Busch wouldn't rule out another tight Darlington finish
By SceneDaily Staff
Thursday, May 08, 2008
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Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR
Given the right circumstances, Kurt Busch thinks this weekend's Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway could produce an even closer finish than the March 16, 2003, race at the track in which Ricky Craven beat Busch to the line by 0.002 seconds.
That's the closest finish in the history of electronic timing and scoring at the track.
Busch, who has one top-five and four top-10 finishes in 11 Cup races at Darlington, says that he always looks forward to racing at the track - and he doesn't expect that to change even though the facility has been repaved.
"From way back in my short-track days, I can remember the place being so full of history," the 2004 Cup champion said. "I always thought that it would be so cool to race there. When I got my first opportunity to race at Darlington back in the spring race of 2001, I found out that everything I’d heard about the place was absolutely true. It is such a challenging track and so demanding from a mental standpoint.
"You used to have to get your car setup right to deal with the unbelievably abrasive surface. Even with the brand new pavement, it will
still always be the ultimate challenge. That’s just part of the equation, because then you have to apply a mental focus to each and every lap. You really do race the race track lap after lap in hopes of being there up front to race the other competitors in the final few laps.”
The Penske Racing driver says that while his previous tight finish was under different conditions, it's very possible another close run could occur at Darlington this season.
“When Ricky and I staged that nail-biter at Darlington back in 2003, we were racing the smaller cars on old asphalt with softer tires,”
Busch said. “This time around, the elements are totally different. We have the bigger and boxier cars. We’ll have the brand-new fresh asphalt. And yeah, we’ll have the rock-hard Goodyear tires there this weekend.
“When you stop and think about it, it’s very much possible that we could have another close finish like we did in 2003. I certainly don’t
think that we’ll be running side-by-side and that close all night long; it would be absolutely absurd to think that could happen. But if we were to get a late-race caution, it really could set up another race that close to the finish."
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If a late caution packs the field together, anything goes.
“The new track will have a ton of grip, but the rock-hard tires will probably see us slipping and sliding all over the place,” Busch said.
“If the cars are all bunched up for the finish of Saturday night’s race, you’ll likely see some of the brave and daring young souls out there pushing it to the limit and doing whatever it takes to win. The key to it all, however, would probably be a late caution with less than 10 laps remaining. We’d start single file with the leaders up front and all the lapped cars completely out of the way and running behind them.
"… As big and bulky as these new cars are, you could still wedge two guys running side by side on that narrow little strip of asphalt. It would be another mind-blowing finish, that’s for sure. We’d definitely welcome the opportunity to be involved in another classic finish like that.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Kurt Busch
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2 responses to "Busch wouldn't rule out another tight Darlington finish"
Anonymous said:
May 8, 2008 at 12:07 PMGo, Kurt! Bring it home in the Miller Lite Dodge!! Selina
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAnonymous said:
May 8, 2008 at 3:28 PMGo blue 2!! Kurt YOU are the man!!!
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