done their homework in putting together an aerodynamically competitive car and the engine builders have to tweak all the horsepower they can out of the plate situation.  Then, the pit crew guys really have to be on their toes during the race and the crew chief has to stay on top of all the strategy involved.  Last Sunday at Talladega, we certainly had all of that going for us, that’s for sure.”

--Congratulations to Miller Lite Dodge crew chief Roy McCauley, who picked up the WypAll® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award for Sunday’s performance at Talladega.  “It was a total team effort and I’m really proud of the way Kurt and the team performed on Sunday,” McCauley said.  “It was the first time I’d ever been in a situation where we made only two-tire stops during the entire race.  We learned after Saturday’s practice that the tire wear would be no issue on Sunday.  Kurt did a great job driving and the Miller Lite crew did a great job in the pits.  This award is representative of our entire team really clicking there on Sunday and also indicative of the great preparation done in our fab shop and engine department.”

--KB’s third-place finish at Talladega on Sunday marked his 50th career top-five finish in 214 races (23.4%).  It was the 89th top-10 finish (41.6%) of his career.  He has now led laps in 95 of his career starts (44.4%).

--PLEASE tell me there’s debris in Turn 2!  Jeremy Brickhouse, spotter for Kurt Busch and the Miller Lite Dodge team, knew it was just a matter of time…this from the team’s radio banter in Sunday’s UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega:  “You’re coming up on the (No.) 8 car.  He had to pit earlier and is going to be a lap down,” Brickhouse said.  “You know what that means – expect a caution real soon.”  Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to make an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 104 and fell a lap down to the leaders.  After a round of green-flag stops concluded on Lap 112, Earnhardt was running at the tail end of the lead lap.  But when then-leader Clint Bowyer passed the red No. 8 car on Lap 127, Earnhardt was again a lap down.  “NASCAR is practically begging their guys over in Turn 2 to find some debris on the track to help out the 8 car (with the “Lucky Dog” free pass to get Earnhardt back into the lead lap),” said Brickhouse, who listens in to the NASCAR radio channels while spotting for KB.  “There you have it, debris in Turn 2 – caution’s out – the 8 car’s back on the lead lap,” Brickhouse said on Lap 129, as NASCAR officials displayed the second yellow flag of the race.

--KB and Dodge-driving Kasey Kahne are now tied for the most poles (with five each) entering this weekend’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  Jeff Burton has four.

--KB continues to display the top qualifying consistency among all the competitors.  KB’s 9.000 average start is the best in the sport.  Jeff Gordon is the only other driver with an average start of 10th or better (9.033).  KB has amassed 21 top-10 starts, more than any other driver, and has started in the top five in 10 races.  He has started no worse than 20th in any non-restrictor-plate race.

--How does KB stack up against Kasey Kahne and Jeff Burton, his closest rivals in the season-long battle for most poles in 2006, in qualifying consistency?  Kahne has a 13.400 average start, with 16 top-10 starts, but he has started outside the top 20 in eight races.  Burton has a 13.633 average start, with 14 top-10 starts.  He has started outside the top 20 in five races.

--Kurt’s No. 1 Fan for 2006?  Since the formation of the Official Kurt Busch Fan Club is still in process, KB and Animink, his award-winning web development team, have created an exciting new addition to his site, utilizing the cutting edge of web technology.  A special new area has been launched for fans which will offer monthly and yearly prizes.  It has moderators and is a safe place for young and old alike.  KB himself will be a user and perhaps the best part…it’s all FREE!  By signing up and earning points, you'll gain access to special content on the Kurt Busch website, and be in the running for great prizes each month.  Three winners will be randomly chosen each month from all Kurt's #1 Fan members for a special prize. At the end of the season, one person will be chosen at random from the top 25 scores to win a special grand prize.  In addition, as a Kurt's #1 Fan member, you'll have your own unique profile where you can post messages, view comments, check your score against others, and create your own buddy list.  For additional information, please visit KB’s official site at

http://www.kurtbusch.com/fan/kurtfan_info01.php.

--KB will be celebrity bartending again this weekend in the Charlotte area.  On the schedule is a special stint behind the bar at Cans of Charlotte, 500 W 5th St at Graham St, Charlotte 28202 -- 704-940-0200.  KB is set to be there from 8:00 p.m. till 9:00 p.m. on Friday, with proceeds going to Hands On Charlotte.  For additional information on this great venue, visit their site at

http://www.cansbar.com/charlotte.  For additional information on Hands On Charlotte, the nonprofit volunteer service organization, please visit their site at http://handsoncharlotte.org.

--You are cordially invited to participate in the 22nd annual Miller Lite Motorsports Journalism Award for Excellence in honor of Russ Catlin.  The program, independently judged by the Indiana University School of Journalism, seeks to recognize and encourage outstanding motorsports coverage.

The categories for the 2006 Miller Lite Racing Motorsports Journalism Awards are:

Please remember that any motorsports coverage from 2006 is eligible to win.  We encourage you to send your best motorsports work from this year.  The judges' only consideration is the quality of work and its ability to generate interest and excitement, not the type of racing covered.  A Rolex watch and special commemorative plaque will be awarded for the judges’ selection in each of the seven categories.

Entries must be postmarked by December 8, 2006.  Winners will be announced in early 2007.

Entry blanks are now available in media centers during the remaining races on the Cup schedule and are available by special request to TR.  They will be available for downloading on several web sites in the near future.

--“Conscience is what makes a boy tell his mother before his sister does.” –Evan Esar

BUSCH HOPES RECENT TIRE TEST WILL GIVE HIM “EXTRA HELP” AT LOWE’S
-Miller Lite Dodge Driver Says Participation In August Goodyear Testing At LMS May Pay Dividends-

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 10, 2006) – The way Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch looks at it is that he’s had 156 more laps of practice than all the other competitors except for Joe Nemechek entering Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  With the temperamental conditions associated recently with the controversial racing surface on the 1.5-mile track, Busch and his Roy McCauley-led Penske Racing Team are hoping the situation proves advantageous.

            “We were able to get in several 20 and 30 lap runs and many of the laps were on the exact rubber that we’ll be using at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend,” Busch said of the Aug. 29 day-long test his team did for Goodyear in preparation for this weekend’s return to LMS by the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tour.  “I look at it as definitely being extra help in preparing us for this weekend’s race.  Hopefully it will pay us some dividends.”

            Busch, McCauley and crew had their PRS-078 Miller Lite Dodge at the Concord, N.C., track on a hot Tuesday back in August assisting Goodyear with the effort to come up with a racing tire that might quell the problems experienced in recent races held there. 

            With the racing surface aging and potentially in need of repaving or repair two seasons ago, track officials opted for a grinding or levigation process of the track prior to the May 2005 races, hoping to produce a smoother track.  The end result led to a 600-mile race that carried a record 22 caution periods.  Further levigating of the track prior to the October race last season didn’t prove to be the answer as six cars crashed in two days of practice prior to the race and the quest for competitive two-abreast racing was never achieved during the race.  Instead, the smooth surface caused tires to pop like balloons during any extended green-flag runs.

            The track was completely repaved prior to this May’s return to LMS, but the $3 million project still wasn’t a complete solution.  The new asphalt produced a surface that was so fast that the application of restrictor plates was even being discussed.  Goodyear came to the track with an ultra-hard compound racing tire and NASCAR mandated a smaller 13-gallon fuel cell, hoping to keep the cars bunched up and produce the competitive side-by-side battle that racing fans are hungry for.

            May’s Coca-Cola 600 was a race in which the teams were still searching for additional grip.  Even with the smaller fuel cells, there were 15 cautions for a total of 66 laps.  Eight of those yellows were caused by the lack of grip or particular tire issues.  Defending Cup champ Tony Stewart cut a right-front tire down early in the race and crashed hard into the Turn 2 wall.

            Enter Busch, McCauley and their Miller Lite Dodge team’s effort for Goodyear back in August.

            “It was a given that we’d continue to run the same right-side tires there, that they were a great match to the new surface,” Busch said of the Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radial D-4022 tire that the competitors used at LMS back in May.  The left-side tire used in the May race was the Goodyear D-4020.  “Our goal on that day back in August was to come up with the best compound for the left-side tires for this weekend’s race.

            “We had three different compounds that we were working with and all were softer than what we raced with there back in May,” Busch continued, discussing the left-side tires that the teams will race at LMS this weekend.  “Compound one (D-7829) was a little softer, but not as soft as we wanted or thought we needed.  Compound two (D-7834) was even softer and was exactly what we thought would work best.  Compound three (D-4060) was just too soft and we all agreed that it was best not to even consider running it.

            “The end result was that they went with the first compound, the one that we thought was still a little too hard,” said Busch of the Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radial D-7829, the left-side tire that Busch and crew are thinking Goodyear will be utilizing this weekend at LMS.  “I can’t blame them at all for going the conservative route, but you have to wonder just how effective it’ll be this weekend.  It was hot there back in August, with the outside temperatures up around 90 degrees.  Maybe they thought it would still be rather warm at the track here in October.  They are calling for temperatures to dip down in the 40s this weekend and now I’m wondering if maybe the choice of compounds will prove to be a little too conservative. Regardless, it’s bound to be a better match for the track than what we raced there back in May.  It’ll be really interesting and I guess we’ll all see how it turns out there on Saturday night.”

            “It’ll be a big plus for Kurt and our Miller Lite Dodge team, no matter what the situation with the rubber compound is.  The bottom line is that we used the exact same car there in the test that we’ll be racing on Saturday night,” crew chief McCauley said of the team’s PRS-078 race car.  “Just like we’d planned all along, we used it in the tire test at Lowe’s and then took it up to Dover to race.  Kurt qualified in the top 10 (started 10th) and ran up front all day long.  He was so jazzed up about the car during that race that he came over the radio and thanked us for putting such a strong ride under him.  He finished a strong fourth at Dover and that’s bound to create some extra confidence as we’re using that car again this weekend.”

            Busch started seventh and finished second in last year’s fall race at LMS.  He was involved in an early-race crash in May’s Coca-Cola 600, which relegated him to a 39th-place finish.

            This weekend’s schedule at Lowe’s Motor Speedway calls for Thursday Cup practice from 3:35 p.m. till 5:05 p.m. leading into Thursday’s 7:10 p.m. qualifying session to determine Saturday’s 43-car starting field.  Friday’s activity includes practice sessions from 2:30 p.m. till 3:30 p.m. and from 4:05 p.m. till 4:50 p.m.   Saturday’s Bank of America 500 (501-miles, 334-laps) NEXTEL Cup race gets the green flag at 7:10 p.m.  NBC-TV and PRN Radio will provide coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. CDT.

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