The NASCAR Busch Series not only is a proving ground for young drivers aspiring to make the jump to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, but it is fast becoming an opportunity for drivers in  open-wheel racing to prove themselves in a stock car.

On this Memorial Day holiday weekend, Charlotte has become the place for some fomer open-wheelers who seek new challenges to conquer, starting with Saturday night-s NASCAR Busch Series  event - The
CARQUEST Auto Parts 300.

Juan Pablo Montoya (#42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge), a former Indy 500 champion who last March also became a NASCAR Busch Series winner with his victory in Mexico City, is firmly planted in the series top 10 and is only two points out of the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings lead.

J.J. Yeley (#1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevy) finished ninth in the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie in 1998. He-s one of five drivers pulling -double-duty- this year, running full-time in the NASCAR Busch Series and in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.

Dave Blaney (#10 ABF U-Pack Moving Toyota) is fourth in the points and captured his first national series win when he won the NASCAR Busch Series race at LMS last fall. He began his career in sprint cars.

Kasey Kahne (#9 Country Crock Dodge) is another open-wheel alum who worked his way through the NASCAR Busch Series to gain a ride in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Ditto with Casey Mears (#24 National Guard Ford) who, like Montoya and Blaney, claims a NASCAR win in NASCAR Busch Series competition.
Robby Gordon (#55 Verizon Wireless Ford) pulled the Indy 500-Coca Cola 600 -double- in 2002-03 and now owns teams in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and in the NASCAR Busch Series. He looks to help develop other drivers - open-wheeler Ryan Hunter Reay for starters - for NASCAR competition.

Defending Race Winner Edwards Also Fastest At Last Week-s LMS Test

NASCAR Busch Series points leader Carl Edwards (#60 Scotts/Ortho Ford) has to feel good about his chances to build on his lead and capture his second consecutive win at Lowe-s Motor Speedway.

His competitors, on the other hand, must feel like they-re getting hit with a double-whammy.

Edwards is tied for the series lead with two wins and owns a series-high eight top fives to go with 11 top-10 finishes in the season-s first 12 races.

Not only is he the defending race winner at LMS, but he led each of the four test sessions over a two-day period last Monday and Tuesday at the track including a fast lap of 29.565 seconds (182.648 mph) during the Monday evening session - similar conditions to those on Saturday night-s race.

Edwards also paces three of the top five categories in Loop Data. He-s first in Average Running Position (6.987), in Quality Passes (573) and in Laps in the Top 15 (2.053).
 
In The Loop: Kurt Busch Picks His Spot In Charlotte But Watch For Mears and Kluever

Kurt Busch (#12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge) chooses his NASCAR Busch Series races wisely.

The Las Vegas native has run two of the 12 events thus far in 2007 and has finishes of fourth and eighth, respectively.

He-ll run his third NASCAR Busch Series race Saturday night at Lowe-s Motor Speedway and a little analysis shows why he-s picked this race.

In his first career series race at LMS last year, Busch finished second behind Carl Edwards. Busch had a Driver Rating of 123.8, an Average Running Position of 4.165 and turned the fastest lap 14 times. Additionally, of the 200 laps run last year, Busch spent 194 of them in the Top 15.

Look for Casey Mears (#24 National Guard Chevy) to also continue his 2007 NASCAR Busch Series success. In his eight races this year, Mears has scored seven top 10s and four top fives. If his past history at the 1.5-mile track continues, he should improve on this year-s average finish of 9.9.

Mears finished fourth in this race last year and led 12 laps in the fall race before an accident on Lap 198 took him out of a probable win.

Of drivers competing this weekend, Mears has the second-best Driver Rating (111.4), the second-best Average Running Position (6.747), the second-most Fastest Laps Run (51) and the second-fastest Green Flag Speed.

Then there-s the standings leader, Edwards, who won this race last year and led a race-high 123 laps in the fall before the accident on Lap 198 that claimed three drivers going for the win. He has the eighth-best Average Running Position (12.632), the eighth-best Driver Rating (97.7) and has 64 Fastest Laps Run, more than any other driver racing this weekend.

Of the series regulars, Todd Kluever (#26 Dish Network Ford) could shine Saturday night. He has an impressive Driver Rating of 87.3 in two races at LMS and his Average Running Position of 12.449 is seventh-best. Kluever also has 50 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the Top 15 under green), which is tied for eighth-most at LMS.

NBS ETC.

• Former Champ Returns: David Green (#91 YRT2.Net Toyota) is set to make his return to the NASCAR Busch Series this weekend while assisting the new Riley-D-Hondt Motorsports team with its start-up. Green, the 1994 champion, hasn-t driven since leaving Brewco Motorsports last September. He joined the Riley-D-Hondt organization soon thereafter and has been awaiting his return. The native of Owensboro, Ky., turned his first laps in the #91 Toyota at last week-s test session at Lowe-s Motor Speedway. Toyota will be the fourth manufacturer Green has competed for during his 17-year career and he-s won in the previous three (Chevy, Pontiac and Ford). In his new position, Green will help another new face, Bobby Santos, who will serve as his teammate via the Bill Davis Racing driver development program. He also stayed busy since last fall in assisting Hendrick Motorsports in its Car of Tomorrow success, serving as a test driver for the team. He also spotted for good friend and former series champion Brian Vickers in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, as well as for Stephen Leicht (#90 CitiFinancial Ford) in the NASCAR Busch Series. 
• Cameo Appearances: Jimmie Johnson (#48 Lowe-s Chevy), the 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion, is entered in Saturday night-s field. The event is the first Johnson will attempt in the series this year and his first since last fall at LMS where he finished 42nd due to an early accident. Johnson competed in two full-time NASCAR Busch Series seasons in 200-01 and has one win and two poles. He holds the qualifying record at LMS (187.735 in 2005). Bill Elliott (#32 Seymour of Sycamore Toyota) also is entered and will attempt to make his first series start since 2005.
• Memorial Day Tributes: Four cars will carry paint schemes as part of the American Heroes Memorial Day Salute to the Armed Forces, kicking off a nationwide effort to raise funds for military families in need. Shane Huffman (#88 U.S. NAVY Chevy), Johnny Sauter (#28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy) and the Roush Fenway duo of Greg Biffle (#16 3M/Coast Guard Ford) and Casey Mears (#24 National Guard Ford) are carrying the special schemes in the NASCAR Busch Series this weekend. Biffle is the top threat among the group with two wins, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 12 races at Lowe-s Motor Speedway.

The Director-s Take: LMS

WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT LMS:
THOUGHTS FROM JOE BALASH, NASCAR BUSCH SERIES DIRECTOR

-Teams will look to get their cars set up so as to get all the mechanical grip that they can at Lowe-s Motor Speedway.

-Based upon the resurfacing of the track, the tire compound is harder. That makes grip very important.

-Pit strategy for track position is also really important at LMS. Teams that find it difficult to pass on the racetrack can make up valuable positions with good pit strategy and great teamwork during those crucial stops.

-The test last week was a huge help specific to this event. Teams that were on top of the leader board during the two days of testing should, in turn, fare well during the event.-

Rookie Spotlight: Krisiloff Makes A Quiet Charge

• Krisiloff Becoming A Player: Kyle Krisiloff (#14 Clabber Girl Ford) heads to Charlotte only 10 points behind Marcos Ambrose (#59 Kingsford Ford) in the Raybestos Rookie standings. Krisiloff, who ran his first three series races in 2005 as a developmental driver for Hendrick Motorsports, found a home with the new Haas-Carter entry this season and plans to compete full-time in 2007. The native of Carmel, Ind., posted his career-best finish (fifth) at Talladega Superspeedway last month. He has six other top-20 finishes this season.
• Ragan Continues Hold On Lead: David Ragan (#6 Discount Tire Ford) remains in first place in the standings, two points in front of Juan Pablo Montroya. Ambrose, who held the lead after Talladega, has had tough luck lately, posting finishes of 26th or worse in three of his last four races. Those results also have cost him a top-10 spot in the standings, where he had been for nine consecutive weeks before falling to his current 11th-place ranking after Richmond.
• Rookie Success At LMS: Kyle Busch (#5 Sta Green-Lowe-s Chevy) won this race during his rookie season in 2004 and in the process re-captured the standings lead. He had become the first rookie in series history to lead the standings two weeks before.

2007 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS

      Driver                           Points
1.   David Ragan                     122
2.   Juan Pablo Montoya          120
3.   Marcos Ambrose               112
4.   Kyle Krisiloff                      102
5.   Brad Keselowski                 64
6.   Brad Coleman                     50
7.   Justin Diercks                     39
8.   Sam Hornish Jr.                  35
9.   Robert Richardson Jr.          23
10. Alex Garcia                          7
11. Bobby Santos                      6

ESPN/ABC

ESPN2 will feature NASCAR Busch Series racing live in prime time Saturday night. The telecast will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET with the pre-race NASCAR Countdown program, with the race to start at 8 p.m. 

Dale Jarret will join two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree in the booth for analysis during the telecast. Dr. Jerry Punch will handle play-by-play duties. Dave Burns, Mike Massaro and Shannon Spake will serve as pit reporters.

Allen Bestwick, whose multiple roles in ESPN-s NASCAR coverage this season include play-by-play announcer, studio host and pit reporter, will host NASCAR Countdown. He will be in the anchor position for next month-s NASCAR Busch Series race at Milwaukee. Bestwick will be joined in ESPN-s pit studio for NASCAR Countdown by analyst Brad Daugherty; Tim Brewer will be at the ESPN Chevy Cutaway Car.

In addition to the telecast on ESPN2, ESPN-s signature broadband service, ESPN360.com, will deliver a live online simulcast of the event, and a Spanish-language version of the race will be televised on ESPN Deportes, ESPN-s domestic Spanish-language network.

2007 At-A-Glance: NASCAR Busch Series Leaders After 12 Of 35 Races:

Traditional Statistics:                                                                                     
Driver points - Edwards (1958)
Victories - Bowyer, J. Burton, Edwards, Kenseth (2)
Races led - Edwards (8)
Laps led - Ky. Busch (532)
Top-five finishes - Edwards (9)
Top-10 finishes - Edwards (11)
Owner points - Roush Fenway (#60) - (1958)
Money Won - Edwards ($527,650)
Miles led - Ky. Busch (760.03)
Busch Poles - Ky. Busch, Hamlin (2)
Closing in on Top 10 - Biffle 10th (1215 pts), Ambrose (-15), Bowyer (-31), J. Burton (-40), Ky. Busch (-44) 
Consecutive Weeks in Top 10 - Blaney, Edwards, Harvick (12)

Loop Data Statistics:

Driver Rating - Ky. Busch (114.9)
Average Running Position - Edwards (6.987)
Fastest Laps Run - Ky. Busch (237 fastest laps)
Quality Passes - Edwards (573)
Laps In Top 15 - Edwards (2,053 of a possible 2,189)

Three Different Manufacturer Winners In Last Three Races At LMS

• Chevy retains its comfortable lead in the Bill France Performance Cup standings heading to Lowe-s Motor Speedway, but Saturday night-s race is a golden opportunity for any manufacturer to capture a victory there.
• Three different manufacturers have been to Victory Lane in the last three NASCAR Busch Series races at LMS, while two different manufacturers have won the last two CARQUEST Auto Parts events.
  Carl Edwards and Ford won this event last year and Edwards was fastest in each of the four sessions over two days of testing at the track last week. Kevin Harvick won at LMS last fall in his #33 Dollar General Chevy, the car he will drive Saturday night. Harvick also clinched the series title in that event. Ryan Newman took Dodge to victory in the fall race in 2005.
• Since 1991, Ford has won 15 races at LMS while Chevy has 14 victories. Dodge has one win while Toyota makes its series debut Saturday at the track.

NASCAR Busch Series Manufacturers' Standings

Chevy   91
Ford          78 
Dodge       49
Toyota      46

Up Next: Dover 200 At Dover International Speedway

June kicks off in -monster- fashion as the NASCAR Busch Series heads to Dover International Speedway for the Dover 200 on June 2.

Jeff Burton joined the list of 46 winners last year with his victory. The starting lineup was set by owner points as inclement weather canceled qualifying.

Todd Bodine is the all-time series winner at Dover with three. Harry Gant totaled five Busch Poles, still the standard at the one-mile track nicknamed the -Monster Mile.-

FAST FACTS

The Race: CARQUEST Auto Parts 300
The Place: Lowe-s Motor Speedway
The Date:  May 26, 20071
The Time: 8:00 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Track Layout: 1.5-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,249,138
2006 Winner: Carl Edwards
2006 Pole: Matt Kenseth

2007 Point Standings
No. Driver              Points
1    Edwards             1958
2    Harvick               1525
3    Reutimann          1359
4    Blaney                1353
5    Kenseth              1280
6    Ragan                 1270
7    Hamilton Jr.         1252
8    Smith                  1238
9    Montoya              1227
10  Biffle                   1215

Schedule:
Thur., May 24 - 1 - 2:00 p.m., Practice; 2:20 - 2:50 p.m. -  Rookie Practice; 6 - 7:00 p.m., Final Practice. Sat., May 26 - Qualifying 4:05 p.m. (Impound).