Top-30 drivers: Kurt Busch
By SceneDaily Staff Report
Monday, December 31, 2007
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Kurt Busch endured a roller-coaster run through 2007, opening the season deep in the standings, rallying into a championship-contending position, then having to fight back into a top-12 position again after being slowed by a penalty.
The Penske Racing team's performance was raised a notch once Pat Tryson united with the driver in July. Busch and the crew chief hit it off quickly, with Busch moving into the Chase For The Nextel Cup, then sitting as high as fifth in the standings when the 12-driver field was reseeded based on wins following the 26th race of the year.
Busch, a 29-year-old native of Las Vegas, began racing full time in the Cup ranks in 2001 with team owner Jack Roush. He won the Cup championship in 2004, leaving Roush at the end of the next season to join Penske Racing. He has been in the top 10 in the standings in four of his six full-time seasons. In 2007, Busch earned more than $6.8 million in purses.
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 30 in 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup driver points. Here's how Busch's season unfolded:
By the numbers: Busch finished seventh in the series standings. He won two races with six top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
Season highlights: Busch hit a hot streak in the summer, gaining ground with wins at Pocono Raceway and Michigan International Speedway. He finished no worse than 11th in a nine-race stretch that also included those victories. He closed the season on a high note as well, earning back-to-back eighth-place finishes, then a 12th, then closed the year with a runnerup performance at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Key setbacks: Busch's key setback of the season was the 100-point penalty he earned following a pit-road incident with Tony Stewart. He overcame that, though, to make the Chase.
Newsworthy moment: Aside from the penalty, Busch's most talked-about moves were the pair of wins in a three-race stretch and his shift to crew chief Tryson. The pair had known one another when both were at Roush Racing, but united as crew chief and driver at Penske, developing a relationship that each spoke of often. As the season ended, Busch gained attention once more when he agreed to switch owners points with incoming teammate Sam Hornish Jr., who was outside the top 35 in owners points. Now both are guaranteed a starting spot in the Daytona 500, Hornish based on the switch and Busch as the most recent series champion that is outside the top 35 in owners points.
In his words: "Overall, just a great season for us to win a couple races and be in contention at a lot of race tracks. We finished seventh overall. That's a nice feather in the cap. This team deserves it. We worked really hard and hopefully we will carry this right on in to Daytona."
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Kurt Busch
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