TEAM REPORTS (DAYTONA, FLA.) - KURT BUSCH WANTS ELUSIVE "FIRST PLATE WIN"

Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch cherishes the thought of winning Sunday’s 50th running of the prestigious Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. It is certainly easy to understand why.

“This one is more special than some of the years past, just because it is the 50th year and the trophy has got gold trim all over it,” said Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion who is starting his third season as a driver for Penske Racing. “That gets your eyes focused right away that this is something special. But to tell you the truth, that only begins to scratch the surface.

“When you think about all the firsts that would be involved with a win here on Sunday, to say that it would be monumental is an understatement,” said the 29-year-old Las Vegas native. “Roger’s never won it and I have been so close before. The idea of bringing home that first win in our sport’s biggest race is a tremendous motivation.

“A win here on Sunday would be the most spectacular and memorable accomplishment for me since I started driving for Penske Racing,” added Busch, who has three top-five finishes in seven career Daytona 500 starts, including runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2005. “It would be the biggest NASCAR win for Roger, for Miller Lite, for Dodge and for everyone involved with our team.”

“I finished second to Michael Waltrip here back in 2003 and we were right there on winner Jeff Gordon’s rear bumper in the 2005 Daytona 500,” offered Busch. “We’ve been so close before and just hope to be back up there in a position to win again this time around in our Miller Lite Dodge.”

Entering the 2008 season, 35 Penske-backed entries have competed in 23 editions of the Daytona 500 dating back to 1972 (Rusty Wallace in 15 races, Ryan Newman in six races, Jeremy Mayfield in four races, Busch in two races, Bobby Allison in two races, Dave Marcis in two races – and one race each for Gary Bettenhausen, Mark Donohue, Brendan Gaughan and Travis Kvapil. Allison’s runner-up finish in the 1975 edition rates as Penske Racing’s best finish to date. In that race, held on Feb. 16, 1975, Allison drove the Penske-owned and Coca-Cola-sponsored No. 16 AMC Matador from a third-place start to the runner-up finish behind the late Benny Parsons, who was behind the wheel of the L.G. DeWitt-owned Chevrolet.

Since Penske Racing returned to NASCAR racing in 1991 after a decade break from the sport, Wallace’s third-place finish in the 2001 edition of the Daytona 500 and Newman’s third in the 2006 racing classic rate as the team’s best marks to date.

It was also Allison who presented Miller Brewing Company with its lone Daytona 500 winning sponsor’s trophy, when he took the checkered flag in the race on Feb. 14, 1988. Allison started his Miller High Life-sponsored and Stavola Brothers-owned Buick in the third spot and led 70 laps en route to his third career Daytona 500 win. In one of the most dramatic finishes in the sport’s history, Allison was able to hold off his 26-year-old son, Davey, on the final lap to emerge with a two-car-length victory. The exciting finish rates high in every list of top-10 greatest moments in Daytona racing history.

“The biggest memory I have of racing in the Daytona 500 was in my first one back in 2001,” said Busch. “Just being here in the sport’s Super Bowl was such a thrill. But my first memory of the Daytona 500 and still one that made such a big impact on me was watching that 1988 finish with Bobby and Davey – father and son – and watching it at home with my dad by my side.

“Dodge has won the Daytona 500 only once since 1977 and it’d really be monumental to get them another big win here with this new-style Dodge Charger,” said Busch. “There are just so many reasons that a win here on Sunday would be so special.”

Crew chief Pat Tryson is quick to point out that even though his team may not be considered a favorite to win here on Sunday, seeing Busch in the Daytona 500 Victory Lane would certainly not be that big of a surprise.

“From what we saw in last weekend’s Bud Shootout and in qualifying, all the Dodges are struggling up against the Hendrick cars and some of the Toyotas,” said Tryson, the savvy veteran team leader who has made NASCAR’s championship “Chase” every year of its existence. “Our Miller Lite Dodge just seems to be able to power up just so far. We can draft well, but it seems like we just don’t have enough power to get up there and lead.

“But the biggest asset going for us on our side is Kurt,” continued Tryson, who’ll be logging his 22nd race as Busch’s crew chief in Sunday’s 500. “Kurt is the best-ever restrictor-plate racer yet to win one of these things. Given an equal playing field, I’d put him up against anybody out there. Even if you come in with a slight disadvantage, Kurt is so good in these races that his talent can make up for a lot of what might be lacking.”

Tryson is certainly right about Busch’s restrictor-plate racing prowess. He finished third in his first-ever Cup restrictor-plate race at Talladega on April 22, 2001, and has been a threat to win ever since. Last year, Busch trailed only Jeff Gordon in picking up the most points in the four plate races. He led almost twice as many laps as Gordon (147 to 81), yet Gordon scored two wins.

In the four plate races during the 2007 season, Busch scored two top-five finishes and three top-10s. His overall restrictor-plate record sports 12 top-fives and 17 top-10s in 28 races. He has a 22.0 average start and a 15.3 average finish. He was running at the finish in 26 of those races.

Sunday’s 50th running of the Daytona 500 – the most anticipated battle in racing history – carries a record purse of $18,689,238. The winner of this year’s Daytona 500 will collect a minimum of $1,445,250. The second, third, fourth and fifth-place finishers in the Daytona 500 will receive a minimum of $1,044,400, $752,400, $598,450 and $471,500 respectively. The last-place finisher in the Daytona 500 will also be well compensated with a minimum of $233,865. The winner for the inaugural Daytona 500 back in 1959 – Lee Petty – collected $19,050 and the last-place finisher – Ken Marriott – earned $100.

“That’s a heck of a lot of money for the winner in Sunday’s Daytona 500, that’s for sure,” said Busch. “But to put the Miller Lite Dodge in Victory Lane and to be celebrating the big win holding that special gold winner’s trophy with Roger would be priceless.”

Sunday’s “Golden Anniversary Edition” of the Daytona 500 has a scheduled 3:20 p.m. EST starting time here at Daytona International Speedway. FOX-TV and MRN Radio will provide live coverage of all the action from the “World Center of Racing” beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST.