Busch: Style of racing remains the same at 'Dega

Kurt Busch probably is among the minority as far as the Nextel Cup drivers go entering Talladega. He is actually looking forward to the race and readily accepts the challenge it will present.

Busch rolls into Talladega with a 10.2 average finish -- tops among active drivers with at least five starts.

"After hearing about all the guys saying how much they are dreading the Talladega race this weekend, it may sound pretty strange when I say that I can't wait to get there," said Busch, who is ninth in points after finishing 11th at Kansas and trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 177 points with seven races remaining in the Chase.

"I've said all along that this race will be the 'wild card' race of the 10 Chase races because it's a [restrictor-] plate race and there are so many new dimensions that enter into the equation. The bottom line is that it will still be a plate race and that has been one of the stellar aspects of our total program at Penske Racing.

"We've gotten to the point that we are one of the strongest threats to win in all of the races at Talladega and at Daytona. We're definitely going to have our breakthrough win soon -- and it very well could come Sunday at Talladega."

Sunday's race is the first Car of Tomorrow race on the largest track on the circuit. It will be the first plate race for the new car. There will be a designated plate size and gear rule for the event -- and more.

Cup Series director John Darby said that teams are going to practice at Talladega with the restrictor plate, wing angle and wicker height that they ended a recent test session (Sept. 10-11) with. But he also said that two of those could change if speeds are too high.

"Basically, we're going to start out with this size of a restrictor plate, and if everything proves out OK, we'll leave it," Darby said. "But the ultimate restrictor-plate size won't be determined until the conclusion of final Cup practice.

"If the speeds do seem to be too high, NASCAR will react accordingly."

Busch is dealing with those unknown factors in stride.

"Whatever NASCAR decides for us to run, the thing to remember is that it will be the same for every driver and team out there," said Busch, who finished third in his first Talladega race in April 2001. "The basic style of racing will still be the same, but some of the components will be different, that's all.

"It'll be a challenge, but we'll be up for it," he said. "It really is exciting to have that many different things to work on. We don't know what gear rule we're going to have or what restrictor plate we are going to have. The front springs, where we run the sway bar, the track bar -- all up in the air -- so there is a bunch of different options.

"With the COT cars, it's going to change the element of how Talladega races and I think it will be twice as exciting. Whoever does the best at reacting to all the changes we'll face will probably have the best shot at winning. Like we've been saying all year long, we look to be up to the challenge."