KURT BUSCH 24TH AT PHOENIX; 17TH IN POINTS AFTER EIGHT RACES

AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 22, 2006)  -- Miller Lite Driver Kurt Busch appeared to have bounced back from handling woes that saw him go a lap down earlier in the race and headed toward a top-10 finish in tonight’s Subway Fresh 500 here at Phoenix International Raceway.  That all changed, however, when he radioed in with 19 laps remaining in the race that he was faced with a most unusual predicament.

        “Guess I’ve seen it all this time,” Busch explained of the setback while cooling off in the team transporter after the race.  “The window net fell down with about 20 laps to go, and I was driving and trying to get it latched back up at the same time.”

         “They (NASCAR officials) finally black flagged us and we had to come in with four laps to go to get it back up to their approval,” the disappointed defending race champ said.  “Man, I can’t believe all the rotten luck we’ve been having.  This reminds me of some kind of sophomore jinx.”

        Busch started his Miller Lite Dodge from the seventh starting spot.  Helio Castroneves, his Penske Racing teammate from the IRL ranks, had flown back in after winning in Motegi, Japan, earlier Saturday and was standing in Busch’s pits offering support.  With crew chief Roy McCauley at home recuperating from an early-week medical procedure, Matt Gimbel was atop the No. 2 pit box and calling the shots.

        Busch’s car was extremely competitive for several laps on sticker tires, but as laps were logged, he began to experience handling woes.

        “It’s tight in the center and loose off,” Busch radioed during the first caution period of the day, which came out on Lap 26.  That would be the theme for the entire race.  Regardless of the adjustment made, the car continued to be tight in the center of the turns and extremely loose on exit.

        Busch was still running in the top 10 just on the Lap 105 restart after a multi-car crash in Turn 4 caused the fourth caution of the race and an ensuing red-flag period.  But the car’s handling woes took their toll during the long green-flag period that followed.  He had drifted back to the 20th position when a round of pit stops began under the green. 

        When the pit stops cycled around on Lap 177, Busch was a lap down, but running just behind leader Mark Martin.  A caution flag on Lap 199 for debris saw Busch and team claim the “Lucky Dog” free pass and return to the lead lap.

        During several caution flag pit stops that followed, major adjustments that including the removal of spring rubbers brought Busch’s ride back to life and he was able to drive all the way back up to the 11th spot.

        Busch appeared a likely candidate to finish in the top 10 with 25 laps remaining in the race until the window net problem dealt a devastating blow to that goal.  While attempting to remedy the problem, Busch was steering his ride with his right hand, while trying to reconnect the safety net.  He dropped back to 14th, but still appeared to be headed to a top-15 finish with less than 10 laps to go.

        “They’re black-flagging us, Kurt,” Gimble radioed with seven laps remaining.  “But I’ve got one fastener back in place,” Busch shot back.

        It was too little and too late as Busch was forced to make the long, slow drive down pit lane with four laps to go to have the net attached to NASCAR’s approval.  He returned to action, but the end result relegated him to a 24th-place finish.

        As for the handling issues that plagued Busch for most of the race, he offered an explanation after the race.  “We just had too much cross weight in the car,” he said.  “We’ll get it figured out and get it all turned around sooner or later. We just missed the handle on it tonight. The car would run real good when it had fresh tires on it at the beginning of the race. It got real tight as the race went on.”

        Up front, it was Kevin Harvick saving the best for last.  Harvick chased down a dominant Greg Biffle and took the lead with 10 laps remaining.  He cruised to a 2.774-second victory over runner-up Tony Stewart, as Biffle and several others were forced to pit for fuel during the final laps.  Matt Kenseth finished third, with Carl Edwards fourth and Clint Bowyer fifth.  Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top 10 finishers here tonight.

        Kenseth leads the points now with 1,218 points.  Johnson is second with 1,209.  Kahne (1,167), Mark Martin (1,152) and Stewart (1,141) complete the top five in the standings.  Busch is 17th with 813 points and he trails 10th-place Casey Mears by 131 points.

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tour now heads to the mammoth 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway for next weekend’s Aaron’s 499, the second of four restrictor-plate races on the 2006 schedule.

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