To win Busch race, drivers searching for afterburners

Chicagoland Speedway has always been kind to Busch Series regulars and drivers who have never won a race in the series.

Ryan Newman falls into neither of those categories.

Rocketman seems to know the quick way around the 1.5-mile racetrack just outside of Chicago. As an Indiana native, maybe it's some sort of Midwest thing. As a driver who knows how to lay down hot laps in a two-circuit qualifying run, maybe it's just that Chicagoland presents a perfect setup for Newman to press his right foot to the floor.

By the Numbers

Chicagoland has historically been kind to Busch drivers and those seeking thier first victory.

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"I always have fun when I run in the Busch Series and we've done really well at Chicago in the past," said Newman, who will drive the No. 12 Dodge for Penske Racing in Saturday's USG Durock 300 (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC). "We've been on the pole both times I've run here and the last time we were here, we led a lot of laps and ran at the front the whole race."

Well, except at the end.

In 2005, Newman spent 118 laps setting the pace in his Dodge. But a late-race pit stop that saw his crew take too many men over the wall forced NASCAR to levy a penalty. Newman recovered with his fast machine, worked his way through the field and with the best car on the track, and wound up third.

"It was a pretty good race, but we made a mistake and that's just what we deserved," he said after he got out of his car.

Kevin Harvick won the race. It was the first time a Busch-only driver did not win at Chicagoland.

Last year, again, it was a Penske car that dominated and another car that won. Kurt Busch led a race-high 79 laps and, much like Newman the previous season, a different pit strategy dropped him deep into the field. He couldn't recover and finished sixth.

Casey Mears won the race -- also with pit strategy.

"You know, we had a fast racecar that whole race -- top-five the whole race long -- and made a gamble on fuel there at the end," said Mears, who scored his first career Busch Series victory and for the second consecutive season bucked the trend of Chicagoland being a Busch-friendly race.

Six races with the first four being won by Busch Series regulars and the last two being taken by Cup drivers. If it's a transition that's overcoming the entire series, the Busch drivers certainly hope to end it now.

Stephen Leicht thinks he might be able to do just that with a speed machine of his own. Leicht won his first Busch race last month at another 1.5-mile track with swooping turns, Kentucky.

"Chicagoland is one of the few tracks on the circuit that I haven't been able to race on yet," Leicht said. "It appears to be pretty similar to Kentucky, so hopefully I can have the same luck this weekend as I did a month ago."

And to do that, he will likely have to drive his rocket around the man called Rocket.

"We are taking my favorite car," Leicht said. The name of that car that Leicht says has an average finish of fifth: The Rocket.