Kyle Busch unexpectedly strong in qualifying, focused on duals

Monday, Feb. 14, 2005 | 9:30 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Nobody was more surprised than Kyle Busch that he posted the 16th-fastest qualifying lap Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

"We came down here in testing (in January) and we never thought that we had a shot to qualify in the top 20," Busch said. "We had some cars that were pretty decent, but they needed a lot more work as far as becoming top-10, top-15 compatible," said Busch, a Durango High graduate.

"The guys went back to the shop and they cut on them a bunch and we were able to come back down to Daytona for the 500 with a pretty decent car. I feel as though our car drove really well when we were down here testing."

Because Busch felt he didn't have a car capable of contending for the pole, he said he and his Hendrick Motorsports crew came to Daytona with a car they believed would have a solid setup for the race.

"The front row is the only row that's set when you come down to Daytona, so if you don't have a pole-winning car, you're not overly excited for qualifying; you're just ready for the dual (qualifying) races," he said, referring to the Gatorade Dual, a pair of 150-mile races that determine the rest of the lineup for the Daytona 500.

"That's what we concentrated on in testing when we were here, knowing that we didn't have the car that was going to be able to go for the pole, so we made it drive good for the race. Hopefully we can work on it a little bit more in practice to get it to run better."

Busch, a rookie, will start 11th in Thursday's first 150-mile qualifying race, and said his approach to the event is simple.

"Keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble," he said. "We want to make sure that we get through there just trying to salvage a finish in order to get to the 500. If we could finish somewhere up front, that'd be great; obviously, that's a better starting position for us.

"We're looking forward to getting out there and hopefully we can earn some respect from some of the veterans out there during practices on Wednesday in order to prepare ourselves better for the (race) on Thursday and just trying to get some help so we can try to run up front."

Although he is a rookie in the Nextel Cup Series, Busch is no novice at Daytona International Speedway. He won last year's ARCA race in his first career start on the 2.5-mile track and was running in the top 10 in last year's NASCAR Busch Series race when his engine overheated and he dropped out of the race.

HO-HUM: Sunday's qualifying for the Daytona 500 drew a sparse crowd at the cavernous Daytona International Speedway -- a fact that came as no surprise to pole-winner Dale Jarrett.

"Unless I missed something, watching those cars go around there two laps at a time is not very exciting," Jarrett said. "There are a lot of other things people would rather do than just sit there. I don't know how long that took ... I watched three basketball games and a golf tournament while it was going on."

VENTURINI UPDATE: ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Billy Venturini suffered neck injuries during a multi-car accident in Saturday's ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway.

Venturini, 28, was scheduled to have surgery Sunday to repair ligament damage in his neck. Once he is stabilized from that surgery, Venturini will undergo an additional procedure to install a Halo Device on his head and neck to secure the fractured vertebra.

A team spokesman said Venturini has not suffered any paralysis and is expected to make a full recovery.

NEW TEAM: Eric McClure will run the full 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup season and will battle Kyle Busch and Travis Kvapil for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award.

McClure, 26, will drive the No. 73 ARC Dehooker/RFA Chevrolet for the series' newest full-time team, Raabe Racing Enterprises. Tim Brewer will be the team's crew chief.

McClure is the son of Jerry McClure, one of the founders and co-owners of Morgan-McClure Motorsports, which fields the No. 4 Lucas Oil Chevrolet for Mike Wallace in the Nextel Cup Series. Raabe Racing will have a strategic alliance with Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

I DO: Mark Martin, who will be starting his final Daytona 500 on Sunday, served as the honorary best man as former "Survivor" reality TV series winner Chris Daugherty married Lorie Groves in Daytona's Victory Lane prior to Saturday's qualifying session.

The ceremony took place while the International Race of Champions (IROC) cars were on the track for practice.

"It was perfect," Martin said, "because the IROC cars were running and every time they came by, instead of that being an irritation, that was exactly what (the couple) wanted."