Who Will Contend?

[Chrud]

Just got this from NASCAR.com. Now...who will contend against Truex for the Busch title this year? I don't know if there are any full-time Busch drivers that will be real close to him. Kyle Busch had an unbelieveable year last year, and still lost be 200 points.

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CONCORD, N.C. -- Hendrick Motorsports and Team Lowe's Racing on Wednesday announced that open wheel standouts Blake Feese and Boston Reid will compete in a minimum of 13 races behind the wheel of the No. 5 Lowe's Chevrolet in the Busch Series.

Feese, 22, is an ARCA and World of Outlaws winner and Reid, 22, is the 2002 USAC Sprint Car Rookie of the Year.

"We're excited to have these young talents as part of the Team Lowe's Racing family," said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing and advertising. "This will be a unique program in 2005. Instead of one driver, we are giving a few of the most talented young racers in the country a chance to show their talent in the Busch Series. Our success at Lowe's is based on the teamwork of our employees, and I know we'll see that same teamwork between the drivers and crew of the No. 5 Lowe's Chevrolet this season."

"Everyone at Hendrick Motorsports is excited to offer these talented young drivers more quality time behind the wheel," said team owner Rick Hendrick. "With the tremendous support of Lowe's and its vendor-partners, we're looking forward to another successful season in the Busch Series."

In addition, Lowe's and Hendrick Motorsports welcome several new vendor partners, Sta-Green, Spectracide and Hitachi, to their current stable which includes Shop-Vac, Briggs & Stratton and Pella. Similar to last year's program, each will rotate sponsorship of the No. 5 Lowe's Chevrolet throughout the season.

"Our inaugural season in the Busch Series was exciting," Gfeller said. "Our motorsports sponsorship provides us with a unique way to educate consumers about our valuable vendor partners and their products. Our new partners only add to an already impressive family of brands for our customers to choose from."

Feese and Reid will assume driving duties following the 2005 NBS kickoff at Daytona International Speedway. Kyle Busch, who drove the No. 5 Chevrolet to a second-place points finish and Rookie of the Year honors in 2004, will drive the No. 5 Lowe's Chevrolet at the season-opening event as well as the events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International Speedway.

Additional Hendrick Motorsports drivers may run select events during the season in the No. 5 Lowe's Chevrolet. A list of races in which each driver will participate is being finalized. As announced earlier, Jim Long will serve as crew chief for the team.

The No. 5 team, which will compete for the 2005 Busch Series Owners' Championship, has been one of the most successful teams in the Busch Series the past two seasons. With driver Brian Vickers, the team won the 2003 Busch Series championship.

Last season, Busch shattered multiple Busch Series rookie records on his way to a runner-up finish in the points standings. Together, Vickers and Busch posted a total of eight wins, six pole positions, 29 top-fives and 43 top-10 finishes in the past two years.