Heading into this weekend’s race in New Hampshire, Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet has to “survive and advance” through a series of elimination rounds in NASCAR’s revamped Chase format, which breaks 10 races into a four-round grid.
The first round, named the Challenger Round, features races at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, this Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon and Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
Ten years after winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 2004, Kurt Busch has his sights set on winning that coveted title once again. With one race down, and nine more to go until the 2014 Sprint Cup champion is crowned, Busch knows he has his work cut out for him.
Q: What does it take to be successful at New Hampshire?
A: “The biggest thing is getting your car to turn through the corners. The track has corners that are very long and your car really needs to handle in the center. Then, the straightaways are pretty long, especially when you consider the fact it’s only a 1-mile track, so that means you need to have good drive coming off the turns so you can take advantage of the engine getting down the front and back stretches of the track. If you’re able to get good speed on those straightaways, then the next thing you need to be able to take advantage of is your brakes and for them to last to the end of the race.”
Q: How does New Hampshire compare to other tracks you visit?
A. “It’s a track that’s fairly different than anywhere else we race, I think. If you had to make a comparison, I guess you would have to compare it to a Martinsville for how the turns are. Plus, if you have to, you can use the bumper to pick up positions. But aerodynamics come into play more at New Hampshire than they do at Martinsville. That’s about where the similarities end, though.”
And here’s a bonus question!
Q: What was your first car? Besides a racecar, that is.
A: I drove a ’64 Volkswagen Bug!
