Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Kyle Busch to run tune-up at Daytona

Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 | 9:56 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Kyle Busch isn't leaving anything to chance heading into the NASCAR Busch Series season opener next month at Daytona International Speedway.

Busch, who has seven Busch Series starts under his belt but has never raced on the famed banks at Daytona, will compete in the Feb. 7 ARCA Series race there as a tune-up for the Feb. 14 Busch Series race.

"We came down (to Daytona) a few weeks ago and tested that ARCA car and we're really looking forward to bringing that back down here," Busch said Wednesday after wrapping up a two-day test at DIS. "I've actually never been able to race on this facility in the draft, so being able to get out there to get that experience before the Busch race will definitely help out.

"Any kind of seat time you get is seat time and it definitely can't hurt you any."

Busch, an 18-year-old Las Vegas native and the younger brother of Nextel Cup star Kurt Busch, drove in seven ARCA races last season for Hendrick Motorsports. He won two races and qualified on the pole three times.

This year, Busch moves into the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Busch Series Chevrolet that Brian Vickers drove to three victories and the series championship in 2003 and will attempt to qualify for six Nextel Cup points races, including the March 7 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

During his two-day test session at Daytona, Busch was second fastest on Tuesday and sixth fastest on Wednesday among the 26 drivers who took part in the test.

"Everything's going good," Busch said. "We're right on where we need to be. This whole Hendrick organization along with the Lowe's people -- I have been very fortunate to work with (them). It's really been amazing the way everything's come together so far from the beginning of the year."

Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouses will sponsor Busch's No. 5 Chevrolet in the Busch Series. Busch will be testing both his Busch Series and Nextel Cup cars next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Allen, 35, has worked in the Nextel Cup, Busch Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series for such drivers as Sterling Marlin, Geoffrey Bodine, Jimmy Spencer, Jamie McMurray, Joe Ruttman, Jeff Purvis and Randy LaJoie.

Allen replaces Shane Wilson, who left the team last month to serve as Brendan Gaughan's crew chief on the No. 77 Penske-Jasper Racing Dodge in the Nextel Cup Series.

"Orleans Racing is a top-notch race team," Allen said. "After meeting the guys on the team and finding out that Steve Park was driving, I felt it was the right organization to join. Now we just need to go win races; I wouldn't expect anything less from this group."

Allen takes over a team that won six Truck Series races last season and finished fourth in the final points standings.

"Johnny has the experience needed to lead this team," Park said. "I've known him for a few years but I've never had the chance to work with him. I know what he has done in the past and I look forward to what he will accomplish in the future.

"I believe he has the talent and leadership skills to continue Orleans Racing's tradition of winning races."

"It's obviously too early to tell what impact this is going to have on the championship," Waltrip said this week. "It's still all based on points and it's still all based on consistency. What I don't like is that you could still have a champion that hasn't won a race; that's what I thought NASCAR was trying to eliminate.

"It should be based on wins. That way, you have drivers every week that are out there racing to win and not settling for points. You want some excitement to all the races, not just the last 10. I'm not sure the change will accomplish that, but we'll see how it plays out."

Reigning Cup champion Matt Kenseth, who captured last year's championship with only one race victory, was perhaps the harshest critic of the new format.

"Honestly, it's worse than I thought," Kenseth said. "There was a lot of talk about putting more of an emphasis on winning races but I don't think this really does that. They didn't do anything to take away consistency. In fact, it's probably more about consistency now because you can just concentrate on having solid finishes and making sure you're in that top 10 for the final 10 races of the year.

"I feel this is entertainment driven and it definitely is nothing like what it was when racing started for most of us."

"Looking at the back of the room I see Rusty Wallace's name on a Dodge. I see Ryan Newman's and I see mine on a Dodge next to it; that's pretty special," Gaughan said Thursday during a media tour of the team's shops.

"I'm going to try to keep my mouth shut and do what Mr. Penske says, listen to him as much as I can and try to stay out of trouble."

Open Wheel Racing Series, LLC intends to purchase CART's assets and assume its liabilities and continue the series in 2004. The rival Indy Racing League also has inspected CART's equipment and race contracts but has not announced whether it would enter a bid.

OWRS principals Kevin Kalkhoven and Paul Gentilozzi this week reiterated their group's intention to keep the series on track this season.

"While we are aware of the interest shown by other parties, OWRS is committed to assuming all the liabilities associated with the bankruptcy," Kalkhoven said in a statement. "These liabilities may well run into tens of millions of dollars. With an initial commitment of $15 million of working capital and an assumption of these liabilities, OWRS is laying the foundation for the Champ Car series to be successful for many years into the future."

"We have letters of intent from the teams representing more than 18 cars, we've got a television package ready to announce as well as the confirmed 2004 race schedule," Gentilozzi said. "We believe the loyalty of the fans, teams, sponsors, and promoters will be justified and rewarded when the current bankruptcy proceedings are completed."

Lynch, who won three races and earned three poles in the series in 2003, sat on the pole for last year's season opener at Phoenix and finished second in the race to NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader.