Kurt Busch - Biography

Last Editor: annieh4529				Kurt Busch Biography -   Name : Kurt Busch Profession : Birth Details : born August 4, 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Kurt Busch Trivia -

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Kurt Busch Detailed Biography -

Born: August 4, 1978 Birthplace: Las Vegas, Nevada Awards: 2004 NEXTEL Cup Champion 2003 IROC champion NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics Car #, Team 2 - Penske Racing 2005 NEXTEL Cup Position: 10th Best Cup Position: 1st - 2004 (NEXTEL Cup) First Race: 2000 MBNA.com 400 (Dover) First Win: 2002 Food City 500 (Bristol) Last Win: 2005 Chevy Rock and Roll 400 (Richmond) Wins Top Tens Poles 14 78 3 All stats current as of November 22, 2005. 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, 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 Miller Lite starting in 2006. 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. Kurt Busch (left) talks with former team owner Jack Roush. Kurt Busch's #97 Sharpie Ford Taurus races at Bristol Motor Speedway. 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. 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 Darlington Raceway 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 talents. 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.