but first, these notes of interest:
--Sunday’s 11th-place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard saw Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch advance to 13th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings with 2,204 points. He now is only 13 points behind 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and that is the current deficit to becoming eligible for the 2007 “Chase for the Championship.”
“At Indy, we were able to take a potentially bad day and make a decent showing out of it,” said crew chief Pat Tryson, who has seen Kurt climb three positions and make up a whopping 223 points during his five-race stint as crew chief for the Miller Lite Dodge Team. “Kurt Busch proved that he is a true champion level driver out there. It seems like they threw every possible kind of adversity at him during the race and he was able to bounce back. It was a day when our team got everything we possibly could – and then some – out of it. I’m so proud of Kurt and everybody on our team.”
--Kurt, Pat and crew are racing their “PSC-078” Miller Lite Dodge Charger this weekend at Pocono. “We have a lot of faith in this car and Kurt has already proven it can get the job done, “ Pat said. “It’s the car that Kurt dominated the first third of the Coke 600 with. We’ve gone back and completely redone it for this race and we’re confident it’ll be a perfect fit for him this weekend. If we can give him the Penske horsepower that he always brags about and execute like we’ve been doing on pit road, we can have a very strong combination at Pocono this weekend.” Kurt started second in the May 27 Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and led 102 of the first 112 laps (led twice for 107 total) with this chassis before the handling went away as the night set in.
--Jeff Thousand sees great times ahead for Kurt and the Miller Lite Dodge Team. Jeff has been a fixture at Penske Racing dating back to the early 90’s. As a matter of fact, the St. Louis native grew up racing on the short tracks as a member of Rusty Wallace’s “Evil Gang” that claimed the 1983 ASA championship. Jeff served as Rusty’s car chief at Penske until Rusty retired at the end of the 2005 season. Jeff now serves as part of Kurt’s race day team, managing the pit board and offering much assistance to the overall effort.
“There is something special there now and you can just feel it,” Jeff explained. “I think a lot of it is due to Pat Tryson coming aboard. I was here back in ’93 and ’94 when Buddy Parrott was our crew chief. Buddy was a super team leader – like a great coach – and he got the most out of everybody on our team. He had Rusty’s confidence and trust. He was like a general leading his troops into battle up on the pit box on race days. Kurt has shown that he’s one of the best drivers out there if you give him a car that’s capable and the team is working so hard to do that. I told Pat there at Indy on Sunday that he reminds me so much of Buddy Parrott. I think that’s the direction our team is headed in.”
For the record, Buddy and Rusty teamed up for 18 wins in 61 races during the ’93 & ’94 seasons. Rusty finished second in the point standings in ’93 and third in ’94.
“That’s about the biggest compliment I could get, I think,” Pat said on Tuesday morning, when told of Jeff’s comments. “That’s the most success that Roger (Penske, team owner) has enjoyed in NASCAR so far and Buddy has always been a hero and great friend of mine. Notice that I said so far, because we’re planning on getting Penske Racing a Cup championship.”
--Kurt ranks second in NASCAR’s Driver Ratings at Pocono: (courtesy of NASCAR PR)
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Light Dodge)
• One win, six top fives
• Average finish of 15.7
• Average Running Position of 8.7, second-best
• Driver Rating of 109.9, second-best
• 108 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Second-fastest Green Flag Speed
• 720 Laps in the Top 15, second-most
• Led six of 13 races for 172 laps
• Second-fastest Speed in Traffic – speed when there is another car within one car length under green
Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
• Series-high 1,166 Quality Passes (passes made on cars running in the top-15)
--You have to give him credit; Kurt may just be the most versatile and well-rounded NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver out there – on and off the track. At Indianapolis, on Saturday at 2:19 p.m., he could be seen zooming down the backstretch at 190 mph on his mock qualifying run behind the wheel of his Miller Lite Dodge. At 2:36 p.m., still in the same driver’s suit and shoes, he was on the infield stage, warming up the massive crowd gathered for the Gretchen Wilson Miller Lite Rock N Racing performance. After introducing Wilson, he rushed back to the team hauler where, at 2:48 p.m., he could be found entertaining Chris Kilmore, turntablist for the popular alternative rock band Incubus. “Just having fun and trying to make everybody happy,” Kurt said at 2:55 p.m., as Pat and team engineer Brian Wilson entered the transporter, getting ready for the post-practice debriefing.
--Kurt will join brother Kyle and four-time Cup champ Jeff Gordon in Saturday’s LAPS Walk with Ernie Irvan at Pocono Raceway. Irvan, Gordon and the Busch Brothers will unite with NASCAR fans, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivors, and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard for a walk on the racetrack to raise awareness and needed funding to conquer TBI in America. The LAPS Walk festivities will kick off at 2:15 with a Q&A session and presentation to the top fundraiser of a signed helmet to recognize his/her outstanding effort for TBI awareness and prevention. Following the Q&A session, all participants, including Irvan and Kurt & Eva, will move down to the track where they will be joined by members of the National Guard for the opening ceremonies and a walk on the racetrack. For more information, please visit www.lapswalk.org or call the Brain Injury Association at 800.772.4323.
--Both Penske Teams are testing at Kentucky Speedway today (and yesterday) in preparation for upcoming races.
--Kurt will be signing autographs at his souvenir hauler on Sunday, August 5, 2007 at Pocono Raceway from 9:45 a.m. till 10:15 a.m. It’ll mark his 230th time on race days that he has been to his souvenir trailer in 233 races to sign autographs for the fans.
--Last of the old breed…”All the rest of the new Cup cars coming out of the shop are the new COTs,” said Pat. “The car we’ll be racing at Michigan in a few weeks (in the 8/19 3M Performance 400) is our (PSC-) 111 Miller Lite Dodge Charger and it’s the last of the old style cars. So, you might can say that we’ll be debuting a brand-new last of the old cars there at M.I.S.” Say what, Pat?
--“The best things in life aren’t ‘things.’” –Ann Landers
KURT BUSCH LOOKING TO GET “POCONO MOJO” WORKING AGAIN
-Miller Lite Driver & Crew Chief Pat Tryson Hoping For More Flat-Track Success-
LONG POND, Pa. (July 31, 2007) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch and his Pat Tryson-led Penske Racing Team roll back into Pocono Raceway for this weekend’s Pennsylvania 500 with a full head of steam. They are looking to continue their march back into “Chase eligibility” and add to the success they’ve already enjoyed on the tricky triangular-shaped 2.5-mile track.
“We’re coming in there looking to get our Pocono mojo working again,” said Tryson, who has led Busch’s effort back into serious contention for a spot in the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup “Chase for the Championship.” “Kurt won at Pocono two summers ago and finished second in both races last year. They just had pretty much an off weekend in June, but we’ll get back in the mix there this weekend.
“Kurt is one of the best flat-track racers in our sport and we’re super excited to be headed back to another flat track this weekend,” said Tryson, who has seen Busch climb three positions and make up a whopping 223 points during his five-race stint as crew chief for the Miller Lite Dodge Team. “Kurt’s dominated races at Loudon (New Hampshire International Speedway). He’s won at Phoenix. He probably could have won another four or five races at Pocono already. He has such great finesse on these tracks when he has good cars under him.
“We’re determined to give him what he needs to win again at Pocono this weekend,” Tryson added. “We’re coming back in there looking to rock and roll.”
Tryson may be starting only his sixth race weekend as Busch’s team leader, but he appears to know his driver as if they had been working together for many years. Of Busch’s 15 career wins entering this weekend, a third of them have come on flat tracks, with the Las Vegas native and 2004 series champion claiming two wins at New Hampshire and single wins at Phoenix, Martinsville and Pocono. Entering this weekend’s race, Busch has recorded four second-place finishes at Pocono.
“We crashed our primary car in practice at Pocono back in June, got behind the eight ball and never could catch up,” Busch said of the June 10 Pocono 500 that saw him start 27th and finish 16th. “Our backup car was brand new and had never been out on the race track. I jokingly told them that we had to shake the car down in qualifying, because we didn’t get a single lap of practice with it before we headed out to make our run.
“We were pretty decent in the June race and had a better car than that 16th-place finish showed,” said Busch. “It was just a strange day all the way around. They were calling for only a 20 percent chance of rain and it came a torrential downpour an hour before the race was supposed to start. We didn’t even start the race until after five o’clock. Then another storm blew in and we only got in just over half the race before NASCAR had to call it official.
“During the race, we were working our way up through there,” Busch said of his team’s June race performance. “At times we were as fast as the leader. At other time we weren’t quite as quick. Track position was so important and we kept getting a little bit at a time. We ended up 16th. We were a little tight in the tunnel turn. I think that’s what hurt some of our momentum; otherwise we were maintaining our pace.”
Busch started seventh and finished runner-up to Denny Hamlin in last year’s Pennsylvania 500. He had a car strong enough to lead and was Hamlin’s chief competition throughout the race.
“That was another great total team effort for our Miller Lite Dodge Team,” Busch said of last July’s Pocono race. “The guys were great in the pits all day long. All of their stops were in the 12 or 13-second bracket and that helped keep us up front.
“The pit strategy paid off for us in that we were able to follow the lead of the 11 car and go from there,” Busch continued. “It bit us early on in the race when we took four tires like they did and got mired on back in the pack when most of the teams went with two. But we had a really strong hot rod and we kept on tuning on it. With the changes we made and the great pit stops, we were back up there battling the 11 again for the win. We were able to stay out a few laps longer than they did during the final green flag stops and picked up the bonus points for leading some laps.
“They pitted and went with fuel and right-side tires and we did the same a couple of laps later,” Busch said. “I really thought we might have had a shot at catching Denny there after the last restart (after the seventh caution of the race on Lap 179) and we closed the gap down to about half a second, but the car got really tight when we turned up the wick like that. With about seven laps to go, I just had to come to grips with settling for second unless something happened to him.”
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“The car we’re bringing to Pocono this weekend is the “PSC-0” 78 car,” said Tryson. “We have a lot of faith in this car and Kurt has already proven it can get the job done. It’s the car that Kurt dominated the first third of the Coke 600 with. We’ve gone back and completely redone it for this race and we’re confident it’ll be a perfect fit for him this weekend. If we can give him the Penske horsepower that he always brags about and execute like we’ve been doing on pit road, we can have a very strong combination at Pocono this weekend.”
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This weekend’s NEXTEL Cup action at Pocono Raceway gets under way with practice on Friday beginning at 12:00 noon. Friday’s 3:40 p.m. single round of qualifying will allocate all starting spots for Sunday’s battle. Saturday’s action features practice sessions at 9:00 a.m. and 10:50 a.m. Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500 (200 laps, 500 miles) has a 2:00 p.m. starting time with live coverage provided by ESPN-TV and MRN Radio beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
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