LABONTE RACING ‘44’ THIS WEEKEND:
Driving a No. 44 Kellogg’s Chevrolet, Terry Labonte will make his ninth start of 2005 for Hendrick Motorsports at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. The two-time Cup Series champion will also race at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6, marking his final event of the season.
VICKERS GETS ‘DEGA TOP-10:
Brian Vickers and GMAC Racing recorded a sixth-place result Sunday at Talladega, Ala., marking the first time since July 2004 a No. 25 Chevrolet has posted a top-10 finish at a superspeedway. The effort also ranks as the career-best superspeedway finish for the 21-year-old NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver, whose previous high was a ninth-place run during the 2004 Pepsi 400 at Daytona Beach, Fla.
CARQUEST AT KANSAS:
This weekend at Kansas Speedway, Kyle Busch’s No. 5 Chevrolet will carry a special paint scheme featuring the red, white and blue CARQUEST Auto Parts logo. It will be the fourth appearance of the CARQUEST design this season.
‘25’ MAKING POINTS PUSH:
If Vickers maintains his current 17th-place position in the NEXTEL Cup standings, GMAC Racing will match the best performance by the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports team since driver Jerry Nadeau finished 17th in 2001. Should the team improve, it will challenge the 12th-place season posted by Ken Schrader in 1996. Vickers currently rests 35 markers out of 15th and 134 points from 11th.
BUSCH DRIVING ‘INDY CAR’:
Busch will drive the same car at Kansas Speedway that recorded a top-10 finish Aug. 7 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
McGREW PICKS CHASSIS 294:
Crew chief Lance McGrew has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 294 for this weekend’s NEXTEL Cup festivities at Kansas Speedway. Sunday will mark the car’s third appearance of 2005 after running in both races at Pocono Raceway, where it finished second in June and 14th in July.
OCTOBER A BUSY MONTH FOR BUSCH:
The month of October will be more hectic than usual for Busch. The 20-year-old driver has a busy testing calendar, including stops at Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, N.C.), Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Along with his full-time NEXTEL Cup schedule, Busch will compete in two Busch Series races (Kansas City, Kan., and Concord, N.C.) and two Craftsman Truck Series events (Martinsville, Va., and Atlanta).
MEET BRIAN VICKERS:
On Friday, Vickers will greet fans and sign autographs beginning at 6 p.m. at McCarthy Chevrolet in Olathe, Kan. The next day, Vickers will sign at the No. 25 GMAC Racing souvenir hauler following Saturday’s NEXTEL Cup qualifying session at Kansas.
BUSCH SIGNING AT KANSAS:
Busch will sign autographs on Sunday, Oct. 9 beginning at 10:10 a.m. at the Kellogg’s Racing souvenir rig. A limited number of tickets will be distributed the morning of the event.
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BRIAN VICKERS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 25 GMAC/ditech.com CHEVROLETS: (HOW DOES IT FEEL TO FINALLY GET A GOOD RESULT AT TALLADEGA?) “We didn’t qualify very well, but the guys brought a really sound car for drafting. For once, we managed to stay out of the big wrecks and work our way toward the front. In the end, we just didn’t have the kind of help we needed to pull it off. In my opinion, the outside groove was the place to be all day, but I went low toward the end of the race, hoping some guys would pull up behind me. That never happened, but fortunately we were able to leave with a good result and a car in one piece.”
VICKERS: (YOU HAVEN’T HAD MUCH LUCK AT KANSAS IN YOUR CAREER. ANY PARTICULAR REASON WHY?) “The two Busch Series races we ran, we were involved in accidents that hurt any chances of a good finish. Last year (in the NEXTEL Cup Series) it was more of a handling issue. Until last weekend, Talladega was another of the tracks where I had been unable to get a good finish, but look at how things change. I like the track (Kansas) and I know how hard the guys on the team have worked to develop a good intermediate track program. I can’t guarantee anything, but I believe we’ll be solid this time around at Kansas.”
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KYLE BUSCH, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST CHEVROLETS: (ON KANSAS.) “Last season I ran the Busch Series race at Kansas. We qualified second, cut a tire down and got caught up in a wreck. I also ran a Cup car last year there, which was one of our best runs, but I backed the car into the wall and we finished 37th. That was a big learning experience for me because I really paid attention to how the other drivers went into the corners and how fast some guys were. We ran well at Chicago, and Kansas is a similar track. The difference is that Kansas is a little bit narrower than Chicago, but I know my team will give me a good car. I expect to do well because, as a team, Hendrick Motorsports has done well there. You never know, maybe we’ll have a shot to put the CARQUEST Chevy in Victory Lane.”
BUSCH: (ON TALLADEGA.) “I have to say, I’m pretty disappointed about the way Talladega went. There was a lot of wrecking going on and we cut a tire down from all that debris. We wanted to get good notes to incorporate into our speedway program, but we just didn’t have very much of a chance to do that. I’m glad there are no more restrictor plate tracks this season, but I am looking forward to the Shootout in February at Daytona.”
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ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF OF THE NO. 5 CARQUEST CHEVROLETS: (ON KANSAS.) “The No. 5 team should be pretty good at Kansas. We were on our way to a top-five finish at Indy with this car and a miscue in the pits put us behind. Kyle ran a Cup car last year at Kansas and did well in his Busch car, so he has some laps there and knows the track. Hopefully we’ll be good right out of the box, qualify well and stay up front all day long.”