TEAM NO. 5’s HISTORY AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY:

In three Busch Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the No. 5 team has one top-five finish, which came last year with driver Kyle Busch. Last October, Busch qualified fourth and led 17 laps, but was unable to catch Matt Kenseth, the eventual race winner, in the closing laps.

INTRODUCING BLAKE FEESE:

Team Lowe’s Racing driver, Blake Feese, will make his first start of the 2005 Busch Series season at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. Feese, 23, hails from Saybrook, Ill. where he began his career racing Quarter Midget cars when he was just 10 years old. In 2003, Feese won a World of Outlaws sprint car race at “The Dirt Track” at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. While walking down pit road at Lowe’s Motor Speedway the following week, Feese was introduced to the man who would become his future boss, Rick Hendrick.

Signed to Hendrick Motorsports’ driver development program last year, Feese scored two wins (Nashville Superspeedway and Talladega Superspeedway) in four ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) starts. Feese also made three Busch Series starts in the No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Chevy and four starts in the No. 00 Haas Chevy, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports.

MULTI-DRIVER TEAM:

The Team Lowe’s Racing crew is competing for the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points championship with no fewer than four different drivers sharing seat time in the No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet. Plans call for Boston Reid and Blake Feese to drive at least 13 races a piece, while Kyle Busch is piloting the car in three events (the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, last weekend’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway race, and the August race at Watkin Glens International). Open-wheel star Adrian Fernandez drove the No. 5 to a top-10 finish in the March 6 Busch Series race in Mexico.

TEST SESSION:

Blake Feese tested at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the No. 5 team on Tuesday, Feb. 28, and Wednesday, March 1. The session marked the first time Feese has tested in the No. 5 machine.

Q&A WITH DRIVER BLAKE FEESE:

You drove the No. 00 in last year’s Atlanta Busch Series race, and you tested here in the No. 5 car a few weeks ago. What are you expecting in this year’s race?:

“When we tested, there was really no rubber down on the track. With the (Craftsman) trucks, the Busch cars and the (Nextel) Cup cars all being on track before the Busch cars race on Saturday, I think the track will be a lot different than it was when we tested. In the test, we ran around the bottom of the track, but you’re going to need a car that can move around and utilize different lines around the track if you expect to be successful in the race.

“The test session really went well. We heard some numbers from other guys that tested here, and we were faster than any of the other guys we talked to. We’ll have to see if that holds true when we get back out there.”

With all of the drivers you can talk to at Hendrick Motorsports, do you find yourself going to all of them for advice?:

“No, not really, because it gets to a point where you can get too much information and it becomes counterproductive. After the first day of our test here, I did talk to Jimmie (Johnson) and the things he told me helped me a lot when we came back for the second day.

“What’s going to be cool is that Jimmie is running the Busch race this weekend, so I’ll be able to talk to him and we can compare notes in an ‘apples to apples’ kind of way, since he’s using the same chassis and same engines that I am. Even though we’ll probably have different setups under our cars, he understands exactly what I’m feeling when I talk about how the car’s handling, because he has the same equipment. Talking to him really helps shorten my learning curve, and I hope that will be the case again this weekend.”

With this being your first start of 2005, what goals have you set for yourself for this race?:

“Realistically, my mindset is that if we can qualify and finish in the top-15, it will be a good day. A top-10 finish would be very successful for us, I think. If we’re able to run in the top-10 most of the day, then maybe we’ll look at a top-five as being successful. If we happen to be running in the top-five near the end of the race, then we can shift our focus towards looking for the win.”

You drove the No. 00 here last year, but struggled a little bit. What’s different this year that will help you be more successful?:

“Well, first of all, we didn’t test here last year. Also, I had just started driving for the team and working with ‘Bootie’ (crew chief Robert Barker), and the Atlanta race weekend was the weekend he moved up to take over the crew chief job for Haas’ (Nextel) Cup team. So, Bill Ingle was my crew chief for this race last year, and he and I had literally just met. We had no time together to figure out what the car needed, so that was a big disadvantage. There’s a lot to be said for building the chemistry between a crew chief and a driver, and Bill and I just didn’t have a chance to develop that last year, especially not in just one race.”

Q&A WITH CREW CHIEF JIM LONG:

You tested at Atlanta with Blake Feese. What are your expectations for the race?:

“I expect to hopefully sit on the pole and win the race. I tell you, we were really fast in that test session. Blake really impressed me with how well he got around this track.”

You tested for a half day, then went to a Lowe’s function that evening, where Blake (Feese) got some tips from Jimmie (Johnson) on how to get around the Atlanta track. Could you tell a difference in Blake’s speeds the following day?:

“Yeah, he improved his times after he talked with Jimmie. I mean, we were fast to begin with. Blake was doing a good job, but Jimmie just helped him cross some ‘T’s’ and dot some ‘I’s.’ It’s great that Blake has drivers like Jimmie and Jeff (Gordon) that he can go to for advice. He could do a lot worse than talking to those guys.”

Jimmie is competing in this Busch race. How close are the two cars, in terms of setup?:

“They’re not far off from one another. I think Chad (Knaus, crew chief) is probably going to be a little more ‘edgy’ in his setup, just because he’s probably trying to learn more for his Cup car. What’s going to be neat is that we’ll be able to go to him and see what is working and not working on his car, just like he’ll be able to do with us. It always helps to have a teammate you can feed off of.”

How would you rate the season so far?:

“Well, we’ve managed to lead a lap in every race, so that’s a positive. I can’t say I’m happy with all of our finishes, but I am happy with the way we’ve performed. I think we had cars capable of finishing in the top-10 at California (Speedway) and (Las) Vegas (Motor Speedway), and I think we had cars capable of winning at Daytona (International Speedway) and in Mexico. We’ve been sent to the back in every race so far, so to come back from those setbacks and post some solid finishes is a good thing. If we’d have struggled in those races, it would be one thing, but we’ve performed pretty well in every race.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 318:

Chassis No. 318 was added to the Hendrick Motorsports stable last season. Kyle Busch drove this chassis to a 29th-place finish at Kansas Speedway last October. Starting fourth in that event, Busch was caught up in an accident that sent him behind the wall for 19 laps for repairs.

STATS & FACTS

The No. 5 Lowe’s team has led at least one lap in each of the first five races of the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series season.

Rick Hendrick, owner of the No. 5 Lowe’s/Hitachi Power Tools entry, now sits 11th in the NASCAR Busch Series owners’ points standings after four events of the 35-race season.

The No. 5 Team Lowe’s Racing Chevy will carry the Hitachi Power Tools logo on its quarter panels this weekend. Hitachi Power Tools carries an extensive line of professional grade tools and accessories for residential construction, commercial construction, tradesman and Do-It-Yourselfers. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Hitachi Power Tools supplies nearly 4000 retail locations and supports nearly 1000 authorized service centers. Hitachi Power Tools, Spectracide and Sta Green join returning Lowe’s vendor partners, Briggs & Stratton, Shop Vac and Pella as sponsors of the No. 5 team this season.