but first, these notes of interest:

--Kurt Busch, crew chief Pat Tryson and crew will be racing their PSC-524 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger this weekend in the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway.  “It’s the car that we raced for the first time at Loudon (New Hampshire International Speedway) during the first race of the Chase,” Pat explained.  “It hasn’t been raced since and we think it will be a great car for Martinsville.  I don’t know if you could call it our flat-track car or not, but it was certainly a strong car at Loudon before we had the problem with the carburetor.  Kurt qualified third there and ran with the leaders through the first half of the race, before the carburetor broke.  We’re really expecting big things out of the car this weekend at Martinsville.”

--Pat is confident that the team can win more races down the stretch toward the Nov. 18 Homestead-Miami Speedway 2007 season finale.  “We’ll have cars that are plenty strong enough to win in all the remaining races and we’re headed back to tracks where Kurt has done well and had much success in the past,” Pat said.  “We’re right on the brink of winning with our COT cars and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if we win this weekend at Martinsville or four races from now at Phoenix.  It’s a big goal of ours to get us a COT win this season.  Like I told Kurt, we’ll be racing the Michigan winning car (the PSC-111 chassis named “Roger”) at Atlanta and the Pocono winning car (the PSC-78 chassis named “PT Special”) at Texas, so we have the groundwork laid out for a lot more success before we’re through this season.  I seriously think we can win some more races this year and I am confident we’ll be up front and challenging for the win in all of them.”

--Congratulations to Miller Lite Dodge Team’s chief transport driver Bill “Stump” Lewis for coming home the winner in this year’s Freightliner Run Smart Hauler Challenge.  The final stage of the contest was held last Saturday morning at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, with “Stump” placing first and taking the $35,000 grand prize.  “Stump” and wife, Cindy, share the truck-driving duties for the No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge Team.  “I am extremely proud of this award and thrilled to have brought the honor to our Penske Racing Miller Lite Dodge Team,” said “Stump,” now a two-time winner of the annual NASCAR truck-driving contest.  “As for that $35 grand, I think Cindy already has it spent on some construction work we are getting done at our house.”  The couple is celebrating winning the award this week at the annual “Biketoberfest” in Daytona Beach, Fla.

--While Kurt may be seventh in the current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings, he ranks third in bonus points earned this season.  He has led in 18 of the races, leading the most laps in five of the events.  He has led on 43 occasions for a total of 762 laps.  In the process, Kurt has picked up 115 bonus points.  Only Jeff Gordon (135) and Tony Stewart (120) have earned more bonus points this season.

--Kurt started 12th and finished 12th in the spring race at Martinsville, the second-ever event for the new COT cars.  Kurt is looking at this weekend’s return to the picturesque Henry County, Va., short track as an opportunity to display his team’s progress with the new cars.  “The strength of our COT program is light years ahead of what it was when we raced at Martinsville back in the spring,” said Kurt.  “This weekend’s race will offer us another chance to showcase our progress and an opportunity to claim our first COT win for Penske Racing.  One of our biggest goals this season has been to put one of our Miller Lite Dodge Avenger COT cars into Victory Lane and we think we have an excellent chance of doing that either at Martinsville this weekend or at Phoenix next month.”

--Kurt will be returning to the gold color scheme next week at Atlanta for the final time of the 2007 season.  “The fans really liked our gold Miller Lite Dodge, so we decided to roll the color scheme back out one final time this year,” Kurt said.  “We’ll be racing our Michigan-winning Dodge Charger, the one we named ‘Roger,’ and it will carry the special World Beer Cup design again.  Miller Lite is proud of the four gold awards they have taken in the American-Style Light Lager category at the World Beer Cup.  We’re equally proud of their brewing success and it’s really an honor to run that color design.”  Kurt’s PSC-111 chassis Dodge Charger will be painted from front to back in gold paint and will feature the World Beer Cup logo and “World Beer Cup Winner” on the hood, spoiler and rear quarter panels.  Miller Lite won its fourth gold in the prestigious bi-annual competition in the most recent contest last year.  The Sunday, Oct. 28 Pep Boys Auto 500 has a scheduled 2:00 p.m. ET starting time and will feature live coverage by ABC/ESPN-TV and PRN Radio.

--Although Kurt, Pat and crew were relegated to a 26th-place finish in last Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kurt did come away with some positive afterthoughts.  “We had the run-in with the 01 car (Mark Martin) after our fuel-only pit stop, but we were able to bounce back from that,” Kurt said during a break on Tuesday, the second day of testing for Goodyear at LMS.  “In the past, something like that would have happened and the rest of the race would be nothing but a downward spiral.  Pat was able to get us regrouped and use great strategy to have us all the way back up to fourth.  We were turning laps two to three-tenths (of a second) faster than the leader and really closing the gap before dropping a cylinder.  So, yes, I really feel like we’re turning the corner in getting a handle on this track.  The two days we are spending here helping Goodyear out certainly can’t hurt us, either.”

--Kurt, Pat and crew are tire testing for Goodyear at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for two days this week (Oct. 15-16) and it gave the Miller Lite Dodge Team the opportunity to get track time with the new COT cars on the fast 1.5-mile quad-oval.  “We’re testing with the (PSC-) 516 car, the one we raced at Bristol with back in August, and a brand new Miller Lite Dodge Avenger, our (PSC-) 526 car,” Pat offered during the Tuesday lunch break at LMS.  “Needless to say, when Goodyear came to us and asked us to help with the test, we jumped at the opportunity.  Hopefully, we are able to help them come up with a great tire for the races here next season.”

--Miller Lite is launching an engaging statewide promotional campaign around the upcoming Nov. 4 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.  The campaign will recognize, celebrate, honor and reward military veterans, both past and present, for their commitment to serving our country.  Miller Lite has teamed with Operation Homefront (see www.operationhomefront.net/texas.) to support Texas troops and their families.  Miller Lite will donate financial support to the cause and consumers will have the opportunity to visit a special web site and vote how to apply Miller Lite’s contribution.  Consumers will also be able to make a donation on their own through the site.  For additional information, we invite you to visit www.MillerThanksVets.com  and log in.  Kurt will be able to earn additional funding for this great cause as Miller Lite will contribute a $100,000 bonus contribution if the blue No. 2 Dodge can come home the winner in the Nov. 4 Dickies 500 at TMS.  Miller Lite and Penske will also create a commemorative Kurt Busch Race Helmet that will be autographed and raffled for charity.  

--Kurt is scheduled for his weekly “top-12 points” media interview opportunity/Q & A session on Friday at 10:45 a.m. in the Martinsville Speedway infield media center.  Kurt continues his effort in reaching out to the media rather than making them come to him at the team transporter.

--Kurt’s visit to his souvenir trailer at Martinsville Speedway this Sunday will mark the 241st time in the last 244 races that he has been out on race day mornings to meet his fans and sign autographs.  His continuing tradition began during his first full year on the Cup circuit back in 2001.  Kurt is tentatively scheduled to be at his souvenir trailer from 9:15 a.m. till 9:45 a.m. on Sunday.  Please verify that time by visiting the trailer in advance and picking up the free tickets for the autograph line.

--Don’t forget…the “Ride With Kurt for the Kids” events coming up on October 18 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and on November 6 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  These high-speed, white-knuckle rides with Kurt behind the wheel will be in a special NASCAR Nextel Cup-style stock car provided by event sponsor – the Richard Petty Driving Experience.  For complete event information and to purchase one of these exciting experiences, please visit www.kurtbusch.com, send an email to ridewithkurt@kurtbusch.com, or call 704-799-2428.

All proceeds will go toward the completion of the Kurt Busch Superdome at the Victory Junction Gang Camp.   The new 28,000-square foot facility will allow camp-goers to play sports in a climate-controlled atmosphere, which some of the children require due to their medical conditions.

--You are cordially invited to participate in the 23rd 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 2007 Miller Lite Racing Motorsports Journalism Awards are:

• ·        writing entries for daily newspapers.
• ·        writing entries for other forms of written media.
• ·        broadcast entries for local television.
• ·        broadcast entries for national television.
• ·        photojournalism entries.

Please remember that any motorsports coverage from 2007 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 7, 2007.  Winners will be announced in early 2008.

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 are available for downloading on several web sites, including www.trpr.com

--"The old lessons (work, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, fighting to achieve) aren't being taught by many people other than football coaches these days. The football coach has a captive audience and can teach these lessons because the communication lines between himself and his players are more wide open than between kids and parents. We better teach these lessons or else the country's future population will be made up of a majority of crooks, drug addicts, or people on relief." –Coach Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913–January 26, 1983)

KURT BUSCH PLANS TO GET ALL HE CAN OUT OF FINAL FIVE RACES
-Miller Lite Dodge Team Wants COT Victory & Additional Success On Intermediate Tracks-

MARTINSVILLE, Va.  (Oct. 16, 2007) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch and his Pat Tryson-led Penske Racing No. 2 Team enter this weekend’s Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway committed to getting all they can out of the final five races of the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season.

            “We’re 315 points out of the lead in the Chase, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make up some spots in the final five races,” said Busch, who had a strong top-five run going in last Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway before late-race engine problems dropped him to a 26th-place finish.  “We’re less than 120 points (117 to be exact) out of fourth, so there’s a lot of ground that we can make up.

            “But most important to us now is to get all we can out of the final five races this year,” said Busch, who stands seventh in the point standings entering this weekend’s final short-track race of the season.  “We really have our intermediate track program dialed in now and with three of the final five races being staged on that size track, we’re hoping to knock off a couple more wins there before we’re done for the year. 

            “One of our biggest goals this season has been to put one of our Miller Lite Dodge Avenger COT cars into Victory Lane and we think we have an excellent chance of doing that either at Martinsville this weekend or at Phoenix next month,” Busch added.  “The strength of our COT program is light years ahead of what it was when we raced at Martinsville back in the spring.  This weekend’s race will offer us another chance to showcase our progress and an opportunity to claim our first COT win for Penske Racing.”

            Crew chief Tryson echoed Busch’s staunchness to maximizing their team’s extracting everything possible down the stretch run this season.  Ever the optimist, Tryson is enthused with what lays ahead for the remainder of the year.

            “It’s a shame that we had the engine problem last Saturday night because we were headed toward making up some ground in the points,” Tryson said during a break in Monday’s tire testing for Goodyear at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  “But like I was already telling Kurt on the radio when we had the red flag period there at the end of the race, we still have a lot of great races ahead for our team.

            “We’ll have cars that are plenty strong enough to win in all the remaining races and we’re headed back to tracks where Kurt has done well and had much success in the past,” Tryson continued.  “We’re right on the brink of winning with our COT cars and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if we win this weekend at Martinsville or four races from now at Phoenix.  It’s a big goal of ours to get us a COT win this season.

            “Like I told Kurt, we’ll be racing the Michigan winning car (the PSC-111 chassis named “Roger”) at Atlanta and the Pocono winning car (the PSC-78 chassis named “PT Special”) at Texas, so we have the groundwork laid out for a lot more success before we’re through this season,” said Tryson.  “I seriously think we can win some more races this year and I am confident we’ll be up front and challenging for the win in all of them.”

* * *

            Busch, Tryson and team will be racing their PSC-524 Miller Lite Dodge Avenger this weekend in the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway.  “It’s the car that we raced for the first time at Loudon (New Hampshire International Speedway) during the first race of the Chase,” Tryson explained.  “It hasn’t been raced since and we think it will be a great car for Martinsville.  I don’t know if you could call it our flat-track car or not, but it was certainly a strong car at Loudon before we had the problem with the carburetor.  Kurt qualified third there and ran with the leaders through the first half of the race, before the carburetor broke.  We’re really expecting big things out of the car this weekend at Martinsville.”

* * *

            This weekend’s schedule at Martinsville Speedway calls for practice on Friday from 12:00 noon until 1:30 p.m.  The single round of qualifying on Friday at 3:45 p.m. will allocate all 43 starting positions for Sunday’s battle around this tight .526-mile paper-clip-shaped oval.  Saturday’s schedule features practice from 10:00 a.m. until 10:50 a.m., with the final “happy hour” session scheduled from 12:50 p.m. till 1:50 p.m.  Sunday’s Subway 500 has a scheduled 1:30 p.m. ET starting time and the 500-lap, 263-mile race features live coverage by ABC/ESPN-TV and MRN Radio.

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