Kurt Busch shrugged off his impending court appearance in Phoenix by posting the quickest time in Wednesday afternoon’s final practice session at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway that placed him and his #2 Penske Racing team among the top five overall from nearly 50 teams to have posted a time during the three day test.
KURT BUSCH
“I think everything is going real well (with new team) with getting up to speed. We've been on a pretty good tear with tests. We've been to Lakeland (Fla.) so far, Atlanta with a Goodyear tyre test and Daytona for three days. Then Nashville the week before this and now we're going to hit Kentucky, not really on our way back, but logistically it looks like it's on our way back to North Carolina, to get ready for
Daytona.
“We've got quite a few cars that we've run through. One's a Charger. One's an Intrepid. I think it's been a great start. The team is gelling well together, making good adjustments and bringing up differences in the way the 2 car used to drive versus where it looks now and comparing things to the 12 car and what they've got going on.
“It's been a good day. It's been a much better day than what we were doing yesterday. Yesterday just trying to decide the real differences between a Charger and an Intrepid, an '04 and an '05 car.”
Q
DOES IT STILL FEEL STRANGE GETTING IN THAT 2 CAR?
KB
“It still feels strange with many different reasons. I feel a little like Rusty Wallace. Everybody says, 'he's just not big like Rusty was', so I'm working on that. Rusty is a great guy to look up to and to fill his shoes. I look at it more like carrying on his legacy, the good times he's had, his championship and all the race wins, and of course, he's a short tracker and that's where I'm beginning to shine in the Nextel Cup Series, on the short tracks. I'm looking forward to the challenges at Bristol and Richmond and Martinsville, those good short tracks. Of course, we've got all kinds of good races coming up.”
Q
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO DRIVE FOR ROGER PENSKE?
KB
“What made me want to go was the sheer determination to go to victory lane that you could see from Ryan Newman but mainly from Roger Penske. The relationship that we've developed over the last few years has turned into a great relationship. I'm looking forward to this weekend. I get to go to the Super Bowl with him, and having that relationship with a car owner that's really what drove me to make that decision. When it gets down to the bottom line, I've got to look at where Kurt Busch can go and win races. I believe with Penske and Dodge I can do that far more into the future.”
Q
WAS THERE A TIME AFTER PHOENIX YOU WERE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH PENSKE?
KB
“Roger was very supportive, 100 percent behind me and never gave me any indication that things would change. The way he came to stand up to bat for me gave me a great impression of his leadership and the values he has as a team owner. Not at all, he knew the truth and we were moving forward. We've been in the car and testing and going to the Super Bowl this weekend. Roger has been a great guy, no doubt what so ever that things were going to change since then.”
Q
COMMENT ON GOING TO SUPER BOWL
KB
“I love to go to different events, live sporting games and events are things of my passion whether it's the Super Bowl or as small as my buddy's little league baseball team. I really enjoy going out and sitting in the bleachers and absorbing the atmosphere. This time around going with Roger I probably won't have time to sit down and absorb the atmosphere with all the on-the-go things we're going to be doing. Roger has invited me to the Super Bowl. I got a chance to go a couple of years ago when the Carolina Panthers were there. This time around I'm for the underdog. We'll see if Seattle can pull it through. They remind me a little of the 1985 Chicago Bears with the quarterback having that flair to him and having an MVP running back.”
![New Penske teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch confer with crew-chief Roy McCauley in the Vegas garage. [Pic Credit Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/192834.jpg)
