(born
August 4 ,
1978 in
Las Vegas, Nevada ) is an
American Stock Car Racer who competes in the
NASCAR Nextel Cup Series . In
2004 , he won the top-level NASCAR series championship (The Nextel Cup), his first NASCAR championship at any level. Busch drove car No. 97, sponsored by
Sharpie markers,
Irwin Industrial Tools and
Crown Royal for
Roush Racing in
2005 . He replaced the retiring
Rusty Wallace in the No. 2
Roger Penske owned,
Miller Lite sponsored
Dodge Charger starting in
2006 . With a recent win in the Busch Series he became one of only 16 drivers with a win in all three of NASCAR's top divisions(Nextel Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck Series).
Kurt was a competitor in the
NASCAR Autozone Elite Division Southwest Tour and got his first national exposure while competed against drivers like
Ron Hornaday ,
Matt Crafton ,
Greg Biffle ,
Chris Trickle , and
Kevin Harvick in the 1998 Winter Heat Series at
Tucson Raceway Park .
Busch started his NASCAR career driving in the
Craftsman Truck Series . He created controversy when Jack Roush invited him to race in the (then)
Winston Cup Series (later renamed when
Nextel took over series sponsorship), without any experience in the "junior"
Busch Grand National Series .
Busch began racing on the Winston Cup circuit in
2000 , at the age of 21. He drove in 7 races, with no wins, top 5's, or top 10's, and finished 48th in the standings that year.
Busch ran for rookie of the year honors in
2001 , driving 35 of 36 races with no wins, although Kurt collected 3 top 5's and 6 top 10's that year. He also got a pole qualifying position that year at
Darlington Raceway . Kurt finished 27th in the standings that year.
Busch almost won the championship in
2002 , getting four wins, 12 top 5s and 20 top 10s, with one pole. He finished 3rd in the standings that year. He also collected
$ 5,105,394.
Busch had an up and down year in
2003 , earning four wins, nine top 5s and 14 top 10s while finishing a disappointing 11th in the standings, although he collected US$5 million+ dollars again that year.
Kurt Busch's 2003 season was marred by an ongoing feud with fellow driver
Jimmy Spencer . After some car-to-car bumping at a race at the
Michigan International Speedway , after the race Spencer bumped Busch with his car and then walked over to Busch's car and punched him. Both drivers were fined and placed on probation for the rest of the year. The altercation harmed Busch's relationship with fans significantly. For various reasons, Kurt Busch remains an unpopular driver with many
NASCAR fans, despite his championship win. He has since attempted to repair this image, but a tirade following his first-lap spin-out in
2005 at
New Hampshire International Speedway hindered these efforts. In the February 2006 edition of GQ Magazine, he was selected number 3 on their list of
Top Ten Most Hated Athletes . Despite his lack of fan appeal, most recognize him as one of the sport's greatest athletes.
In 2004, Busch won the Nextel Cup by 8 points over
Jimmie Johnson and 16 points over
Jeff Gordon . In
2005 , Kurt's brother
Kyle Busch joined him on the Nextel Cup docket.
Busch's 2005 season was cut short by two races after a confrontation during the Phoenix, Arizona race weekend with for the final two races; team president Geoff Smith famously declared they were "officially retiring as Kurt Busch's apologists." Busch was 8th in the
Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship standings, 281 points behind points leader
Tony Stewart , when the suspension was announced. By the time the season ended, his absence dropped him to 10th in the standings, where he finished lowest of the Chase drivers.
As three months had passed, the press interest in the incident dropped off by the time the situation was resolved. It was revealed later that there was in fact
no evidence of drunk driving after
Breathalyzer and
Field Sobriety tests were administered, leaving only a charge of reckless driving. In a
plea agreement reached on February 8, 2006, Busch pled guilty to the midemeanor charge of speeding and two other traffic citations: following too close and passing in a no-passing zone. The reckless driving charge was dropped. Busch paid $580 in fines and court fees, and was sentenced to perform 50 hours of community service which must be completed within 1 year.
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
{Link without Title} , which was later renumbered #26.
Busch became engaged to girlfriend, Eva Bryan, while attending a Formula One race overseas in late July of 2005. In September 2005, his younger brother,
Kyle Busch won his first race.
at
Talladega Superspeedway in
2005 .]]
