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NASCAR News | May 31, 2010
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Kurt Bursch's 22nd win, the Coca-Cola 600
By Jay Hart
May 31, 2010
Concord, NC — It’s got to be frustrating when you’re the one with the championship, the one who has won more Cup races in your respective careers, the one who finished third in the standings last year, and still all anyone wants to talk about is your little brother.
This is Kurt Busch’s reality, and that he shows no animosity about all the attention showered on his brother Kyle is a sign of his maturity. No, Kurt Busch’s temper hasn’t vanished entirely, but it’s clear he finally is getting comfortable in his skin. He’s done trying to play the villain that comes naturally to his brother, and he has realized he’ll never be one of the cool kids, so why try. Now he’s just Kurt – a decent guy who’s kind of goofy and sometimes says the wrong thing, but at the end of the day he means well.
One thing, however, remains the same: He can still wheel a race car as well as anyone.
Lest we forget, in the last eight years, only Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon have won more races than Busch, who collected career victory No. 22 in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. It was the second win of the season for Busch, third if you count last weekend’s All-Star race, and provided the following ramifications:
• It spoiled Chip Ganassi’s perfect day. Only a few hours earlier, Ganassi celebrated an Indianapolis 500 victory with Dario Franchitti, then flew to Charlotte. When he arrived at the track, his driver Jamie McMurray was leading the Coca-Cola 600, with no one outside of Busch posing any threat. McMurray led as late as Lap 377 of 400, but ultimately wound up second.
• It demonstrated once again that this year’s title race is as wide open as ever. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch already have proved themselves, as has Kevin Harvick – and of course there’s always Johnson and Gordon. If Kurt Busch weren’t already in that mix, he certainly is now.
• It showed that Johnson is beatable even on his best track. Even before Johnson wrecked on Lap 274, he wasn’t the car to beat. Busch was, which is becoming a trend on the all-important 1?-mile tracks that dominate the Chase.
• And it demonstrated just how far the older Busch brother has come from the bratty kid who was picking fights with everyone just a few years ago.
“I’m not one to go out there with a big flash and a big flair,” Kurt Busch said after the win – probably the biggest of his 10-year career. “I used to early on. I’d run my head up against the wall. I’d run my race car up against the wall. Reviews came in negative.
“For me, that’s not how I wanted to be remembered, how I wanted to be looked at, sitting there on the porch talking with my grandkids about things.”
He won’t be. He has turned that corner. He’s working on a different legacy now – a one-man-gang sort of thing. Last season, Busch was the only driver to hang remotely close to the Hendrick trio of Johnson, Mark Martin and Gordon, and while they had one another to work off of, Busch essentially was a single-car team. He has a little more help this season, but nothing close to what Johnson has in Gordon and vice versa. Plus, Busch drives for the only Dodge organization left in the sport.
That he won the season’s longest, most grueling race is a testament to the strength of Penske’s engine program – the resources of which pale in comparison to what Rick Hendrick can provide his drivers.
“You know, it’s a fight, don’t get me wrong. I feel like sometimes we’re out on an island,” Busch said of being the only Dodge team. “But we’re out there and it feels good to have those guys on our side.”
On Sunday, Busch led a race-high 252 laps. No one else led more than 36, which brother Kyle did en route to salvaging a third-place finish that could have been much worse after running into Brad Keselowski on pit road.
Afterwards, Kyle noted that between them, the Busch brothers have won the last six events, including the All-Star race, spread across the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.
“So that’s kind of cool,” Kyle said, showing a rare moment of family pride. When asked if Kurt is a legit championship contender, Kyle replied, “I don’t see why not. He’s been running well all year long.”
Good enough that he has reinserted himself as the topic of Busch conversation, not just a source. In Kurt’s post-race press conference, only one question posed to him was about Kyle – the last one, and even that was about his brother’s new crew chief.
For the first time in a while, Kurt was the center of attention, and for all the right reasons. He’s a winner, he has become a leader on his team and, come September, he may just be the Busch most likely to win the Cup title.
• NASCAR News Archive Index:
2010, 2009
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