KURT BUSCH STARTS FIFTH IN AARON’S 499 AT TALLADEGA
-Miller Lite Team Has Highest Qualifying Dodge; Best Start Ever For Busch In Plate Racing-

            “This is a big tribute to Roy McCauley and our entire Miller Lite Team,” Busch said on pit road after making his run.  “This is a chassis that Rusty Wallace raced for a couple of seasons.  The guys took this (PRS-0) 66 car back through the shop, put a new body on it and have really done their homework in massaging it to get all we could out of it.  The guys in the engine department deserve tremendous credit, too, because what’s under her hood really got us around the track here today.”

            Busch circled the 2.66-mile tri-oval Alabama track in 51.171 seconds (187.137 mph).  Elliott Sadler put his Robert Yates Ford on the pole for Sunday’s race with a fast lap of 50.798 seconds (188.511 mph).  He was the only driver to post a lap time in the 50-second bracket.  Tony Stewart starts second, after posting a lap of 51.029 seconds.  Carl Edwards will start third and Dale Jarrett goes fourth.  Joe Nemechek, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Sterling Marlin and Mark Martin rounded out today’s top-10 qualifiers.  Busch’s Penske Racing South teammate Ryan Newman will start from the 18th spot.

“This is a great car and the crew gave me a good Miller Lite Dodge to work with,” Busch said.   “I’m happy to have Roy back this week. When I first started coming to Talladega it was tough on me as a rookie, but as I’ve raced here I’ve really enjoyed it. I think it’s great racing and four wide. It’s a challenge to try to win one of these things. Dale Jr. is tough, Jeff Gordon is strong and Tony Stewart has been good of late. I think this is a good top-five car.

“If we’re there in the end, we’ll see. Ryan and I hope we can work together tomorrow without saying a word like we did at Daytona. We just have that knowledge of being a racer, and we know we can’t do this alone. I wish I had been there to push him to the end at Daytona, but we’ll try to get that shot again. That’s all we can ask for.”

The Aaron's 499 has a 1:30 p.m. starting time and will feature live broadcast coverage by FOX-TV and MRN Radio.

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