Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Busch team works to improve on successful formula

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 | 10:49 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.

Kurt Busch has won four of the past six races at Bristol Motor Speedway, but he isn't taking anything for granted going into Sunday's Food City 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race.

Busch, a Las Vegas native, spent last Monday testing his No. 97 Sharpie Ford on the half-mile oval.

"Bristol has been a good place for us," Busch said. "We've won the last three (spring races) here and we're shooting for four in a row. To do that, we needed to come back and test.

"Even though we probably would have been OK in the race if we hadn't tested, we're able to go there and try new things since we are so comfortable with the track. (Crew chief Jimmy Fennig) had some ideas and we were able to get some good feedback."

Because Goodyear introduced a new tire compound this season, Busch said it was time to go back to the track where he earned his first Cup victory to update the team's notes.

"We've noticed that our (Bristol) setup has been somewhat the same, and we know that the setup for everybody else has changed, so we're hoping to establish a setup that will still enable us to go to the front and run consistent lap times with these new tires.

"Now we're looking for a spectacular run instead of just a solid run."

Busch won the spring race at Bristol in 2002 and swept both the spring and fall races in 2003. He picked up his third consecutive victory there last spring but finished eighth last fall in the race won by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Busch, the reigning Nextel Cup champion, left Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 13 with the points lead but slipped to fourth in the standings after a 32nd-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NICE START: Former World of Outlaws driver Erin Crocker, who will make her NASCAR Busch Series debut later this season for Evernham Motorsports, won the pole for Saturday's ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Nashville Speedway in her first start in the series.

Crocker, 24, led the first 28 laps of the race and was attempting to make a three-wide pass for the lead with 29 laps remaining when she spun out, but she saved the car from hitting another car or the wall and continued to a 12th-place finish.

"The guys built a really fast Dodge and Erin did a terrific job putting it on the pole," team owner Ray Evernham said of Crocker's ARCA debut. "She worked hard all race long to protect the racecar and gain spots on the field and she learned a lot working the race traffic and getting in and out of the pits.

"She proved that she's got a lot of talent. And when she went three-wide for the lead, she proved she's got the courage and focus it takes to be successful in this sport."

Crocker last year became the first woman to win a World of Outlaws preliminary feature. Evernham plans to enter Crocker in several more ARCA races before putting her in a Busch Series car later this season. She also will drive in the USAC Silver Crown Series for Kasey Kahne Racing.

CRUNCH TIME: Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol marks the final Nextel Cup race in which last year's car owner points will be used to determine the 35 guaranteed spots in the starting lineup each week.

Among the series regulars who are not in the top 35 (based on car owner points) going into Sunday's race are Mike Wallace, John Andretti, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Rudd and Robby Gordon.