Photo: Stewart Haas Racing
KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (April 11, 2018) – Everyone enjoys the number 21. People who are 20 years old can’t wait to turn 21. Those playing blackjack also love the number 21.
Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is hoping he can lead nine laps – and hopefully many more – during Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
If he leads nine laps, he will become just the 21st driver in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history to lead 9,000 laps in his career. Names like Petty, Allison, Earnhardt, Pearson, Gordon, Waltrip and Isaac are on that list.
Busch’s boss, Tony Stewart, is 13th on the list, while one of Busch’s teammates, Kevin Harvick, is 16th.
And there would be no better place for Busch to accomplish the mark than at Bristol.
He’s led 1,062 laps at high-banked, .533-mile oval and has collected five trophies since his rookie year in 2001. His Bristol wins in March 2002 and 2003, August 2003, and March 2004 and 2006 put him one victory behind younger brother Kyle Busch as the winningest active NASCAR Cup Series drivers at Bristol. Kyle Busch has six victories at Bristol.
Kurt Busch scored his first career Cup Series win at Bristol in March 2002. He started 27th and led 89 laps en route to his first victory. It was only his third visit to Thunder Valley, making him the only driver to record his first win at Bristol in fewer than four attempts.
Busch is one of four drivers to win three or more consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol. Fred Lorenzen won three in a row starting with the fall race in 1963, followed by a sweep of both 1964 events. Cale Yarborough won four in a row with sweeps in 1976 and 1977. Darrell Waltrip won seven in a row, including sweeps in 1981, 1982 and 1983, then a win at the March 1984 race.
Everyone loves the number 21. But Busch is also hoping for number 30 – as in his 30th career win.
KURT BUSCH, Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
Talk about Bristol Motor Speedway. You’ve won there five times.
“I don’t know what it is about the track. My first couple times there, I was blown away by the speed and intensity of it. When I went back in the spring of 2002, everything slowed down and it was like I had a perfect manual on how to get around there. That was all brought to me by Jimmy Fenning (former crew chief from Roush-Fenway Racing). He really helped calm me down and told me the different points to look for. The biggest key is knowing when to run hard and when not to run hard. If you try to run hard every single lap, you’re not going to make it. There are certain points in the race when you run hard and there are certain points when you’re not necessarily cruising, but just trying to maintain the right pace. You go hard, and then you save a little bit and then you go hard again because you saved a little bit. It’s a matter of applying it at the right time.”
And changes to Bristol since you starting running there in 2002? You have driven everything there.
“I haven’t won since they put in the transition banking, the way it goes from the low groove to the high groove. They ground the high groove and that seemed to backfire on what they were trying to accomplish. The outside groove is now the preferred groove. When it heats up with rubber, it’s like glue. But you have to wait for it. You have to wait for that rubber to get warm and grab the tires. In the end, though, it’s still the same characteristics of Bristol. Lap times are still in the 15-second range. The races I’ve won there, we were maintaining good lap times throughout the 100-lap run. And that’s still what it takes to win at Bristol.”
What do you like about how to approach a Bristol race?
“I like how you can attack the track in certain situations. And then you have to cruise in other situations. You always have to know your surroundings at Bristol. When someone is on your rear bumper, or if you are really trying to pressure somebody hard, is there a reason to be doing that? You have to be one with the track and then just digest where the other cars are around you.”
Haas Automation/Monster Energy Racing Team Report
Round 8 of 36 – Food City 500 – Bristol Motor Speedway
Car No.: 41 – Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion
PR Contact: Dakota Hunter, True Speed Communication (704-875-3388, ext. 813, Dakota.Hunter@TrueSpeedCommunication.com)
Primary Team Members:
Driver: Kurt Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas
Crew Chief: Billy Scott
Hometown: Land O’ Lakes, Florida
Car Chief: Tony Cardamone
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: Shane Pipala
Hometown: Frankfort Square, Illinois
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: Larry Lush
Hometowns: Waynesville, North Carolina
Tire Specialist: Austin Greco subbing for Nathan McGuire
Hometown: Harrisburg, N.C. and 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
Bristol Motor Speedway Notes of Interest:
- The Food City 500 will mark Kurt Busch’s 620th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start and his 35th career NASCAR Cup Series start at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Busch has five wins, 10 top-five finishes and 17 top-10s at the .533-mile oval. Additionally, the 39-year-old driver has led 1,062 laps, has an average starting position of 17.6, an average finish of 14.9, and has completed 95 percent (16,183 of 17,027) of the laps he’s contested there.
- Busch has career total totals of 29 wins, 23 poles, 131 top-fives, 261 top-10s and 8,991 laps led in 619 starts.
- His most recent Cup Series win came 43 races ago in the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (Feb. 26, 2017).
- His last Cup Series pole came last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (April 6).
- Busch scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol in March 2002. He started 27th and led 89 laps en route to his first victory. It was only his third visit to the .533-mile, high-banked oval, making him the only driver to record his first win at Bristol in fewer than four attempts.
- Busch’s five Bristol wins (March 2002 and 2003, August 2003, March 2004 and 2006) put him one victory behind younger brother Kyle Busch as the winningest active NASCAR Cup Series driver at Bristol. Kyle Busch has six victories at Bristol.
- Busch completed the Bristol sweep in 2003, winning both the spring and fall NASCAR Cup Series events. He started ninth and led 116 laps in March while starting fifth and leading 121 laps in August. In March 2004, Busch went on to record his third consecutive win at Bristol when he started 13th and led 119 laps on his way to victory lane.
- Busch is one of four drivers to win three or more consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races at Bristol. Fred Lorenzen won three in a row starting with the fall race in 1963, followed by a sweep of both 1964 events. Cale Yarborough won four in a row with sweeps in 1976 and 1977. Darrell Waltrip won seven in a row, including sweeps in 1981, 1982 and 1983, then a win at the March 1984 race.
- Busch has led laps in 15 of his 34 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol for a combined total of 1,062 lap. Busch led 278 laps in March 2010 and finished third. He has led more than 100 laps four times, including three consecutive races – March 2003 (116), August 2003 (121) and March 2004 (119).
- The Las Vegas native has one pole to his credit (August 2006) at Bristol.
- Busch needs to lead only nine laps to become the 21st driver in NASCAR history to lead at least 9,000 laps in his career.
- Get to the Points – With his seventh-place finish last week at Texas, Busch is eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings with 224 points. He has three top-10 finishes in seven races.
