But first, these notes of interest:

--Just curious…inquiring minds want to know…23-year-old Kyle Busch is definitely the hottest driver on the circuit right now, but the truth is that big brother Kurt had won more races at the same point in his career.  Saturday night’s Darlington race was the 125th career Cup race for Kyle.  Here’s the way the Busch Brothers’ statistics compare at the same point in their careers:

Kurt Busch completed the 125th race of his Cup career on 5/15/04 at Richmond

Kyle Busch completed the 125th race of his Cup career on 5/10/08 at Darlington

After 125 races into their careers:

--Kurt talked candidly about brother Kyle, about last week’s Darlington race and his expectations for this weekend’s Sprint All-Star Race in last night’s (Monday’s) edition of “Fast Talk” on PRN.  “It was a great show, I thought,” Kurt said.  “I hope I didn’t get myself too deep in the hot water by saying some of the things I did.”  If you missed the broadcast, it can be downloaded here:    http://www.goprn.com/shows/fast_talk/

-Kurt labels the first three 25-lap segments of Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race as simply “prep work” in getting the cars set up for the final 25-lap segment.  Then what?    “When the green flag waves for the final 25 laps, you can fully expect to see all hell break loose,” said Kurt.  “There’s a million dollars on the line.  It's an all or nothing race and nobody ever remembers who finished second.  Can you tell me who finished second in the All-Star race last year?”  Much more on this in this week’s advance that follows and is attached.

--Kurt would welcome the opportunity for Saturday’s Sprint All-Star Race to be a “Busch Brother Face-Off.” “Fact is that we’d certainly welcome that opportunity there on Saturday night,” Kurt said.  “If that happened, it would mean that we were racing strong enough to be up front.  Kyle and his Joe Gibbs Team are at the top of their game right now.  The way our season has gone, it would be a welcomed change.  If we get that chance, there’ll be fireworks on the track long before Humpy (Wheeler, track president) tells them to light the fuse after the race.”   Much more on this in this week’s advance that follows and is attached.

--Not having to worry about points in this weekend’s Sprint All-Star Race is certainly a welcomed change for Kurt, Pat and the Miller Lite Dodge Team.  “It’ll definitely be a welcomed change to not be worried about points and know that whatever happens there on Saturday night will have no long-term consequences, except for maybe some tempers flaring and hurt feelings,” said Pat.  “It’ll be a lot healthier weekend for a lot of us in the garage.  We can probably get through it on half the Prilosec we’ve been having to take.”

--The “Grand Opening” of the new Kurt Busch Superdome at the Victory Junction Gang Camp is set for Tuesday, May 20 at 2:00 p.m.  The project was announced in May 2006, with Kurt announcing the donation of the initial $1 million in support of the project.  The facility will provide opportunities for indoor sports in a climate-controlled environment. "It’ll be like seeing a dream come true to finally get the doors open and see all the kids enjoying themselves,” said Kurt.  “It’s been a labor of love for all of the people involved and I’m so proud and grateful to have the opportunity to make a contribution in this manner to the Petty camp.”  Officials are in the process of ironing out all the final details and a news release on the event can be expected in the next few days.  Several entertainment and sports figures are expected to attend including members of the Carolina Panthers and Ryan Newman, 2008 Daytona 500 Champion, Kurt’s teammate at Penske Racing.  Just added to the festivities are the team mascots from the Charlotte Bobcats, Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Knights and Kannapolis Intimidators.

--Kurt, Pat and crew are racing their PSC-554 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in this weekend’s Sprint All-Star Race.  “We tested the car at Lowe’s last week and looked to be pretty strong,” said Pat.  “It’s the same car we raced at Atlanta back in March.  The great thing is that no matter what happens there on Saturday night, we have the (PSC-) 557 car, the Texas car, all spit-shined and ready to race the following week in the (Coca-Cola) 600.”

--Saturday night’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway will mark the seventh edition of the NASCAR All-Star Race for Kurt.  In the six prior races, he has recorded two top-five finishes and three top-10s.   His runner-up finish to winner Jimmie Johnson in the 2003 race rates as his best finish to date. 

--Notably missing from action last weekend at Darlington was team co-transport driver/scorer Cindy Lewis.  “Our daughter, Stephanie, received her nursing degree and high honors diploma last Friday night and we had all the family in from Maryland to attend the graduation ceremony,” Cindy explained.  “We’re so proud of Steph and she has a great career ahead of her.”  Stephanie Lynn McKinney received her degree in the ceremony held Friday night at Mitchell Community College.  Stephanie was the president of her class and she was also presented with the “Outstanding Leadership Award” during the evening’s activities.  The proud mother of three-year-old Kendall Alexandria, Stephanie will be pursuing her career at Lake Norman Hospital.  Bill “Stump” Lewis, Cindy’s husband, did a remarkable job taking up the slack at Darlington over the weekend.  Cher Nuckels, the team’s veteran marketing assistant, filled in for Cindy in the scoring booth.

--Format For NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race:
• Time trials will be three laps, including a four-tire pit stop. Total elapsed time of the three-lap qualifying run will determine starting positions for the race. The pit road speed limit will be in effect when cars enter pit road but will not be in effect when cars exit.
• The 2008 edition of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will run a total of 100 laps on the 1.5-mile tri-oval – making it the longest in the event’s 24-year history.
• There will be four segments – with each being 25 laps. (The first four-segment race was held in 2007 with four equal segments of 20 laps each.)
• All restarts will be double-file and the “Beneficiary” rule will be in effect throughout the race.
• Green and yellow-flag laps will count in the first three segments. In the final segment, only green-flag laps will be scored.

Purse: $3,308,251 (event record)
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winner's purse: $1,012,975
Bonuses for the top three at the end of segments 1 and 2: 1st - $75,000; 2nd - $20,000; 3rd - $10,000

Radio/Television: Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live to its affiliate stations beginning at 6:45 p.m. (EDT). MRN's broadcast can also be heard on Sirius NASCAR Radio channel 128. SPEED Channel will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race live. Pre-race coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. (EDT) and also includes coverage of the Sprint Showdown.

--Mark it down on your calendars…the Penske Racing Fan Fest will be held at the Penske Racing headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., on Friday, May 23.  Many exciting events are being planned for Penske Racing fans, including a special autograph session with NASCAR stars Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr. and Ryan Newman.  In addition, attendees will be able to see a variety of racing machines that have propelled Penske Racing drivers into victory lane as well as the trophies they earned.  The popular Sirius Satellite Radio program, “The Morning Drive,” will be broadcasting live from the Penske Racing facility, located at 200 Penske Way in Mooresville.  (Mapquest directions available here: 

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/200+Penske+Way+Mooresville+NC+28115/ 

Kurt is set to sign autographs from 9:30 till 11:00 a.m.  Fans must have a ticket in order to get into the autograph line.  Ticket distribution will begin at 8:00 a.m.  For additional information, please visit the Penske Racing site at:

http://www.penskeracing.com/about/index.cfm?cid=15610

--Kurt scheduled to sign autographs this Saturday at his souvenir trailer from 4:00 p.m. till 4:30 p.m.  Tickets are free and can be obtained at the trailer on Saturday morning.  You must have a ticket to get in the line.

--“Quote me as saying I was misquoted.” –Groucho Marx

KURT BUSCH:  LAST SEGMENT STRATEGY WILL DETERMINE ALL-STAR RACE WINNER ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT LOWE’S
-Miller Lite Dodge Driver “Would Welcome Opportunity For A Busch Brother Face-Off”-

CONCORD, N.C. (May 13, 2008) – According to Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch, the first 75 laps of Saturday night’s 100-lap Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway will simply be an exercise of “prep work” for the competitors in getting ready for the final 25-lap segment.

            “It’ll all be about getting your car set up for the final 25-lap showdown,” Busch said of the 75 laps (first three 25-lap segments) of competition that will set up a final run to the checkered flag.  “To tell you the truth, it might not be the most exciting racing the fans have seen leading up to that final segment.

            “But when the green flag waves for the final 25 laps, you can fully expect to see all hell break loose,” said Busch.  “There’s a million dollars on the line.  It's an all or nothing race and nobody ever remembers who finished second.  Can you tell me who finished second in the All-Star race last year?

            “I think the determining factor as to who wins there on Saturday night will come down to which team has the best strategy,” claims Busch.  “You’ll already have your chassis setup like you want it and whatever potential fuel mileage issues under control before we head into the last segment, at least you better have.

            “I think the bottom line decision will be whether you take on four tires, two tires or no tires going into that final 25-lap run.  The importance of track position will likely have crew chiefs pulling their hair out in making that call.  The rules for the race mandate that all cars must come down pit road for at least a stop-and-go pit stop and we’ll restart in the position that we leave pit road.

            “So, do you get four tires and loosen her up a little?  Do you take on right-sides only and look to get a little extra grip to boost you on the restart?  Or, do you say to heck with it all and do nothing but the stop-and-go and head back out onto the track knowing that you’ll at least be up front for the start of the real showdown.

            “One thing that I came away thinking after last week’s two days of testing there (at LMS) is that the tires that Goodyear has for us are durable and have pretty good longevity.  From what we saw in the testing, I think everyone will be running the top side of the track for the first 75 laps.  Of course, the double-file restarts will add to the excitement.

“With the final 25 laps being run all under the green flag, perhaps the biggest question will be just how long that final set of Goodyears you have on can last.  If you don’t stop for tires before the last segment, how many laps do you have on that set?  You can take it to the bank that there will be caution flags flying in that last segment.

            “The great thing about it for our team is that, just like last year, we have one car that we’ll be racing in the All-Star Race and another Miller Lite Dodge that we’ll race in the (Coca-Cola) 600 the following week,” said Busch.  “I think we coined the phrase last year as ‘having an expendable car’ for the All-Star Race and that’s the exact same situation this time around.”

            In last year’s All-Star Race, Busch was battling with younger brother Kyle during the early laps of the fourth and final 20-lap segment when the two crashed and eliminated each other from the competition.

“I knew I had a car on the inside going down there into Turn 1,” said Busch.  I had cleared Jeff Burton off the tri-oval.  That other car just happened to be my little brother and he was on the gas. He was racing hard and inevitably the Busch Brothers had to get together. We did it in an all-star race. A million bucks were up for grabs, and I’m sure that’s why he didn’t lift and I’m sure that’s why I didn’t give an inch. We wrecked two good race cars.

“If I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I’d be every bit as aggressive as I was then,” said Busch.  “The big thing that I would do different is once I passed Burton, I’d have my left-side tires all the way down in the grass.  That would eliminate the open half-lane or whatever small bit of asphalt there was down there for him to try to make his move on.

            “Fact is that we’d certainly welcome the opportunity for a Busch Brother face-off there on Saturday night,” said Busch.  “If that happened, it would mean that we were racing strong enough to be up front.  Kyle and his Joe Gibbs Team are at the top of their game right now.  The way our season has gone, it would be a welcomed change.  If we get that chance, there’ll be fireworks on the track long before Humpy (Wheeler, track president) tells them to light the fuse after the race.”

This weekend’s Sprint All-Star Race weekend gets under way on Thursday night with the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman.  Busch will be steering his Miller Lite Dodge in the competition among pit crews set for 7:00 p.m. at Time Warner Arena.   The action shifts to the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Friday with practice set for 1:30 p.m. till 2:45 p.m. Qualifying on Friday evening at 6:15 p.m. will feature the unique format of three laps under the clock with a four-tire pit stop thrown into the equation.  Saturday’s Sprint All-Star Race will begin after the conclusion of the NASCAR Sprint Showdown “last chance” race at approximately 9:00 p.m.

# # #