Kurt Busch Starting 16th in Crown Royal 400 at Richmond

April 30, 2010

RICHMOND, Va. (April 30, 2010) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch will start from the 16th position in Saturday night’s Crown Royal 400 here at Richmond International Raceway after turning in a qualifying lap of 21.468 seconds (125.769 mph) in today’s time trial session.

"A little loose towards exit,” Busch said of his qualifying effort.  “It wasn't bad.  Pretty much what we expected, having to go out so early in qualifying.  The cars in the later part of the (qualifying) session are going to have a pretty big advantage. That's racing.  We unloaded a fast Miller Lite Dodge and had two strong practice sessions.  The real racing begins tomorrow when the sun goes down."

Kyle Busch, out 18th in the order, turned in a lap of 21.247 seconds (127.077 mph) to take the pole for tomorrow night’s race.  David Reutimann (21.324 seconds/126.618 mph) starts second, with Jimmie Johnson (21.350/126.464) third, Jeff Gordon (21.365/126.375) fourth and Ryan Newman (21.387/126.245) fifth.  Brad Keselowski led the Penske Racing drivers, qualifying sixth with his lap of 21.388 seconds (126.239 mph).  Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Brian Vickers and Clint Bowyer rounded out today’s top-10 qualifiers.

Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr., out 31st in the order, clocked in with a lap of 21.552 seconds (125.278 mph) which will place him 27th on the starting grid.

All cars were impounded immediately after today’s qualifying session.  Saturday’s Crown Royal Presents the Heath Calhoun 400 (400 laps, 300 miles) has a 7:30 p.m. EDT starting time and features live coverage by FOX-TV and MRN Radio.

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EXCERPTS FROM KURT BUSCH Q & A SESSION
(COURTESY OF DODGE MOTORSPORTS)

?HOW WAS YOUR CAR TODAY IN PRACTICE?  “We feel pretty good about our chances.  Our Miller Lite Dodge was pretty quick right off the truck, basically using the same setup that we raced here last fall where we finished second to the local guy Denny Hamlin.  We feel like we’ve made some gains on the car since the first practice.  Overall, I feel like we have a good, strong car.  We just have a poor qualifying draw; we have to go out second.  That should hurt us.  We’ll fight our way back from wherever we end up in qualifying.  I think our car shows the strength on the longer runs.  That’s what pays dividends most of the time at Richmond.  But, you have to be prepared for all the opportunities for all the green-white checkers at the end.  With the setup that Steve Addington has adjusted on, he won the race here last spring with Kyle (Busch) driving.  So, I’ve got notes from his car and notes from my car.  We’re just trying to throw the best package we can at it.”? 

?HOW HAVE YOU AND STEVE ADDINGTON BEEN ABLE TO STAY COOL THE LAST FEW RACES DRIVING FROM THE REAR TO THE FRONT OF THE FIELD DURING THE RACE?  “With the opportunity to have three attempts at a green-white checkered, it can almost be a benefit to be one of the last cars on the lead lap when the final pit stop comes about because you can just do the opposite of what the rest of the group is doing because there are some many opportunities to advance your spot.  Whether you pit or whether you don’t pit, two tires or four tires.  The end of these races now, it’s anybody’s game.  We were buried back in the pack the last week.  To come back from 29th and finish eighth just in the green-white checkered restarts, you can never say never.  You have to keep fighting.  For us, I don’t know where we’ll end up in qualifying, but just having that early draw we’ll have to work our way up through the pack.  Once the track cools off tomorrow, we’ll see how our setup is really gripping the race track.”? ?

YOU SEEM TO GET AROUND RICHMOND WELL.  WHAT IS THE SECRET TO GETTING AROUND THIS PLACE FAST?  “I feel like one of the biggest keys to success here is to get the car to turn in the center, in the bottom groove.  You’ll see a lot of guys move up to the middle lane, maybe even the high groove.  I feel like I find my most success right on the bottom of the race track, and it takes a car that can turn down there and make it work.  When you do that, you’re running in a different line than most of the competitors and that allows you to move your way through the field instead of being stuck behind somebody because they’re running the same groove that you are.”? ?

HOW DO RACE CAR DRIVERS DEAL WITH THE REALITY THAT ON A WEEKLY BASIS, ONLY ONE DRIVER WILL WIN?  “You hope that your chance to win comes more often than not.  The way that you do that is work on your car the best way that you can in practice, give your car a good setup.  My car owner and everyone has always said put yourself in position to win and those wins might come for you.  If your car is handling poorly and you don’t have a shot at winning, that’s when you have to get in your mind that you have to get the best finish that you can today for points and move on to next week because next week, the shoe might be on the other foot.”