June 29, 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301
June 29, 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301
June 29, 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301
June 29, 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LENOX Industrial Tools 301
May 24, 2008
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600
September 14, 2007
September 2, 2007
September 2, 2007
September 1, 2007
August 25, 2007
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.
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 16 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.[citation
needed] 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.
Busch was a 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 shot 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. He
followed up by winning the series championship in
1999.
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.
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.
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 and Nationwide 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.
