Kurt Busch

Kurt Thomas Busch

Born	August 4, 1978 (1978-08-04) (age 31)
Hometown	Las Vegas, Nevada
Awards	2000 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year 2003 IROC champion 2004 Sprint Cup Champion
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics
Car #, Team	#2 - Penske Racing
2007 Sprint Cup Position	7th
Best Cup Position	1st - 2004 (Sprint Cup)
First Race	2000 MBNA.com 400 (Dover)
First Win	2002 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Last Win	2008 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (New Hampshire)
Wins Top Tens Poles 18 108 10
NASCAR Nationwide Series Statistics
First Race	2006 O'Reilly 300 (Texas)
First Win	2006 O'Reilly 300 (Texas)
Last Win	2006 Zippo 200 (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top Tens Poles 2 9 2
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics
First Race	2000 Daytona 250 (Daytona)
Last Race	2001 GNC Live Well 200 (Milwaukee)
First Win	2000 Sears DieHard 200 (Milwaukee)
Last Win	2000 Motorola 200 (California)
Wins Top Tens Poles 4 17 4
Statistics current as of June 29, 2008.

Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a professional American race car driver. He drives the #2 Miller Lite Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, he also races part time in the Nationwide Series in the #12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge. He is the older brother of Kyle Busch, also a professional driver, and the two have raced against one another on many occasions. He has a trade mark cow hide seat cover.

In 2004, Busch finished 8 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in the first ever season using the "Chase for the Cup" points format. At the time, he drove the #97 Sharpie/Irwin Industrial Tools Ford for Roush Racing. Busch departed Roush at the end of 2005, moving to Penske Racing and replacing the retiring Rusty Wallace in the No. 2 Miller Lite sponsored Dodge Charger. With a 2006 win in the Busch Series Busch became one of only 18 drivers with a win in all three of NASCAR's top divisions (Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Craftsman Truck Series).

Busch is a second-generation NASCAR driver his father Thomas also raced. He was the runner-up finisher in the closest finish in NASCAR history at Darlington Raceway on March 16, 2003. After an exciting and near-explosive two-lap side-by-side battle with Ricky Craven around the tight and tricky 1.366-mile track, Craven crossed the finish line only 0.002 seconds ahead of Busch in the photo-finish.

Entry to NASCAR

Busch was the first competitor in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series and gained his first national exposure while competing against Ron Hornaday, Matt Crafton, Greg Biffle, Chris Trickle, and Kevin Harvick among others in the 1998 Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park.

Busch earned his big break after a tragedy. Chris Trickle was wounded in a mysterious shooting (Trickle would die of the injuries over a year later and to this day the murderer has never been found), and the Star Nursery team looked for a new driver to replace Trickle for the #70 team. Busch inherited the ride for the team and won the 1998 AutoZone Elite Division Southwest Series Rookie of the Year.^[1] He followed up by winning the series championship in 1999.^[2]

That led to a tryout in a Roush Racing "Gong Show", which he won and earned a Craftsman Truck Series ride. He caused controversy when Jack Roush invited him to race in the Winston Cup Series, without any experience from the Busch Grand National Series, while overlooking Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch's more experienced teammate.

Busch began racing on the Winston Cup circuit in 2000, at the age of 22. He replaced Chad Little in the #97 John Deere Ford. His first race in the Winston Cup Series was in Dover in September 2000, 1 month after his 21st birthday. He drove in 7 races, with no wins, top 5's, or top 10's, and finished 48th in the standings that year, with Jeff Hammond as crew chief.

Busch ran for rookie of the year honors in 2001, starting 35 of 36 races with no wins, although he scored three top fives and six top tens that year. He made contact with Dale Earnhardt's car in the Daytona 500 and Earnhardt stuck his hand out the window at Busch and to this day he recalls this as the only time he encountered Earnhardt on the track. Kurt finished with a #27 ranking, was the runner-up Rookie of the Year, earned more than $2 million in winnings. He won the pole at the Southern 500, finished third at the Talladega 500 and fifth at the Brickyard 400. He also won his first pole position for the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

2002-2005

2002 was Busch's breakout year in the Winston Cup Series, scoring four wins, 12 top fives and 20 top tens, with one pole, and finishing third in the final standings. He finished the season particularly strong, winning three out of the final five races and finishing third and sixth and leading many laps in the other two. He also collected $5,105,394.

Busch had an up and down year in 2003, earning four wins, nine top fives and 14 top tens but finishing only 11th in the standings, although he collected US$5 million+ dollars again that year. It was a season marred by an ongoing feud with fellow driver Jimmy Spencer. After some car-to-car bumping at a race at the Michigan International Speedway, Busch brake tested Spencer causing the latter to collide with him. Spencer reached into Busch's car, grabbed him, and punched Busch in the nose. Kurt first claimed that his car stalled out in front of Spencer's garage, though audio later revealed that he stopped the car, revved the engine, and threatened Spencer from his car. Spencer was forced to sit out the next week's race, and both drivers were fined and placed on probation for the rest of the year. The altercation harmed Busch's relationship with fans significantly. He has since attempted to repair this image through charitable donations and many public appearances where he interacts with fans.

In 2004, Busch won three races, two poles and the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. He scored ten top five and 21 top ten finishes that season.

Midway through the 2005 season, Busch announced that he would be leaving Roush Racing at the end of the season and would replace Rusty Wallace in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing South. Busch won three races during the 2005 season, along with nine top five and 18 top ten finishes in 34 races. He finished 10th in the final standings after being released from his contract before the final two races. Kurt had been falsely issued a DUI before the Phoenix race(More information on this incident is provided later in this article).

Busch (#97) and Joe Nemechek at Talladega Superspeedway in 2005.

Feuds with rival drivers

In the February 2006 edition of GQ Magazine, he was selected number 3 on their list of the top ten most hated athletes, behind Barry Bonds and Terrell Owens.^[3]

Aside from Jimmy Spencer, Busch has had notable run-ins with Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick,Robby Gordon,Tony Stewart and just about every other driver in Nascar. On June 4, 2007 in the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway, after a crash with Stewart he drove beside Stewart's car on pit road, and gestured through his window netting. Busch was penalized 100 championship points, fined $100,000, and placed on probation until the end of the year.

But Busch would tangle with Stewart again only months later. During practice for the 2008 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, Stewart clipped the back end of Busch's car sending Busch into the wall. After sustaining major damage Busch drove towards Stewart's car and rammed Stewart's car three times before attempting to return to the garage after the practice was called. Stewart had stopped his car in an effort to block Busch from going back into the garage area but Busch went around Stewart. After NASCAR ordered both drivers to the NASCAR hauler, rumor has it that Stewart and Busch got into a shouting match in which Stewart allegedly punched Kurt.

2005 Phoenix incident

Initial Reports

Busch's 2005 season was cut short by two races after a confrontation during the Phoenix, Arizona race weekend with Maricopa County Sheriff deputies on November 11, 2005, when he was pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving and cited for reckless driving.^[4] At first, the Sheriff's department claimed that their equipment for sobriety testing had failed and they could not release results of his drunk driving tests. This claim later proved to be false, but the damage was already done - Roush Racing responded two days later by suspending Busch for the remainder of the season and replacing him with Kenny Wallace for the final two races; team president Geoff Smith famously declared they were "officially retiring as Kurt Busch's apologists."^[5] Busch was 8th in the Cup Series Chase for the Championship at the time of the incident. He was sentenced to perform 50 hours of community service which was to be completed within 1 year. In November 2006, one year after the incident, Busch was declared an honorary deputy in Maricopa County.

Penske Racing South

Busch left Roush Racing and joined Penske Racing South in 2006. Busch had asked team owner Jack Roush to let him out of his contract at the end of the 2005 season to replace the retiring Rusty Wallace in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger, but Roush initially refused. However, after Chip Ganassi released Jamie McMurray from his 2006 contract, Roush followed suit. McMurray replaced Busch in the car[1], which was later renumbered from #97 to #26. In the 2006 season, driving for Penske, Busch scored one win at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500, his fifth win at the track. He also won six poles and had seven top fives and twelve top ten finishes but finished a disappointing 16th in the final standings.

In the 2007 season, Busch had two wins, one pole, scored five top-fives, and ten-top tens through 26 races and qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Busch's on-track performance increased noticeably after the addition of Pat Tryson as his crew chief mid-way through the season.

2008 Cup racecar

In 2008, in order to make Penske a three-car team, Busch was "transferred" to the former #06 team, renumbered to #2; the #2 was transferred to Sam Hornish, Jr., and renumbered #77. This stripped Busch of his exemption for the first five races, but Busch is assured of starting the Daytona 500 because he is the most recent former NASCAR Sprint Cup champion driver not exempt. The Past Champion's provisional will allow Busch to compete in five races per season in which he is both the most recent Cup Champion not to qualify, and is also not guaranteed a starting position based upon Owner's standings or qualifying speed. On June 29, Busch broke a 29-race winless streak at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when the Lenox 301 was called due to rain on lap 284. It was his fourth win since joining Penske Racing and 18th overall.

Personal life

Busch and his wife Eva at the 2008 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

Busch became engaged to girlfriend, Eva Bryan, while attending the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix. On July 27, 2006, during an off weekend following the Sprint Cup Pocono race. Kurt Busch and Eva Bryan were married in Virginia. The footage was taped and later aired on national television. The couple currently resides in North Carolina, and travels to racetracks each week together. Kurt's younger brother Kyle Busch also competes full-time in both the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide series and runs part time in the Craftsman Truck Series. The Busch's have two dogs, a Yorkshire Terrier named Ginger, and a Cairn Terrier named Jim (who passed away in the Summer of 2007). The Busch's and their dogs are featured in the NASCAR Pets calender. Busch is also an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears.

Busch made a cameo appearance on America's Most Wanted with John Walsh. Busch was interviewed by Walsh in the episode.

Season statistics

|(2008 Season underway) * - of 36 races

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Victories

• 2002 (4 wins): Food City 500 (Bristol), Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville), NAPA 500 (Atlanta), Ford 400 (Homestead)
• 2003 (4 wins): Food City 500 (Bristol), Auto Club 500 (California), Sirius 400 (Michigan), Sharpie 500 (Bristol)
• 2004 (3 wins): Food City 500 (Bristol), Siemens 300 (Loudon), Sylvania 300 (Loudon)
• 2005 (3 wins): Subway Fresh 500 (Phoenix), Pennsylvania 500 (Pocono), Chevy Rock & Roll 400 (Richmond)
• 2006 (1 win): Food City 500 (Bristol)
• 2007 (2 wins): Pennsylvania 500 (Pocono), 3M Performance 400 (Michigan)
• 2008 (1 win): Lenox Industrial Tools 301 (Loudon)

To date, Busch has won at Bristol five times (most recently in 2006). That ties him with Jeff Gordon for the most wins at that track among active drivers.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Victories

• 2006 (2 wins): O'Reilly 300 (Texas), Zippo 200 (Watkins Glen)

Kurt Busch has two career Nationwide series wins and one pole in only seven career starts, all in 2006, and at Texas, Kurt continued his infamous snow angel celebration of which he still uses after a victory.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Victories

• 2000 (4 wins): Sears DieHard 200 (Milwaukee), thatlook.com 200 (Loudon), MBNA E-Commerce.com 200 (Dover), Motorola 200 (California)

References

External links

• Kurt Busch's Official Website
• Career statistics at racing-reference.info
• 10 Questions with Kurt Busch - July 2005 interview of the defending Nextel Cup champ