Sunday, September 28, 2014
Associated Press
DOVER, DEL.
Kurt Busch looked around and saw NASCAR’s biggest stars crowding his car. Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett all zooming past Busch and giving the rookie driver a reality check — his racing heroes from TV were now his toughest competitors on the track.
“I was so blown away by the speed and intensity of it,” Busch said.
Busch steeled his nerves inside the ol’ No. 97 John Deere Ford and finished ahead of Jarrett and one spot behind Earnhardt. Busch was a solid 18th in his first career NASCAR Cup start on Sept. 24, 2000 at Dover International Speedway. He flashed some of that early Outlaw spirit, grinding and fighting — and using his natural talent — to prove car owner Jack Roush may have been right in fast-tracking the 22-year-old Busch to NASCAR’s elite series.
Fast forward 14 years, 499 career starts, and one championship later, and Busch is back at Dover, still grinding, still fighting, only this time to prove he belongs in the next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
When the green flag drops today, Busch will become the 35th NASCAR driver with 500 career Cup starts.
Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the only fulltime drivers with more starts than Busch. Hall of Famer Richard Petty tops the list with 1,185.
Busch has collected quite a resume, including 25 wins and that 2004 title. Oh, he’s also burned through more teams than he ever expected, in large part because of, at times, his prickly personality.
“It’s been a great ride,” Busch said. “There’s still so much more to do.”
Busch was all smiles this weekend reflecting on the big wins and milestone achievements, rattling them off in great detail as if they had all just happened.
Like the time he bumped past Jimmy Spencer at Bristol for his first career win in 2001. Or winning at Atlanta in 2002 when he truly felt like he belonged as a Cup driver. His All-Star race and Coca-Cola 600 victories in 2010. His 10-week run in the 2004 Chase that earned him his only Cup championship. And, of course, his bid this season at racing history, trying to finish the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.