Kyle Busch is still looking for his first career Busch Series victory. Credit: Autostock

Kyle Busch craving experience at Bristol

NBS race will be second part of Bristol triple for Cup rookie

Kyle Busch doesn't have the experience of a Jeff Gordon or Rusty Wallace at Bristol Motor Speedway.

At this rate, he'll catch up quickly.

	Inside the Numbers Kyle Busch in the Busch Series Starts 49 Wins 6 Top-5s 19 Top-10s 26 Poles 5 Laps Led 1,234 Avg. Start 7.8 Avg. Finish 13.2

Friday's Food City 250 will be the second of three Bristol races that Busch will compete in this weekend. He ran in Wednesday's Craftsman Truck Series race and, of course, he'll run in the Sharpie 500 on Saturday night.

"Well, the ultimate goal is to learn information you can apply to the (Nextel) Cup car on Sunday, or Saturday night in this case," Busch said. "What we've found is that it seems to take a combination of what you learn in the trucks and the Busch cars to help you in the Cup race."

The theory has some merit. Busch competed in all three series last June at Dover and ended the weekend with a second-place finish behind Greg Biffle in the Nextel Cup event that Sunday.

The one downfall that weekend -- Busch was 36th after wrecking in the Busch race. He doesn't expect a similar fate Friday. After all, he finished third in both Busch Series events at Bristol last season.

"We were lucky to get some decent starting spots last year, and that really helps," If you can qualify up near the front, maybe somewhere in the top 10, it seems to make it a little easier to miss the wrecks and avoid some of that stuff.

"If you have to start back in the field, you have to pick your way through a lot of cars, and it just seems easier if you can stay ahead of some of the wrecks instead of having to dodge them."

Busch can also afford to be a bit more aggressive on Friday night. Last year, he was in the midst of a Busch Series championship battle with Martin Truex Jr. This time around, a win is the only thing that matters. What's more, he'll be going for his second win of the season in the No. 5 Chevrolet. He took the checkered flag in May at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Bristol, however, is a different beast.

"If you win here, you deserved to win, because it means you kept your nose clean and made smart decisions," Busch said of the bullring. "You're not going to back into a win at Bristol. You really have to earn it.

"It's a place that requires a total team effort, and I like that about it."

Jim Long, Busch's crew chief in the Busch Series, says the team is ready to put forth the effort.

"It's a lot more about track position now than it used to be," Long said. (Teams I've worked with) have had some good runs here, so I'm excited to go back.

"There are very few crew chiefs that have a record of always bringing their car home in one piece from this place."

Notes

• Martin Truex Jr., who finished 31st in the March race at Bristol after a late wreck, is 204 points in front of second-place Clint Bowyer in the Busch Series standings.

• Ryan Newman will attempt to become only the fifth driver to snag three consecutive Busch Series wins. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the last to accomplish the feat in 1999.

• Frank Cicci Racing with Jim Kelly will field two teams for the first time this season at Bristol. Todd Bodine, who posted the majority of his 15 Busch Series wins with the team, will pilot the No. 34 Chevrolet, joining two-time series champion Randy LaJoie on the team.