Top-Five Finish for Kyle Busch at Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 10, 2004) – Kyle Busch continued his impressive rookie season, scoring his 12th top-five finish of 2004 in Friday night’s NASCAR Busch Series race at Richmond International Raceway. Starting the race from the outside pole position, Busch kept his No. 5 Lowe’s/Shop-Vac Chevrolet in the top-three throughout the first half of the 250-lap event. A caution flag around Lap 132 allowed several teams to make pit stops, but Kasey Kahne and Busch, who were running first and second at the time, were among those who stayed out. Just a few laps later, a crash involving Tim Fedewa brought out the sixth caution flag of the night, giving Busch, Kahne and other frontrunners the chance to pit for the final time on Lap 152. Having given up track position when he came to pit road, Busch found himself back in 16th position on the restart. Over the next 92 laps, he methodically worked his way into the top-five by the time the checkered flag was displayed. "We had an awesome car all night long,” Busch said. “The Lowe's/Shop-Vac Chevrolet was exactly what it needed to be up until the end, and that's when it counts is the end of the race. “For some reason we got really tight there at the end. It's a shame that we didn't get the finish that we needed or wanted, but we'll go on to Dover in two weeks and see what we can get.” The finish was Busch’s second top-five result at Richmond this season, and marked the No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing crew’s 17th top-10 finish of 2004. In spite of the strong showing, Busch and his team lost a little ground in their battle for the NASCAR Busch Series championship, as points leader Martin Truex Jr. finished third. With eight races remaining, the No. 5 team now sits 105 points out of the lead. For the fifth race in a row, Busch and his No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing crew scored both a top-10 starting spot and a top-10 finish. Busch was also named the Raybestos Rookie of the Race for the fifth race in a row, and continues to expand his lead over Paul Menard (319-177) in the running for Raybestos Rookie of the Year. The Busch Series now takes a weekend off before returning to action at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. The 200-mile NASCAR Busch Series event will air live from “The Monster Mile” on Saturday, Sept. 25, at 1 p.m. ET on TNT and MRN Radio affiliates.