Kurt Busch Ready For “Non-Points” All-Star Race Weekend
May 18, 2010
CONCORD, N.C. (May 18, 2010) – After 12 points-paying NASCAR Sprint Cup races have been put into the 2010 record books, Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch is ready for the no points, no holds barred, winner take all environment of this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“It’s always a time of the season that I really enjoy,” said Busch, currently ninth in the point standings entering the two-week stand at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway, the home track for the vast majority of drivers and team members. “It’s a nice break in the schedule when you can spend a weekend at the race track not worried about the big picture at all. It’s relaxing, yet with all the big money on the line, the adrenalin flows, the tempers flare and it’s as exciting as it gets for our sport.
“The consequences of this race are so different than any other weekend we have once the season gets started and that’s really refreshing,” offered Busch, whose runner-up finish in the 2003 event rates as his best finish to date in eight career All-Star Race appearances to date. “If you don’t finish the race, you don’t lose any points toward the championship. Then, we really seem to usually race each other this hard after that final restart on all the sanctioned tracks we run on. It’s just that we have the feel at the All-Star Race where if I go for broke and they have to fix the car, there are no points involved and at least they know we were going for broke in trying to win it.
“You jump into the All-Star Race and it’s just a whole different atmosphere and attitude,” Busch said. “This race is just an entirely different animal. It’s a 10-lap shoot-out at the finish, with a cool million dollars on the line. You can bet that things will surely get heated up and there will be fireworks for sure. You have to be really smart in the first portions of the race. But, you have to have a car that will go at the drop of a dime when you have fresh tires and a restart. It’s basically like those last 10 laps are like 10 straight qualifying laps with other cars around.”
NASCAR officials have added an exciting new wrinkle into the format this year as before the green flag falls for the final segment, once the field takes a lap behind the pace car, all cars must enter pit road for a four-tire stop. The order in which the cars exit off pit road is how they will line up for the final 10 laps, placing an even greater premium on the efficiency of the pit crews.
“It feels pretty good in bringing the team more into it,” said Busch. “You want to be able to have a shot at it with having a really fast car. You wanna have a shot at it with a little strategy and going for that valuable track position. So now the pit crews have become an even more important and when you win, it really is a big team sport.”
“I’ve told my engine department, ‘Bring the biggest horsepower you can.’ If we go up in a ball of flames, we go up in a ball of flames. I want to do it while we’re leading with all the horsepower that we can get,” boasted Busch. “With no points on the line, it’s just about the million bucks and of course, that big trophy and the bragging rights. With all the pressure we live under week in and week out, worried about the points and having to get the best finish possible out there, this weekend will be a refreshing change for everyone involved.”
Busch and his Steve Addington-led Penske Racing “Blue Deuce” team will be racing their “PRS-702” Miller Lite Dodge Charger this weekend at CMS. This was the car that debuted in winning fashion last November at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch and crew last raced this car at Las Vegas back in February where they won the Coors Light Pole Position and had a strong run going before getting innocently caught up in a crash.
Busch’s Miller Lite Dodge Charger will be carrying a special color scheme during the action set for the next two weekends at CMS.
“For both races – the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 – Miller Lite has a special scheme representing the new bottle that is out in the marketplace,” offered Busch. “It’s the new Vortex bottle. It’s unlike anything you’ve seen before, with specially-designed grooves on the inside of the neck. The spirals sort of twist the beer differently and allows the great beer taste to flow right out. The bottle certainly has drawn a lot of attention and I think our car will, too. The Vortex bottle is right there on the quarter-panels and it’s a super-cool looking race car. I think the fans will love it. It certainly does make me look forward to enjoying a cold Vortex bottle of Miller Lite when the work day is over and it’s time to relax and kick back.”
This weekend’s Sprint All-Star Race weekend gets under way on Wednesday night (May 19) with the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman. Busch will be steering his Miller Lite Dodge in the competition among pit crews set for 7:00 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena (broadcast on SPEED-TV at 9:00 p.m. EDT). The action shifts to the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Friday with practice set for 1:30 p.m. till 2:50 p.m. Qualifying on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. will feature the unique format of three laps under the clock with a four-tire pit stop thrown into the equation. Saturday’s Sprint All-Star Race will begin after the conclusion of the NASCAR Sprint Showdown “last chance” race at approximately 9:00 p.m. This year’s exciting battle calls for a 50-lap/20-lap/20-lap/10-lap format with a four-tire pit stop prior to the start of the final segment. Live coverage will be provided by SPEED-TV and MRN Radio.
