But first, these notes of interest:
--Driver Kurt Busch, crew chief Steve Addington and the “Blue Deuce” crew are racing their “PRS-712” Miller Lite “Vortex” Dodge this weekend at Pocono. The team debuted the car at Dover in the May 16 Autism Speaks 400 at Dover, Del., where Busch started 12th and finished 19th. This weekend’s Pocono battle will be its second race. “After the Dover race, we took the car back to the shop and completely revamped it from bumper to bumper for this weekend,” offered team engineer Dave Winston. The backup car for this weekend is the “PRS-715” Dodge, the car Busch named “Charger” after winning the March race with it in its debut.
--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch finished sixth in the most-recent visit to Pocono Raceway for the June 6 Gillette Fusion 500. He says his stats for that day do not reflect the true strength of his car. “It was a day where we struggled and we made good of it. It was an eventful day. I really don’t know how we survived like we did. We really missed the setup big. It was one of those days when it wasn’t pretty.” See much more on this in this week’s advance that follows and is attached.
--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch remained fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings after finishing 10th in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. But, his 12th top-10 finish of the season moved him to within 78 points of second-place Jeff Gordon and he is only two points behind third-place Denny Hamlin. A single point separates Busch from fourth-place Jimmie Johnson. Busch enjoys a 274-point “buffer” over 13th-place Mark Martin. After 20 races, Busch has recorded two wins, seven top-five finishes and 12 top-10s. He has led 807 laps (most of all drivers), spread out among 13 races. He has a 99.564 percent lap completion average, with an average finish of 13.300 after an average start of 8.900. He has been running at the finish in all 20 races.
--A quick look back at the 2009 record book shows that Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch – at this point of the schedule (after 20 races) – was fourth in the Sprint Cup standings. However, he was a whopping 230 points behind third-place Jeff Gordon. He enjoyed a 247-point “buffer” over 13th-place David Reutimann. Busch’s record showed one win, six top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. He had led 354 laps, spread among 11 races. He had a 99.628 lap completion average, with an average start of 14.050 and an average start of 13.200. He had been running at the end of every race.
--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch on his career of racing at Pocono Raceway: “It’s been a good track for us, that’s for sure,” said Busch, who has an average start of 12.4 and an average finish of 15.9 in his 19 Pocono races to date. “I’ve struggled with the new car to get those wins, but (we’ve had) some solid finishes. To get around all those different corners, each one of them has different bumps and with this new car, bumps are hard to navigate. Turn 1 used to be my best corner, but with this new car it’s now my worse. The way that the bumps are and the high speed entry into Turn 1, you have to change your game a little bit. Turns 2 and 3 are very important corners as well. You can’t shift there anymore. With the big bumps on the track, these cars are definitely tougher to get around. We got on a pretty good streak there several years back with the old-style car, winning like two out of five races and finishing second in two of the other,” Busch said of the five-race stretch from July 2005 through August 2007. “But the last run of races is pretty typical of how it’s been for us the last few years there. In the June ‘09 race, we started fourth and had a strong top-five or at least a top-10 run going when we had a water pump problem. We had a car capable of winning there last August with about 40 laps to go, but there were a lot of restarts at the end of the race and we were only able to get a ninth-place finish out of it. Everybody saw how fortunate we were to finish sixth there back in June.”
--As always, the drivers and teams enter Pocono realizing fuel mileage can play a big factor in the outcome of the race. It’s certainly on Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch’s mind heading into this weekend’s Pocono battle. “At Pocono you can pit and not lose a lap and that’s rare on a race track,” said Busch. “That’s where you’ll see some of the guys and the (pit) window that they’re trying to stretch. With this green-white checkered situation now, fuel (mileage) is more of an issue because you never know when the race is going to end; they’re so many extra laps. You just have to play the strategy right and just feel comfortable and confident in the decision that you make on the final time that you pit.”
--Kurt Busch Pocono “Quick Stats” (courtesy of NASCAR PR):
· Fifth in points
· Two wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.9
· Average Running Position of 11.6, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 103.7, second-best
· 241 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 158.993 mph, second-fastest
· 1,489 Laps in the Top 15 (70.4%), sixth-most
· 402 Quality Passes, 12th-most
--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch will again be hoping to win another Dodge Challenger for some lucky fan if he can score a trip to Victory Lane in Sunday’s big battle at Pocono Raceway. It’s all part of sponsor Miller Lite’s “When Kurt Wins, You Win” retail promotion that gives fans an opportunity to win a new car each time Busch pulls into Winner’s Circle this season. Fans that purchase specially-marked packages of Miller Lite and enter the UPC code at http://millerlite.com/racing get the chance to win a new car or other great prizes. Legal-drinking-age racing fans can enter their official UPC entry code and register for the promotion online now through November 20, 2010. Look for specially marked 12-, 18- and 30-packs of Miller Lite or go to the site for more details.
--Be sure to catch Miller Lite Dodge crew chief Steve Addington on Wednesday editions of the popular radio program, “The Morning Drive” on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128. Addington’s weekly slot is scheduled for Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. ET. The show is hosted by veteran race announcer Mike Bagley and racing insider Pete Pistone. You can participate by e-mailing the guys at themorningdrive@sirius-radio.com or calling 1-866-PIT-LANE (866-748-5263).
--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch will be meeting fans and signing autographs at Shenanigans of Lake Harmony on Friday from 7:30 p.m. till 8:30 p.m. This is a really hopping place and was the site for many of Rusty Wallace’s Pocono post-victory parties. Shenanigans is located at 100 South Lake Drive in Lake Harmony. For additional information, please call (570) 722-1100 or visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gn1A4meowQ
--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch is scheduled for his weekly “top-12 points” media interview opportunity/Q & A session on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the infield media center at Pocono Raceway.
Busch continues his effort in reaching out to the media rather than making them come to him at the team transporter. For additional information, please contact Kerry Tharp at 704-634-1814 or KTharp@nascar.com .
--Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch will be signing autographs at his souvenir trailer this Sunday on the grounds of Pocono Raceway. He is scheduled to be signing from 9:45 a.m. till 10:15 a.m. You must have tickets to join the line. Tickets are free of charge and available at the trailer on Sunday morning.
--“If you can recognize the need for improvement, things are already improving.” –Ray Perkins
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KURT BUSCH: “WE NEED TO BE GOOD INSTEAD OF LUCKY” AT POCONO
-Miller Lite Dodge Driver Hopes For “Stronger All-Around Performance” In Sunday’s Return To Pocono-
LONG POND, Pa. (July 27, 2010) – The record book shows that Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch started fourth and finished sixth in the June 6 Gillette Fusion 500 at Pocono Raceway. The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion and 22-race winner is quick to point out that looking at just the numbers can be quite deceiving.
“I know that looks pretty good on paper when you look back and see that we finished sixth at Pocono when we raced there last back in June,” offered Busch, a two-time winner on the “Tricky Triangle” in 19 prior races entering this weekend’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. “But some times the figures aren’t very representative of what actually went down. That was certainly the case for our Miller Lite Dodge in the June race at Pocono.
“The truth is that we really struggled there in the first race and we were super fortunate to come out of there with that sixth-place finish,” said Busch, now fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings and only two points out of third. “We didn’t run good enough to deserve that finish. We missed the setup big-time; it was one of those days when it wasn’t pretty. But I’m fine with taking it, though, because most of the time it’s a case of us running better than the figures show.
“The bottom line is that we’re heading back to Pocono knowing that we could be in trouble this time around if we don’t have a stronger package,” said Busch, who now holds a 274-point “Chase buffer” over 13th-place Mark Martin with six races remaining to determine this season’s 12 Chase players. “We know that we need to be good instead of lucky there this weekend and we’re definitely looking for a stronger all-around performance.”
In the June Pocono battle, Busch claimed the fourth starting spot in Friday’s qualifying session with his lap of 168.963 mph (53.266 seconds) around the 2.5-mile triangular-shaped track. Busch was only 20th on the speed chart during Saturday’s final “Happy Hour” practice session, turning in a lap of 161.399 mph (55.096 seconds) on the first of the 25 laps he logged.
June’s race start was delayed by two hours due to a storm front that moved through the area. The race was delayed for a period later to allow the track crew to patch a hole at the end of pit road.
Busch’s day in the race began equally as dismal. By the time a “competition yellow” was displayed, he had fallen to 10th and had bounced his right-rear quarter panel off the outside wall. Busch’s problems magnified when NASCAR officials made him return to pit road a second time during the caution period due to a missing valve stem cap on the right front. Busch fell to 41st for the Lap 18 restart. With the handling issues and a lack of cautions, Busch was put a lap down by leader Clint Bowyer on Lap 66. The Steve Addington-led crew continued to massage their Dodge Charger’s chassis during a long stretch of racing with green-flag pit stops.
When the second caution flag of the race flew on Lap 96, Addington called for Busch to stay out, take the “wave around” to return to the lead lap and then pit after the race had returned to green. That move allowed Busch to return to the lead lap and “buy time” for an additional yellow and the opportunity to make more adjustments on the Miller Lite Dodge. Their time ran out on Lap 153, when leader Denny Hamlin got around Busch to again put him a lap down. However, a caution for debris during the very next circuit brought out the third yellow flag on Lap 154 and Busch received the “Lucky Dog” free pass to return to the lead lap.
Busch pitted on Lap 156 for four tires and fuel and was 24th for the Lap 157 restart. Casey Mears and Elliott Sadler had an incident the very next lap to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race. Addington called Busch down pit road again on Lap 160 for four tires and fuel. The “Blue Deuce” was 17th on the Lap 165 restart. Busch was able to do some spectacular driving in his maneuver to stay out of a Lap 166 crash that took out Jamie McMurray. During that yellow, all the cars in front of Busch hit pit road and he was able to pick up bonus points for leading the race.
After the Lap 170 restart, Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr., blasted around to take the lead on Lap 172. He continued to lead on Lap 174, when the sixth caution of the race flew, this also for debris. After the Lap 178 restart, the cars that had pitted two cautions earlier had made their moves back up through the pack. Busch had fallen to eighth on Lap 187, while Hamlin had passed second-place Tony Stewart and had his sights on leader Hornish. Hamlin passed Hornish’s Mobil 1 Dodge for the lead on Lap 188.
Busch had fallen to 11th on Lap 199 of the scheduled 200-lap race, when contact from Kevin Harvick sent Joey Logano into a spin to bring out a final caution and set up a green-white-checkered finish. Hamlin lined up as the leader for the Lap 202 restart and led down to the wire. Hamlin had already taken the white flag and made the race official when a horrifying multi-car crash took place in the Tunnel Turn area, taking out the cars of Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr. and several others. Fortunately, no drivers were injured.
At the finish, it was Hamlin claiming the win by 0.413 seconds over Kyle Busch. Stewart was third, with Harvick fourth and Johnson fifth. The “Blue Deuce” driver came home an impressive sixth, with Burton seventh, Montoya eighth, Bowyer ninth and A.J. Allmendinger 10th.
This weekend’s Pocono Raceway action gets under way on Friday with practice set from 12:00 noon till 1:30 p.m. (live on Speed-TV). Qualifying for all 43 starting positions is set for Friday at 3:40 p.m. (live on ESPN2 & MRN Radio). Saturday’s schedule calls for practice from 9:00 a.m. till 9:50 a.m. (live on Speed-TV) and from 11:20 a.m. till 12:20 p.m. (live on Speed-TV). Sunday’s Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 (200 laps, 500 miles) on the “Tricky Triangle” is scheduled to get the green flag at approximately 1:00 p.m. Race No. 21 of 36 points-paying events on the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will feature live coverage by ESPN-TV and MRN Radio.
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