Latest News From Kurt Busch & Miller Lite Dodge Team

Congratulations to Miller Lite Dodge crew chief Pat Tryson for winning the WYPALL Wipers “Crew Chief of the Race” for Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The 2008 WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge is a season-long contest that will determine the best crew chiefs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage. Following each Cup race, a panel will vote to determine which crew chief demonstrated the most outstanding strategy and leadership during the race. It isn’t necessarily the crew chief that goes to Victory Lane, but the crew chief that made the biggest difference to his team. In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly top wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead, Fla.

--Daytona leftovers…a look back over Kurt’s Daytona Speed Weeks ’08 experiences makes one wonder when the screenwriters might come calling. From the first day at Daytona (2/7) when he could be found on the hospital gurney in the infield medical center, being administered intravenous fluids, until providing Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman

'the push from heaven' on the final lap of the final day (2/17), his was certainly a fascinating story. “It was enough drama and excitement there for an entire season for most,” Pat said as he looked back on the last few weeks. “What’s absolutely amazing to me is that I know for a fact just how sick Kurt was for so many of those days. For him to be so sick and go through all he did was amazing. He survived all that mess during the first weekend. He went straight home after qualifying was over on Sunday and spent the next two days straight in bed. He came back down there on Wednesday and said he was physically running at about 85 percent. Like I said the first day at Daytona after seeing him laying there in the infield medical center with the IV in his arm, Kurt may be a little guy, but he’s as tough as they come.”

…and in the Daytona 500 itself. Starting 43rd on the field, Kurt came from the back to the front practically every 50 laps, overcoming handling issues and bouncing back from a speeding penalty. Perhaps overlooked was his overshooting his pit area on Lap 35, a near spin and crash on Lap 108 when he made an evasive maneuver to avoid an erratic move by Dale Earnhardt Jr., getting blocked out of his pits by Greg Biffle on Lap 152 and an overheating condition that was destined to take its toll without the fourth caution of the race falling with 23 laps remaining. “We passed more cars in that race than anybody – it was absolutely amazing,” Pat said. “It was from back to front, from back to front and from back to front. Like I told Kurt, it was a dazzling run out there.”

--Kurt’s Quick stats entering California (courtesy of NASCAR PR):

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Light Dodge)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 70.4

2008 Rundown

· One top five

· Led nine laps

California Speedway Outlook:

· One win, three top fives, five top 10s; three poles

· Average finish of 11.3

· Finished ninth in September

· Led eight of 11 races for 224 laps

Daytona 500 Loop Data Highlight

· Improved 11 “Closer” positions in the final 20 laps of the race

--Kurt, Pat and crew will be racing their PSC-528 Miller Lite Dodge Charger at California Speedway this weekend. It is a brand new car, used only in the 1/31-2/1 “Preseason Thunder” testing on the 2.0-mile Fontana, Calif., track.