KURT BUSCH STARTING ON POLE SUNDAY’S CUP RACE AT THE GLEN
-Miller Lite Dodge Driver Dominated All Of Friday’s NASCAR Activity On New York Road Course- 

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 11, 2006) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch came to Watkins Glen International hunting success.

            That was very evident when KB came strolling into the NASCAR garage area this morning sporting a Miller Lite hat adorned with green and beige “hunters” colors. 

            After turning in the fastest lap of the NEXTEL Cup practice session, he hurried over to the NBS garage and jumped in his Penske Truck Rental Dodge.  After turning in the fastest lap of practice for the “Saturday race cars,” he ventured back into the Cup garage to get prepared for Cup qualifying for Sunday’s AMD at the Glen.

            Going out 43rd of the 50 drivers who made qualifying attempts here this afternoon, KB turned all heads, taking his sixth career pole position and third of the 2006 season.  He did it in grand fashion, too.  While many competitors had said on the TV and radio broadcasts that they thought the track had slowed since practice, KB turned in a lap that was two-tenths of a second faster than his practice time.

            KB’s pole-winning lap of 122.966 mph (71.727 seconds) was better than a half-second faster than that of outside pole winner Kasey Kahne (121.845 mph/72.387 seconds).

            The newly married 28-year-old charger was calm and collected in doing his post-qualifying interviews, making light of the hat that he was wearing.

            “There’s no camouflaging the fact that we had a great race car here today,” he said with a grin and pointing to his hunter’s hat.  “This was a great team effort and the credit is due to Roy McCauley, my crew chief, and all the guys on our team.  The fact that we have won both of the road course poles this season is a statement of what a great organization we have at Penske Racing and the super team we have with the Miller Lite Dodge.

            “That was a pretty solid lap,” said KB, who had recorded the fastest lap in the morning practice session, a lap of 122.635 mph (71.921 seconds).  “It feels good to run the Miller Lite Dodge that fast through the hills and straightaways at Watkins Glen. Our car ran well at Sonoma earlier this year. We’ve got to work on the pit stops a little bit and if we can have a little bit of that fuel strategy, which is definitely key to winning at Watkins Glen we might be able to pull off a good finish at Watkins Glen Sunday.

            “You’ve got to let it rip when you’ve got a chance,” continued KB, who recorded his series-leading 16th top-10 start in 2006.  “The team gave me a car capable of sitting on the pole.  It just feels good to see my crew chief Roy McCauley in his element. He likes road course racing. We sat on the pole at Sonoma.   But that Turn 10 here at the Glen, you hang it out there because it’s a left-hander. All the other turns are basically rights. You just deal with that left-hander.

            “It’s just a matter of making sure we have good communication back and forth,” KB continued. “We can’t get confused because the car is fast right now. We still have to get it dialed in tomorrow in practice. We’ll take it one step at a time. Then we have the Grand National car, the Penske Truck Rental Dodge, running fast, so hopefully we’ll gain some information over there.

            “I was just hoping to back up our time from practice and we did that. We added something to it and that really meant a lot. The little delay we had wasn’t something we needed (for Sterling Marlin’s blown engine just before KB made his run), but I just sat there and ran through the track in my mind, the shift points. I just didn’t want to overstep any of them and say I underdrove it. If you overdrive it, it’s easy to see. It was a nice balance and we had great Penske Power down the straightaway. We’re fast. We’ve just got to throw some tires on it tomorrow and go out there for a long, long run and see what our tire temperatures are.

            “I’ve always felt more comfortable at Sonoma (than here),” said KB, who now has an average start of 8.410 for the 2006 Cups season, by far the best of any driver in the sport.  “It just takes more time to get used to this track. I ran a truck race here before I was a rookie in Cup and that helped out a ton. Last year has been my only good finish here in a Cup car. Prior to that it was flat tires, transmission, engines. When we do get good runs, it turns out OK. It’s just a matter of staying on the track and getting the points we need. There’s a big potential of gaining points. We’re here. We’re poised for a good run. Now we just need to go do it.”

            KB bagged his final prey in Friday’s big game hunt when he also recorded the fastest time in the final NBS practice session, clocking in with a lap that was 0.535-seconds faster than the nearest competitor.

            Saturday’s schedule here at Watkins Glen calls for Cup practice sessions from 8:30 a.m. till 9:30 a.m. and from 10:05 a.m. till 10:50 a.m. (live on Speed).  Qualifying for the Zippo 200 (KB competing in race, driving the Penske Truck Rental Dodge) is set for 11:05 a.m. (NASCAR road race format live on Speed), with that 82-lap, 200.9-mile battle getting the green flag at 2:10 p.m.  Sunday’s NEXTEL Cup race (90 laps, 220.5 miles) has a 1:35 p.m. EDT starting time.  NBC-TV and MRN Radio will provide live coverage of both races.

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