NASCAR Race Mom: The Wisdom Of Kurt Busch – Rolling Back The Years For The Daytona 500

Thursday, February 15, 2018

The Wisdom Of Kurt Busch – Rolling Back The Years For The Daytona 500

Kurt Busch Claimed His And Stewart-Haas Racing’s Maiden Victory At The Daytona 500 In 2017, Adding Another Title To A Glittering #NASCAR Career.

Lee Spencer, writing exclusively for Mobil 1 The Grid, at down with the now veteran racer as he embarks on his quest to do what no driver has done since Sterling Marlin: go back-to-back at the Great American Race.

Inside his well-appointed R.V., dotted with mementos of his wife Ashley, Kurt Busch brewed a cup of coffee, then slid into the dining nook with the mug and began drawing a figure resembling two tent poles.

“This is how I visually have seen my career,” Busch said. “It’s like the Golden Gate Bridge. The build-up – the nice championship. The build-up – winning Daytona. There could be another stretch over here, but that will probably be life afterwards.

“That moment, winning Daytona, reminded me of winning the championship. When I won the first championship – my only championship – I thought there would be more. I thought there would be more opportunities. I didn’t quite cherish it the way I should have. Or I was just 26 years old and I didn’t digest it as much.”

That wasn’t the case after Busch, 39, won the Great American Race last year on his 16th attempt. He refused to let the Harley J. Earl trophy out of his sight.

“To win Daytona, after so many years of struggling, and so many close finishes, too, I mean second-place is great but it’s devastating when you’re that close,” Busch said. “Then there were the years I had a really fast car and wrecked. That’s the emotion of Daytona. It’s just like winning the championship after these 10 days, except for the championship is a 10-week run.”

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Full Article by Lee Spencer

While some veterans have questioned the exposure the next generation has received, before they have built the resumes to justify the attention, Busch is using his expertise in motorsport to design his next career move. Recently, he appeared as a guest commentator on a Supercross broadcast in Phoenix, then flew to Aspen for the X Games. Last year, Busch worked with Discovery Channel and Richard Rawlings for the season finale of Fast N’ Loud.

But that’s the future. For now, Busch’s immediate concern is going back-to-back in the Daytona 500 for the first time since Sterling Marlin accomplished the feat in 1994-1995.