Photo by: Stewart Haas Racing

KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Sept. 5, 2018) – NASCAR came to Indianapolis 24 years ago for the inaugural Brickyard 400. It was an iconic event that a young Jeff Gordon won on a hot, early August Saturday.

Indianapolis and NASCAR have put on 24 races at the famous 2.5-mile track, but no race before this one has been as important. Sunday’s Brickyard 400 is the final race before the playoffs start for NASCAR, and only 16 drivers will be eligible to compete for the championship. So in addition to winning one of the biggest NASCAR races of the year, drivers also want to put themselves into the playoffs or gather as many points as possible before the playoffs start.

Wrestlemania III was conducted in the Pontiac Silverdome outside of Detroit in March of 1987 in front of a reported 93,173 people. The tagline for the event was Bigger, Better, Badder. While Hulk Hogan will not be body-slamming Andre the Giant on Sunday in Indianapolis, the description Bigger, Better, Badder could be used.

Bigger describes the 2.5-mile, rectangular oval, which is second only to the 2.66-mile oval of Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Indy is tied with Daytona and Pocono at 2.5 miles, and the speeds at Indy are fast entering turns one and three. Last year, Kyle Busch put his car on the pole at a speed of 187.301 mph.

Better describes the intense playoff atmosphere that will be at Indianapolis in 2018. Thankfully, Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing, has locked himself into the playoffs via his win on Aug. 18 at Bristol Motor Speedway. But Busch would love to score another win, especially at Indy, to improve his position in the playoffs. For those drivers hovering around 16th, it will be a battle to get into the playoffs.

Badder describes Indianapolis in general. They’ve been racing cars there since 1909, and many of the great drivers in history have competed at the grand old racetrack. Busch is one of the few who has driven in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.

In 2014 Busch stepped out from his stock-car norms and into the world of IndyCar, competing in the 98th Indianapolis 500 for Andretti Autosport. The first-time IndyCar driver looked like a veteran on the historic track, starting 12th and finishing sixth to claim rookie-of-the-year honors. To add another degree of difficulty to the day, Busch did what only three other drivers had done before – perform The Double by racing in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway that evening.

More than 10 years before doing The Double, Busch secured a championship at Indianapolis. It was 2003 and Busch was selected to compete in the 12-driver International Race of Champions (IROC) for the first time in his career. IROC ran for 30 years and pitted race-winning and championship-winning drivers from all different motorsport disciplines in the same racecars to determine a best-of-the-best victor in a four-race series that began in February at Daytona and culminated in August at Indianapolis. Busch finished second at Daytona and then won the series’ next race at Talladega. He went on to finish third in July at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, and arrived at Indianapolis locked in a title battle with eventual five-time IROC champion Mark Martin. Busch finished fourth in the IROC finale while Martin finished fifth, giving Busch an 11-point edge over Martin and the IROC championship.

Busch is looking for his first ever win at Indianapolis, and he hopes it will be Bigger, Better, Badder than any victory he has ever had.
KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
What do you think about Indianapolis being the cutoff race for the NASCAR playoffs?
“I was a little bummed out that Indianapolis got moved into the playoff cutoff race. It’s such a marquee event that it can stand alone by itself, and it didn’t need any kind of extra push in my mind to be a cutoff race or any extra part of the tough part of our season. From here on out these are all big marquee races – these final 12. I was maybe hoping or wishing that Talladega was going to be the cutoff race. That way it wasn’t part of the playoffs, and maybe move Indianapolis into the playoffs, but lots of things can happen. We saw a crazy race a couple years back with so many restarts at the end and people staying out on old tires, people coming in on fresh tires, and Indy is a tough place to pass, but at the end everybody is in aggressive mode, moving people, shoving people out of the way, so you just don’t know how many yellows are going to be at the end or if it’s going to be a long green run. Indy is definitely a tough challenge to have as a cutoff race, but, again, it’s such a marquee event that you kind of want it to stand alone.”

You’ve had success at Indianapolis, but not in NASCAR. What makes the track so difficult?
“Indianapolis has been tough on me over the years. I don’t know what it is about it. The diamond-cut surface, the way that the asphalt is very fresh when we first get there and then how it glazes over and gets slick at the end – I’ve struggled with that over the years. Just got to pace ourselves and find the right combination on our Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford that will give us the grip once the track gets rubbered in.”

What makes Indy such an iconic venue?
“Indy is Indy. It’s the coolest racetrack that we get to race on, other than Daytona. The history, the prestige, the value of Indianapolis – it is defined by the number of decades they have produced races there and the atmosphere. It’s very electric at Indianapolis. For me to actually get to run the Indy 500 in the month of May is a little different than when we race there in September because of the fact it is their backyard, it is their stage. Those Indiana natives love their track. What makes Indy special is the people.”

You competed in the Indianapolis 500 once. Any chance you’ll do it again?
“Possibly. I really enjoyed my time there. It was a great challenge personally, and just the overall experience of going 230 mph in an open cockpit car was fun. The fun meter was pegged. The achievement of finishing sixth overall was exciting. But then there’s that 1,100 miles. I didn’t quite finish the Coke 600 that night due to an engine failure. That’s what would draw me back in – to try to get all 1,100 miles in.”

How hard is it to drive a stock car at Indianapolis?
“You’re asking the wrong guy about driving a stock car at Indy. I’ve struggled. I finished fifth my first time there, and I’ve never been able to back that up. Then I go there for the first time in an Indy car and I finish sixth. I’m not really sure. The stock cars are tough in traffic. They always end up on the tight side. And you have to find that right restart lineup lane. Usually, the cars that win there, they’re the dominant type. They lead laps. They’re up front all day. I haven’t quite found that right combination yet, but another Brickyard 400 means another opportunity.”
Haas Automation/Monster Energy Racing Team Report
Round 26 of 36 – Brickyard 400 – Indianapolis

Car No.: 41 – Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion

PR Contact: Mike Arning, True Speed Communication (704) 875-3388 ext. 802 or Mike.Arning@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)
Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kurt Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas

Crew Chief: Billy Scott
Hometown: Land O’ Lakes, Florida

Car Chief: Tony Cardamore
Hometown: Bristol, Virginia

Engine Builder: Roush-Yates Engines
Headquarters: Mooresville, North Carolina

Engine Specialist: Evan Cupples
Hometown: Hudson, Illinois

Spotter: Tony Raines
Hometown: LaPorte, Indiana
Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Rick Pigeon
Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

Front Tire Changer: Ryan Mulder
Hometown: Sioux City, Iowa

Windshield: Kyle Anderson (also serves as interior mechanic)
Hometown: Jewell, Iowa

Rear Tire Changer: Coleman Dollarhide
Hometown: Hickory, North Carolina

Jackman: Sean Cotten
Hometown: Mooresville, North Carolina

Tire Carrier: Dwayne Moore
Hometown: Griffin, Georgia
Road Crew Members:

Truck Driver: Tim Hussey and Larry Lush
Hometowns: Asheboro, North Carolina, and Waynesville, North Carolina

Tire Specialist: Nathan McGuire
Hometown: Palmyra, New York

Shock Specialist: Aaron Kuehn
Hometown: Kensington, Connecticut

Engineers: Scott Bingham and William Lee
Hometowns: Lawrenceville, Georgia and Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina

Mechanic: Nick McIntosh
Hometown: Harve, Montana

Mechanic: Joe Zanolini
Hometown: Sybertsville, Pennsylvania

Indianapolis Notes of Interest:
· The Brickyard 400 will mark Kurt Busch’s 638th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start and his 18th career NASCAR Cup Series start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Busch has one top-five and five top-10s and has led three laps in his 17 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Indianapolis. His average start is 15.7, his average finish is 19.6, and he has completed 91.9 percent of the laps available (2,521 of 2,742 laps).

· Busch has career totals of 30 wins, 25 poles, 135 top-fives, 274 top-10s and 9,335 laps led in 637 career starts.

· His most recent Cup Series win came one race ago in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (Aug. 18, 2018).

· His last Cup Series pole came six races ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon (July 20, 2018).

· Believe It Or Not – Indianapolis is one of nine racetracks amid the 23 venues the NASCAR Cup Series visits where Busch has never won a pole. Busch’s best starting position at Indianapolis is third in 2006. Busch’s best Indianapolis finish is fifth, and it came during his rookie season in 2001 when he proved that you don’t have to start up front to finish up front. Busch started 34th that day.

· Busch’s Spotter Back Home Again – LaPorte, Indiana, native Tony Raines is Busch’s spotter. LaPorte is located 150 miles north of Indianapolis, and Raines competed in four Brickyard 400s with a best finish of 11th in 2006.

· 9,000 and counting – By leading 98 laps in the April race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, Busch became just the 21st driver to lead 9,000 laps in his NASCAR career. He is now 20th in the laps-led standings, having led 9,335 laps. He’s 409 laps behind Buddy Baker and 222 laps ahead of 21st-place Denny Hamlin. Busch is fifth among active drivers in laps led.

· Do The Double – Busch’s 2014 season wasn’t all about NASCAR, as he did what only three other drivers have attempted – competed in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. In an IndyCar fielded by Andretti Autosport, Busch started 12th and finished an impressive sixth in the Indianapolis 500, earning Indy 500 rookie-of-the-year honors. And after completing all 500 miles at Indy, Busch jetted off to Concord, North Carolina, to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 that evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He raced competitively, but 271 laps into the longest race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, engine problems sent Busch to the garage 129 laps short of the full race distance. In all, Busch completed 906.5 miles, leaving Tony Stewart, co-owner with Gene Haas of Stewart-Haas Racing, as the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles in the grueling trek known as The Double. Robby Gordon and John Andretti are the only other drivers to attempt The Double.

· Busch IROCs and Rolls to Championship – In 2003, Busch was selected to compete in the 12-driver International Race of Champions (IROC) for the first time in his career. In the fourth and final IROC round in August at Indianapolis, Busch started 12th and picked off eight cars to finish a strong fourth. The result – in addition to his second-place finish in the series opener in February at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, his win in the second race in April at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and his third-place finish in July at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois – earned Busch the IROC championship, which he won by 11 points over Mark Martin.

· Get to the Points – Following his sixth-place finish at Darlington, Busch is fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings with 835 points. He has one win, four top-five finishes and 16 top-10s in 24 races.

· Busch has been in the top-10 in points for 20 consecutive weeks. The last time he was in the top-10 for 20 consecutive weeks was when he was in the top-10 for the first 27 races of the 2016 season. He’s been in the top-five in points for six consecutive weeks. The last time that happened was also in 2016 when he was in the top-five for 14 consecutive weeks between the spring race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and the August race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.