Kurt Busch
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Template:NASCAR current driver Kurt Busch (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).
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Entry to NASCAR
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.
Feud with rival driver
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.
Alleged drunk-driving charge
Initial Reports
Busch's 2005 season was cut short by two races after a confrontation during the Phoenix, Arizona race weekend with Maricopa County Sheriff deputies on November 11, 2005, when he was pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving and cited for reckless driving. At first, the Sheriff's department claimed that their equipment for sobriety testing had failed and they could not release results of his drunk driving tests. This claim later proved to be false, but the damage was already done - Roush Racing responded two days later by suspending Busch for the remainder of the season and replacing him with Kenny Wallace 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.
Resolution
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.
Changing teams
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[1], which was later renumbered #26.
Personal life
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.
Season Statistics
Image:NASCAR BuschNemechek Cars.jpg
| Year | Starts* | Wins | Top Fives | Top Tens | Poles | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48th |
| 2001 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 27th |
| 2002 | 36 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 3rd |
| 2003 | 36 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 11th |
| 2004 | 36 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 1 | 1st |
| 2005 | 34 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 10th |
* - of 36 races