Kurt Busch Hoping To Extend “Stronghold” At New Hampshire
June 22, 2010


LOUDON, N.H. (June 22, 2010) – Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch has found somewhat of a competitive stronghold on the flat 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway in recent years, recording a win and posting a 4.0 average finish during the last four races there. The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and three-time winner at NHMS is focused on keeping that successful streak going in this weekend’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at the “Magic Mile.”

“We have had some really good races at Loudon the last couple of years, but the statistics don’t really tell the whole story of what happened there for our Miller Lite Dodge Team,” said Busch, who has a 14.0 average start and 14.3 average finish in his 18 total starts at NHMS. “We used good pit strategy and won a rain-shortened race there in (June) 2008 and finished third in the rain-shortened race there last June.

“That race last June looked like it was going to come down to a battle between us and the 24 car (Jeff Gordon), but the rain came and the 20 car (Joey Logano) snookered them a win,” said Busch, now sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings after a late-race run-in with Gordon on Sunday at Infineon Raceway left him with a flat tire and relegated him to a 32nd-place finish. “We’ve had really strong Miller Lite Dodge Chargers there the last two years and we’re hoping to be as strong or even stronger this time around.”

Busch thoroughly enjoys racing on the one-mile oval and is quick to compare it to the other flat one-mile venue on the circuit.

“I think New Hampshire reminds me a little bit of Phoenix,” Busch said of Phoenix International Raceway, where he saw his first big-league race as a fan while growing up in Las Vegas. “I’ve always liked Phoenix and the racing there a lot and have had quite a few miles around that track. The way that you have to slide a car around on a flat track like that requires a loose setup and that’s the way I like to set my cars up.

“We know that we’ll really have our work cut out for us this weekend,” said Busch, who now trails points leader Kevin Harvick by 216 points, but has a 243-point “buffer” over 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. when looking at the current “Race to the Chase” scenario. “There’s always so much slipping and sliding and getting the forward bite we need is always so critical. Track position is really key and being up front on the restarts is so important.

“The track has always been slick on restarts and with double-file restarts; you have to keep in the back of your mind that you seem to always need several laps to get going. It can be horrendous if you’re stuck back in the pack on the restarts. The demands are such that you need your car to be strong on the long runs, but with the late-race restarts, you might need to focus on short runs as well.

“It’s a pretty tight pit road and you can get yourself in trouble in a hurry like we saw there in last fall’s race,” said Busch of his fate during last September’s Sylvania 300 at NHMS. “With all the varying pit strategies – two tires, four tires, and no tires – we did a fuel-only stop in that race. We got our car messed up when another car got into us when we were driving out of our box. That put us in the catch-up mode. We had a solid top-five car, but had to settle for a sixth-place finish.”

Busch is very much aware of the fact that the return to NHMS for the September race officially kicks off the 10-race Chase that determines which of 12 drivers wins the Sprint Cup title.

“The summer stretch is here and we run all these tracks and none of them are in the Chase with the exception of New Hampshire,” said Busch, who did the “Loudon Sweep” in claiming both NHMS wins during his successful run to the 2004 championship, the initial year of the Chase format. “So yes, New Hampshire is really important in that respect in that we’ll be coming back there for the first race of the Chase. I don’t think that you really pinpoint any of those races as a time when you just completely start focusing in on the points. It just sort of all blends in to where you hope that you’ve built up a cushion when it comes down to two or three (races) to go where you’re comfortable heading into the Chase.”

Busch and his Steve Paddington-led “Blue Deuce” team will be racing their “PRS-701” Miller Lite “Vortex” Dodge this weekend at New Hampshire. The car has been raced only once – in last October’s battle at Fontana, Calif. Busch started 24th and finished eighth in that race. Busch, Addington and crew tested with the car at the Milwaukee Mile on June 9 in preparation for this weekend’s battle at NHMS.

This weekend’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway action gets under way on Friday with practice set from 11:30 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. (live on Speed-TV). Qualifying for all 43 starting positions is set for Friday at 3:10 p.m. (live on Speed-TV & PRN Radio). Saturday’s schedule calls for practice from 9:00 a.m. till 9:50 a.m. (live on Speed-TV) and from 11:45 a.m. till 12:45 p.m. (live on Speed-TV). Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301 (301 laps, 318.46 miles) is scheduled to get the green flag at approximate

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Kurt Busch to race Super Gas at Gatornationals

Kurt Busch will return to his drag racing roots during the 41st running of the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals March 11-14 at historic Gainesville Raceway.

The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion is set to get behind the wheel of his rebuilt 1970 Dodge Challenger next weekend to compete against a field of between 70 and 90 veteran “Super Gas” racers who no doubt will be champing at the bit to line up against one of the biggest names in motorsports.

Busch will make a minimum of three “time trial” passes on Thursday March 11 and the field will return Friday morning, pair off, and begin eliminations.

“Gainesville is one of the marquee events on the NHRA calendar and it’s a privilege to compete against the best Sportsman racers out there,” Busch said.

Super Gas is one of seven different Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes that will be contested at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The LODRS is NHRA’s “sportsman” series that is home to a wide variety of racers from hobbyists to highly-competitive, highly-invested teams to young drivers with aspirations to move up to the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Busch bought the Dodge Challenger in 2008 and began the process of getting it into race shape in March of 2009. The car is powered by a stroked 6.1 liter Hemi, weighs 3000 pounds and puts out an incredible 1167 horsepower.

While Busch feels at home behind the wheel of No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge, he is aware that this will be a new and exciting environment for him.

“Sportsman racing is no different than any other type of racing, you need seat time. I spent over 30 hours at Roy Hill’s drag racing school, and have had two tests in my own Challenger, but that’s nowhere compared to the seat time many of these guys have in their own cars. We are going to go out there and do our best competing against these talented Sportsman racers,” Busch said.

Busch’s love affair with drag racing began back in the early 1990’s when he met a pair of Las Vegas based NHRA racers - George Marnell, a Pro Stock racer, and Dave Bush, a Super Comp competitor. And when Kurt began driving in the Sprint Cup Series for Penske Racing, he got to know NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon as they were both sponsored by Miller Lite.

He got the idea to compete in an NHRA event after taking part in the opening night of zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. in September of 2008 and one of the rare off-weekends in the NASCAR schedule coincided with next weekend’s 41st running of the prestigious Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals.

Jamie McMurray Wins the 52nd Annual Daytona 500

Results from Daytona 500
1. 1. Jamie McMurray No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet
2. 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Chevrolet
3. 3. Greg Biffle No. 16 Chevrolet
10. Juan Pablo Montoya No. 42 Target Chevrolet

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 14, 2010) - Jamie McMurray held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. during a second attempt at a green-white-checkered flag finish to win the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet. The win came in McMurray’s first race back with owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates, making Ganassi the only team owner besides Roger Penske to win the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the Rolex 24 At Daytona. In addition it becomes the fourth Daytona 500 win for the Dale Earnhardt organization which also captured victories with Michael Waltrip in 2001 and 2003 and with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2004.

Sunday’s race was long, lasting over six hours, with two red flag delays lasting two and a half hours to repair a pothole in the asphalt between turns one and two and two attempts at a green-white-checkered flag finish. McMurray spun his tires on the restart on Lap 207 but got a push down the front stretch and through the first turn from third-place finisher Greg Biffle. Securing the top spot from Kevin Harvick on the backstretch, McMurray led the final two laps.

The win delivered Chevrolet its 21st victory in the Daytona 500, a record among manufacturers.

Teammate Juan Pablo Montoya had a strong race car all night in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet. He led twice for a total of two laps and finished 10th.

This was McMurray’s fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. It was also his second for the team after winning in his just his second career start at Charlotte (Fall, 2002) - setting a modern era record - when he replaced Sterling Marlin in the No. 40 car.

NASCAR heads out west next week to compete at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. The Auto Club 500 will take place Sunday, February 21st at 3:00 pm (ET). The race will air live on FOX and radio stations affiliated with MRN.

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WELCOME, N.C. -- Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned companies in the wine and spirits business, will conclude its Jack Daniel's NASCAR program and will not extend its sponsorship with Richard Childress Racing's No. 07 team.

A change in Brown-Forman's spending priorities led to the decision to conclude the sponsorship that began in 2005. The Brown-Forman/Jack Daniel's partnership with RCR will continue for the remainder of the 2009 racing season and the entire team is committed to being competitive on the track each and every race.

“

We understand the shift in their spending priorities during these tough economic times and the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Racing program will continue to provide that successful platform for the rest of the 2009 season.

”

-- RICHARD CHILDRESS

"Jack Daniel's has enjoyed a good five-year run with Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR, and we are pleased with the overall performance of our sponsorship program," said Tim Rutledge, vice president and brand director for Jack Daniel's. "We have enjoyed building strong relationships with the people in Richard's organization and throughout NASCAR. While it is difficult for us to end our formal relationship with RCR, the current economic environment has compelled us to revaluate our spending and we've concluded that other areas in the marketing mix require additional investment.

"We want to thank the many friends and fans of the Jack Daniel's 07 Racing Team, and we can't say enough about your incredible support the last five years. And, as we have since 1866, we will continue to find ways to thank you and keep your loyalty of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey."

Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel's, and RCR are particularly pleased to have taken a leadership role in communicating a responsible drinking message throughout its NASCAR sponsorship through its core message of Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly, featured in all NASCAR promotional materials, including on the race car itself.

"Brown-Forman has been a great partner of RCR for the past five years through its Jack Daniel's brand," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "They quickly became a NASCAR-industry leader in the promotion of the Jack Daniel's brand through the Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly messaging, which our fans have embraced. We understand the shift in their spending priorities during these tough economic times and the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Racing program will continue to provide that successful platform for the rest of the 2009 season. We have built many valuable relationships with the loyal Brown-Forman employees and their distributors during our partnership and look forward to maintaining those relationships in the future."

The No. 07 Jack Daniel's Racing program began in 2005. Drivers Dave Blaney (2005),Clint Bowyer (2006-08) and Casey Mears (2009) have a combined 171 races with two pole positions, two victories, 16 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes. Bowyer earned spots in the Chase in 2007 and 2008 and finished those seasons in third and fifth place, respectively.

"Being flexible with our strategic investments has been a consistent theme for us at Brown-Forman and I support the decision to move from sponsoring NASCAR to investments in other areas." said Paul Varga, chief executive officer of Brown-Forman. "Richard Childress has been a great partner and this decision simply reflects a change in our investment mix, and not any dissatisfaction with RCR or NASCAR."