(born
August 4 ,
1978 in
Las Vegas, Nevada ) is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #2
Miller Lite Dodge in
Nextel Cup Series and part time in
Busch Series driving the #12
Penske Truck Rental Dodge . In
2004 , he finished 8 points ahead of
Jimmie Johnson to win the NASCAR
Nextel Cup Series Championship in the first ever season using the "Chase for the Cup" points format. Busch drove the #97
Sharpie /
Irwin Industrial Tools Ford for
Roush Racing in 2005. In 2006, Busch replaced the retiring
Rusty Wallace in the No. 2
Roger Penske owned,
Miller Lite sponsored
Dodge Charger . With a 2006 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 is a second-generation NASCAR driver and winner of the inaugural “Chase for the NEXTEL Cup” in 2004, Busch was also the runner-up finisher in the closest finish in the sport’s 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 Tour 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 1999 AutoZone Elite Division Southwest Series championship.
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 also won his first pole position for the
Mountain Dew Southern 500 at
Darlington Raceway . Busch finished 27th in the standings that year.
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 , Jimmy 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 inaugrual NASCAR Nextel 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 despite missing the final two races after being prematurely released from his Roush Racing contract.
at
Talladega Superspeedway in
2005 .]]
In the February 2006 edition of GQ Magazine, he was selected number 3 on their list of the top ten most hated athletes, behind . URL accessed on
July 12 ,
2006 .
Aside from
Jimmy Spencer , Busch has had notable run-ins with
Greg Biffle ,
Kevin Harvick and
Tony Stewart . On June 4, 2007 in the Autism Speaks 400 at
Dover International Speedway , after a crash with Stewart he drove into Stewart's car on pit road, nearly hitting a member of Stewart's pit crew. Busch was penalized 100 owner's points, fined $100,000, and placed on probation until the end of the year.
Busch's 2005 season was cut short by two races after a confrontation during the Phoenix, Arizona race weekend with . URL accessed on
July 12 ,
2006 . 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. His younger brother,
Kyle , won the race that weekend at
Phoenix International Raceway and voiced his support for his older brother while in victory lane.
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 ,
2006 . In a plea agreement reached on
February 8 ,
2006 , Busch pled guilty to the misdemeanor 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. In November 2006, one year after the incident, Busch was declared an honorary deputy in Maricopa County.
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 season, driving for Penske, Busch scored one win at
Bristol Motor Speedway in the
Food City 500 . 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 has two wins, one pole and has scored five top fives and ten top tens through 26 races and qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Busch's on-track performance increased noticeably after the addition of Pat Tryson as his crew chief mid-way through the season.
Busch became engaged to girlfriend, Eva Bryan, while attending the
2005 Hungarian Grand Prix . On
July 27 ,
2006 , during an off weekend following the NEXTEL 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 (aka Shrub, Rowdy and Little Busch) also competes full-time in both the Nextel Cup Series and Busch 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.
To date, Busch has won at
Bristol five times. That ties him with
Jeff Gordon for the most wins at that track among active drivers.
Kurt Busch has two career Busch 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.
