TEAM REPORTS (FONTANA, CA.) - KURT BUSCH FEELING RIGHT AT HOME BEHIND THE WHEEL OF MILLER LIGHT DODGE

In a relatively short period of time, 2004 NASCAR champion Kurt Busch has grown from a competitor who was often perceived as undisciplined along the most elite stock car circuit in the world to be accepted as a polished leader of Penske Racing’s NASCAR contingent.

“I feel really comfortable in my role as the driver of the Miller Lite Dodge,” the 29-year-old Las Vegas native said as he prepares to start the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. “Replacing Rusty Wallace in the famous ‘Blue Deuce’ was certainly an unbelievable task. That’s why I was quick to say that nobody would ever be able to completely fill his shoes. All they could ask for is to be able to take the wheel and continue the heritage that Rusty began almost 20 years ago.

“The fans, sponsors and media have come to accept me as the driver of that blue No. 2 Dodge and it’s certainly gratifying to have seen what has transpired over the last two seasons,” Busch offered. “I was looked at as a little bit on the wild side with perhaps a confrontational streak when I made the move to Penske Racing at the end of the 2005 season. I have had to earn the respect and the acceptance to have the right to drive that car.

“I have often said that the best thing that ever happened to my career was getting the opportunity to drive for car owner Roger Penske,” Busch said. “With his guidance and unwavering support, I feel as though I’ve been molded into a much smarter driver and a better individual overall. With the support crew I have around me at Penske Racing, I believe I’ve grown to be worthy of the opportunity I received two years ago. It just feels natural to put on that blue uniform and climb in. I really feel at home behind the wheel of the Miller Lite Dodge these days.”

Certainly nobody could have put forth a stronger effort on and off the track to win over the fans, sponsors and media than Busch has over the last two seasons.

Busch climbed aboard his new ride for the inaugural time during Daytona Speed Weeks ’06 and immediately turned heads. After finishing a strong sixth in his Daytona 500 qualifying race, Busch proved to be a threat to claim Penske Racing’s first-ever win in the “Super Bowl of stock car racing” before getting crashed out late in the event.

One week later, Busch claimed the first of what would be six pole positions for the 2006 season. By the fifth race of the year, the Food City 500 at Bristol, Busch was able to duplicate what had become a familiar sight. After Wallace had visited the Bristol Victory Lane an incredible nine times, Busch rolled the Miller Lite Dodge into Winners’ Circle, claiming his fifth career win at the Tennessee bullring.

“For me, the 2006 season was a great learning year, to look back like I was a rookie and to analyze things,” Busch said. “It offered me the opportunity to get a perspective on personnel and maybe ask the question of what we may be missing. I knew we were off on our intermediate program.

“(Making) the Chase seems to be the bar that all the sponsors look for and because we didn’t do that, many may have thought that we had a disappointing season,” said Busch. “We approached the year with realistic goals and expectations. We really didn’t have that dismal of a year, but it just got written up that way on many fronts because of my history and making the move like we did.

“The bottom line is that we knew that the 2006 season would be a huge challenge and a giant undertaking for me personally. We looked at it as laying a foundation for a better year ahead in 2007 and I don’t think anyone could dispute that what occurred was exactly that.”

Busch and his Miller Lite Dodge team certainly made a statement during the 2007 season that they were a championship-caliber team and would be a force to reckon with in the future.

The No. 2 team came out strong from the very beginning last year, finishing third in the Bud Shootout and second in their 150-mile qualifying race. Busch led the most laps in the Daytona 500 and was running second when he was involved in a crash with Tony Stewart late in the race.

Veteran crew chief Pat Tryson joined the team in June and spearheaded an incredible run to make the 2007 Chase for the Championship. Busch was back as far as 16th in the point standings in June and trailed Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 236 points for the 12th and final “Chase-eligible” spot entering the July 8 Pepsi 400 at Daytona.

With Tryson at the helm and calling the shots, Busch responded with a strong third-place finish in that race and then went on a competitive tear that produced two wins and seven top-10 finishes during the nine-race stretch to make the Chase. Busch finished no worse than 11th during that period and had a 6.2 average finish. He came back from the 236-point deficit to hold a 206-point advantage over the 13th spot at the conclusion of Race No. 26 in September at Richmond. That was a 442-point swing in only nine races, meaning that Busch, Tryson and crew gained an amazing average of 49 points per race on their points foe during that period.

“As if our charge back to make the Chase wasn’t impressive enough, the fact is that we climbed all the way back to 10th in the point standings after 26 races,” Busch said. “We would have made the Chase even if it had still been just the top-10 and not the expanded top-12 format. That was extremely gratifying. When you look at how much ground we made up in the final race of the season at Homestead, it was pretty incredible. We came in there in 10th, with only a little cushion over 11th. With our great run and runner-up finish there, we shot all the way up to seventh in the final point standings and it certainly was a tremendous way to close out the year.

“With wins, a pole and a seventh-place finish in the points, we definitely covered all the basics to say that 2007 was a successful year for our Miller Lite Dodge Team,” said Busch. “When you look back on the year and take into consideration that we accomplished all that we did with three different crew chiefs, you certainly have to label it a super transitional season for our team.

“Roy McCauley and Troy Raker definitely deserve so much credit for their contributions during the year, especially considering the adverse and unusual circumstances they were working under,” said Busch, who completed his seventh season as a fulltime competitor on the top circuit in stock car racing in 2007. “When we were able to add Pat Tryson as our team leader back in June, it gave us the solid and consistent leadership that our team needed to overcome the obstacles and make the big drive to get into the Chase.

“Pat definitely brought the spark that our team needed and it was evident for the rest of the season,” Busch said of Tryson, the 43-year-old Malvern, Pa., native and veteran crew chief who led racing great Mark Martin to “Chase-eligibility” for three consecutive seasons (2004-2006) and is now four-for-four in making the NASCAR “playoffs.” “Pat’s leadership abilities and his knowledge of race cars were evident almost immediately and our team continued to get stronger and stronger throughout the remainder of the season.

“That’s the big reason for referring to 2007 as a transitional season as we advanced to the point we are now, with a championship-caliber team under leadership from a championship-caliber crew chief,” said Busch, who has 17 career NASCAR big-league wins under his belt entering 2008. “We know that we have an unbelievable challenge in front of us in continuing our level of performance with the new (COT) car now being the standard in all the races. The competition will be even stronger this year, but I am confident that our Pat Tryson-led Miller Lite Dodge Team will be able to come out ready for the challenge in 2008.”

While Busch demonstrated his championship-potential form on the track during the 2007 season, it would be impossible to find a driver more dedicated to his overall program. Off the track, Busch continued the special relationship he carved with his fans dating back to the beginning of the 2001 season. He visited his souvenir trailer to spend time with fans and sign autographs prior to all 36 races last year. His visit to his merchandising trailer at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18 marked the 245th time in the last 248 races that he carried out his ritual.

In addition to a full schedule of traveling across the country to attend non-racing events representing his sponsors during the year, Busch made 108 separate hospitality function visits during race days along the 2007 NASCAR tour. In all scheduled media-related functions during the season, Busch made it a point to go to the media rather than have them come to him.

“It’s all part of trying to be the best rounded team player that I can be,” said Busch. “Roger has definitely taught me to always look at the big picture. This is a sport, but it’s also a huge business that we are involved in. The top competitors in our sport today not only are able to get the job done on the track, they are also great representatives and true professionals in every aspect.”

The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season gets under way at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 9, with the running of the Bud Shootout for last year’s pole winners and former champions of the event. The “draw” to establish the starting field for the non-points race is set for next Thursday evening. The final “Happy Hour” practice session is set for Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night’s special 70-lap “Shootout” around the 2.5-mile track has an 8:00 p.m. EST starting time with FOX-TV and MRN Radio providing live coverage.