Out of title hunt, but still in line for wins? 'Roger' that

Kurt Busch will be racing the PSC-111 Miller Lite Dodge at Atlanta -- the same car with which he won the rain-delayed race at Michigan in August. It's a car that hold special meaning for Busch.

"We named the car 'Roger' because the win came at a track that Roger Penske owned and nurtured," he explained. "It was our first race win that we were able to celebrate face to face with the 'Captain' in Victory Lane.

"He wasn't able to make it to our win at Bristol last year and he couldn't be at Pocono for the win earlier in August. For Roger to be there that day -- especially with all the sponsor reps and the folks from Dodge -- that definitely made the win all the more special."

That said, Busch sill be trying to bounce back from a 31st-place finish at Martinsville, a result that dropped him to 10th in points.

"We certainly know that we'll have our work cut out for us because the Atlanta track always presents such a big challenge," Busch said. "Keeping up with the changing track conditions is always a tough thing to do and the teams able to accomplish that are the ones that will be out there battling for the win at the end.

"The track is very abrasive and it wears the tires out only 10 laps or so into a run. If there is a yellow, you're going to come in and get four tires. In the beginning of the race, the car has much more grip to it because the track isn't filled in with rubber. You just seem to search all day long for which groove the car likes the best.

"It may be the low groove, the middle groove or the high groove," Busch added. "You find a spot where you want to run. Toward the end of the race, the fastest cars seem to get around the bottom of the racetrack. They are able to get in the gas sooner than anybody and carry that speed down those long straightaways. You have to search for where you want to be the most comfortable racing, but when the money is on the line you have to be able to race that low lane and past those guys."

Busch trails Jeff Gordon by 420 points with only four races remaining -- and while a second Cup Series championship is most likely out of the question, getting to Victory Lane remains the focus.

"We're coming in there going for the win, that's for sure," Busch said. "When you are in the position we're in, you have to go for it all. We still have four races remaining to get all we can. We're only 135 [points] out of fifth right now, so we can make up a lot of ground before the year is over and that's what our big-picture focus is all about right now."