Kurt Busch (racing driver)

Kurt Busch

status

active

Best placement

1st - (2004)

Starts	Victories	Poles	Top 10
652	30th	27	283

NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics

Best placement

39th - (2006)

Starts	Victories	Poles	Top 10
30th	5	3	23

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics

Best placement

2nd - (2000)

Starts	Victories	Poles	Top 10
28	4th	4th	20th

Data status: March 10, 2019

Kurt Busch (born August 4, 1978 in Las Vegas , Nevada ) is an American racing driver . He won the NASCAR Nextel Cup in 2004 and is currently driving the Chevrolet with the starting number 1 Chip Ganassi Racing .

Career

Busch began in the NASCAR Autozone Elite Division Southwest Tour with the 1998 Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park. Due to the ultimately fatal consequences of a drive-by shoot against Chris Trickle, he received his car with the starting number 70 from the Star Nursery team and was champion of the AutoZone Elite Division Southwest Series in 1999. In a subsequent test drive, Busch was able to prevail and thus got a place in the Craftsman Truck Series at Roush Racing .

On September 24, 2000, at the age of 21, he drove his first race in the Winston Cup (since 2008 Sprint Cup). In his first season he achieved a 13th place as the best result in seven races. In an eighth race, this would have been his rookie season according to NASCAR regulations.

In 2001 he was rookie of the year with six placements in the top 10 and 35 of 36 races . A pole position in Darlington completed his first full season, which he finished in 27th place.

In 2002 and 2003 there were four race wins and 20 and 14 positions respectively in the top 10, which almost led to the championship in 2002, at the end of the championship third and eleventh place jumped out. In 2004 Busch won only three races, but his 21 placements in the top 10 with only three failures led him to the title. In 2005 and 2006 he finished in tenth and 16th place, and in his sixth full season with six poles he achieved more front starting positions than in his previous career.

In the 2007 season it was only enough for 18th place overall. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, however, Busch managed to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup . In these three years he managed to win three Sprint Cup races.

In 2011 Roger Penske restructured his racing team. Brad Keselowski was signed as the first driver and replaced Kurt Busch in the blue # 2 Miller-Lite Dodge. Keselowski's previous vehicle, the # 12, was converted to the # 22 and is now being driven by Busch. At the same time, the employment relationship with Sam Hornish Jr. was terminated and his # 77 was no longer used. After a mixed season, Busch was finally fired because, after a series of unsuccessful races, he had frustrated a cameraman of the sports channel ESPN in the pit lane and had given obscene hand signals to his mechanics. AJ Allmendinger took over his vehicle. Kurt Busch had won a total of 16 races with Penske Racing, fourteen with the # 2 and two with the # 22.

In 2012 he drove the # 51 for the Phoenix Racing Team supported by Hendrick Motorsports. Busch could not win any victories and was also suspended twice during the season. On the one hand because after a collision with his former teammate Ryan Newman he stole his vehicle in the pit lane and almost injured a member of Newman's pit crew, and on the other hand because of several NASCAR rule violations, because Busch had cursed publicly several times, which according to the NASCAR Regulations is strictly prohibited. Busch also competed in the Nationwide series, in which he could win a race. During the season, Busch was fired again and ironically replaced by Ryan Newman.

Busch competed for Furniture Row Racing for the remainder of the 2012 racing year and the full 2013 season. There he drove the car with starting number 78 and was able to achieve significantly more successes than his predecessor Regan Smith in just over a year. But he could not achieve victories here either.

The year 2014 should be a new beginning for Busch. He left Furniture Row Racing which signed Martin Truex Jr. in his place and was employed by Stewart-Haas-Racing. There he drives the newly registered vehicle with the # 41. While his participation in 2014 was completely financed by private funds from Gene Haas, the energy drink manufacturer Monster Energy was won as a sponsor from 2015 . Although he could not show any victories in his first year at Haas, he recommended himself again for higher tasks due to many achievements in the points.

In 2015, Busch was suspended for the first three races on charges of abusing his ex-girlfriend. In his place came Regan Smith, who, however, got no results worth mentioning. Despite this missed start to the season, Busch took off, won two races and finally finished the season in 8th place overall. Mathematically, he still had a chance to become champion until the last race.

Busch started the 2016 season with consistently good results, never before had anyone finished so many races in a row after the start of the season without being classified one lap behind. He achieved his only win of the season in Pocono . He finished the season in seventh place.

He won the Daytona 500 for the first time in 2017 .

Controversy

Kurt Busch after winning the Food City 500 in 2006.

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

In 2003, Busch and Jimmy Spencer had a few arguments on the racetrack at Michigan International Speedway , whereupon Spencer broke into Busch's racing car and hit him on the nose. This was obviously preceded by some insults on the part of Busch. The controversy significantly affected his popularity with fans.

On November 11, 2005, Busch was stopped for drunk driving and reckless driving in Maricopa County. His team Roush Racing then suspended him from the last two races of the season. Months later, the charge of drunkenness turned out to be untenable, and Busch was sentenced to a less severe sentence for reckless driving.

On June 4, 2007, at the Nextel Cup race in Dover, Busch purposely drove into the wrong pit after an accident on the track and rammed Tony Stewart. He almost hit a man on the pit crew who was working on Stewart's car. Shortly afterwards, on June 8, 2007, 100 points were deducted from him and he was fined $ 100,000. Busch was under control until December 31, 2007. If he had committed further offenses, he could have been suspended for a few races.

On February 20, 2015, two days before the season started in Daytona, Kurt Busch was indefinitely suspended on domestic violence charges. The suspension was lifted for the race in Phoenix, the fourth round of the 2015 season.

particularities

Busch is one of only 20 drivers who have won at least one race in each of the three top NASCAR racing series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series).
On March 16, 2003, Busch finished second in the tightest finish in NASCAR history. At Darlington Raceway , he fought a close battle for two laps with Ricky Craven , who crossed the finish line 0.002 seconds ahead of him. Both cars were wedged together.