Racing

Kurt Thomas Busch is a professional race car driver. He drives #2 Miller Lite Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and he races in the Nationwide Series part time in the #12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge. Both he and his older brother – Kyle Busch – are professional drivers and have even gone up against each other on several different 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.