Busch Second in Points After California Top 10

FONTANA, Calif. (May 1, 2004) – Kyle Busch and his No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing crew extended their streak of top-10 finishes with a seventh-place result in Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series event at California Speedway. Great pit stops and a lot of hard work by Busch’s Hendrick Motorsports squad helped the team post its fifth top-10 finish in as many races. The weekend ended much better than it began for Busch and the Lowe’s crew. A wreck during first practice on Friday forced the No. 5 team to pull out its backup Lowe’s/Briggs and Stratton Chevrolet. With just two practice laps in that backup machine, Busch managed the 24th-fastest qualifying time for Saturday’s event. The Team Lowe’s Racing crew didn’t allow these setbacks to affect its morale, and great communication between Busch and crew chief Lance McGrew helped the team tweak the car’s setup prior to the drop of the green flag. “This is why these guys won a championship (in 2003),” Busch said of his crew. “They never say die. This finish was all because of them. They really busted their tails to get this backup car handling well during final practice, and every time we came in for a pit stop today, we gained positions. “I can’t say enough about the entire team and how hard they work.” McGrew echoed his driver’s sentiments. “The guys did it all day long on pit road with good pit stops,” McGrew said. ”It’s so hard to pass people here, or anywhere. When you can pass three or four cars on pit road every time you come down, that’s awesome. “(Fast pit stops are) a pretty big weapon in this series. These guys have got it down, and they’ve just been rolling with it every week.” From his 13th-row starting spot, Busch moved into the top 20 just nine laps into the 150-lap event. Busch cracked the top 15 around Lap 31, where he remained until he pitted around Lap 50. The team made a wedge adjustment to alleviate a loose-handling condition on the No. 5 Chevy, bolting on four fresh tires and filling the fuel cell during that stop. A caution flag on Lap 64 allowed Busch, who was running 12th, to come back in for more tires and fuel. The team also made a wedge and trackbar adjustment on its entry, sending Busch back out in ninth position for the Lap 72 restart. Busch moved up to sixth position by Lap 86, when another caution flag came out for debris. Busch brought his entry to pit road, where the Team Lowe’s Racing crew performed a 13.6-second four-tire pit stop, moving the No. 5 Lowe’s/Briggs and Stratton Chevrolet up to third position. McGrew told Busch the car would need more fuel to make it to the end, so on Lap 139, the team performed a “gas-and-go” fuel-only pit stop. Some other teams apparently waited too long to make their stops, with several competitors running out of fuel on pit road during the closing laps. With the finish, Busch moves up one position to second in the Busch Series driver standings, 52 points behind leader Michael Waltrip. For the eighth time in nine races, Busch was named the Raybestos Rookie of the Race, and continues to lead the Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition. The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing crew will next try to continue their string of top-10 finishes at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. The Charter 250 NASCAR Busch Series race will air live on Saturday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET on FX and MRN Radio.