Busch says teamwork will be crucial

He won the second of Thursday night's Duels by drafting with Denny Hamlin to pass leader Mark Martin with five laps to go and the pair then worked to stay at the front of the field, although Hamlin was bundled down to fifth at the end.

"The reason I won (the Duel) was from great team work," said Busch. "That was the best restrictor plate race we've probably ever worked together. I really felt good about that and I hope it carries into Sunday - I'll be able to return the favour to him when it needs to be or whatnot."

But Busch says he and his teammates, Hamlin and Joey Logano, won't go into the race with a plan for which car leads and which pushes.

"You kind of wing it," he says. "It pretty much depends who is out front. Last year, I was trying like heck to push (Tony) Stewart to victory lane, but I couldn't get to him. I hope it comes down to that this time. If it's Joey out front, I'm pushing.

"I think when it comes down to the last straightaway, to me, being a teammate - like my brother, he's the same way, he pushed (Ryan) Newman to the win (last year).

"For me, it would be the same way. If I had Joey or Denny in front of me, I'd push them until I felt like it was time for me to go crazy down this last straightaway, and I'd try to get up alongside of him and try to get to the line first.

"Besides that, I'm going to be sure one of our cars is going to win. If one of our cars is going to win, we don't have a shot to screw that up, then I'll try for a shot for myself to win."

Busch added that he was relieved to get a win at the start of 2009, even if it was only in the Duel, after such a disappointing end to his 2008 season. He led the standings for much of the year, but his challenge fell apart in the Chase and he slipped to 10th.

"It felt really good, this whole team has really worked hard this whole off season, everybody has," he said. "From where we ended last year, it felt like it was pretty cool to start off the season this way.

"Daytona, we knew we'd run strong, we felt confident about that. Our restrictor plate package is good and Toyota has done a wonderful job for us. The biggest thing is to bring the car home. We have to make sure our car runs good for Sunday. I probably would go crazy to win the 500."