40 Fun Facts About Kurt Busch

Which NASCAR legend gave rookie Kurt Busch a one-finger salute at 185 mph in a February 2001 race?

Dale Earnhardt made the gesture after door-to-door contact with the rookie, and Fox's replay cameras caught it. Earnhardt died in a crash on the final lap of that same race.

Which driver beat Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds at Darlington in 2003, then NASCAR's closest timed finish?

Ricky Craven edged ahead as the two cars banged doors all the way to the line. It was the second and last Cup win of his career.

Kurt Busch passed Kyle Larson, who had run out of fuel, on the last lap in 2017 to win which race?

The Daytona 500 was his first points-race win on a restrictor-plate track. It came as leader after leader ran dry over the final four laps.

Which basketball legend co-owned 23XI Racing when Kurt Busch drove for the team in his final Cup season?

Michael Jordan's team gave Busch the No. 45, a nod to the jersey number Jordan wore in baseball and briefly on his NBA comeback.

In 2012 Kurt Busch raced a paint scheme copying a fictional driver's 'ME' Cougar from which racing film?

Talladega Nights got its tribute at the track in its title. Busch spent months securing permission from Sony and Will Ferrell, then radioed lines from the film to his crew during the race.

In 2014 Kurt Busch attempted 'double duty', racing the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day as which other race?

The Indianapolis 500 went better than anyone expected: he finished sixth and was named Rookie of the Year. His engine then failed at Charlotte, leaving the 1,100-mile bid unfinished.

After his first win for a new team in March 2006, Kurt Busch celebrated on the track by doing what?

Making a snow angel suited the weekend, as snow and sleet had canceled qualifying. The win was his fifth at the same track and his first in the famous No. 2 car.

Kurt Busch and his younger brother Kyle, both Cup Series champions, grew up in which western American city?

Las Vegas was home, though the racing began out in the desert: Kurt first competed at 14 on a small track in Pahrump, introduced to the sport by his father.

Kurt Busch's 2004 title was the first decided under which ten-race playoff format, introduced that season?

The Chase reset the points for the top ten drivers with ten races to go. Busch won its very first race and held on to take the title in the finale.

Kurt Busch earned a Pro Stock license and debuted at the 2011 Gatornationals in which other motorsport?

Drag racing suited him: he qualified for the field at his first attempt, then lost a close opening elimination round to future Pro Stock champion Erica Enders.

Kurt Busch joined Penske Racing in 2006 to take over the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge from which retiring champion?

Rusty Wallace had driven Penske's No. 2 since 1991 and retired after 2005. Busch agreed the move in mid-season, and his old team released him only once it had Jamie McMurray lined up.

Kurt Busch won the 2004 championship by just eight points, then the closest margin ever, over which driver?

Jimmie Johnson had won more races than anyone else that season. Busch's fifth place in the finale was just enough to keep him in front.

Kurt Busch drove the No. 97 car from 2000 to 2005, winning the 2004 title, for which team?

Roush Racing moved him up fast. After a single season in trucks, he skipped NASCAR's second-tier series altogether and went straight to Cup.

Which beverage brand sponsored Kurt Busch from 2012 and moved with him to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019?

Monster Energy's deal began in 2012, when it put Busch in a Nationwide Series car he shared with his brother Kyle.

Kurt Busch and brother Kyle lost the 2017 Race of Champions Nations' Cup final to which Formula One champion?

Sebastian Vettel won the Nations' Cup for Germany single-handed, driving every heat himself after teammate Pascal Wehrlein crashed out.

Kurt Busch scored his first Cup win in 2002 at which track, where he swept both races in 2003?

Bristol became his best track: he held off a veteran on worn tires for that first win and had five victories there by 2006.

Kurt Busch's 2004 championship was the last Cup drivers' title for which manufacturer until 2018?

Ford did not crown another Cup champion until Joey Logano in 2018. By then Busch himself was back in the same make of car, 14 years after his title.

Kurt Busch drove the No. 41 car from 2014 to 2018, winning NASCAR's biggest race, for which team?

Stewart-Haas Racing added the No. 41 as a fourth car for him. Co-owner Gene Haas sponsored that first season himself, through his own company, Haas Automation.

Kurt Busch succeeded which teammate, the 2003 title winner, as NASCAR Cup Series champion?

Matt Kenseth took the 2003 crown with a single race win, and the playoff NASCAR adopted a year later was nicknamed the Matt Kenseth Rule. Busch won the first title decided that way.

Kurt Busch finished runner-up in the 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year standings to which driver?

Kevin Harvick won two races and finished ninth in points despite missing the season opener. Busch, who began the year in an unsponsored car, ended it 27th.

In 2011 Kurt Busch moved to the renumbered No. 22 Dodge in a car swap with which Penske teammate?

Brad Keselowski took over the flagship No. 2 that Busch had driven since 2006, and won the Cup championship in it the very next season.

In 2008 Kurt Busch pushed which teammate past the leaders on the final lap to win NASCAR's biggest race?

Ryan Newman's victory was the first in that race for team owner Roger Penske, long a serial winner of open-wheel racing's biggest event.

Kurt Busch took which Denver-based single-car team to its first playoff berth in 2013, driving the No. 78?

Furniture Row Racing was the first single-car team ever to reach NASCAR's playoff, and the only Cup team based west of the Mississippi.

Kurt Busch's 34th and final Cup win came in May 2022, driving the No. 45 Toyota, at which track?

Kansas Speedway was the last of his 34 wins. Two months later a qualifying crash left him with a concussion that ended his full-time career.

Kurt Busch beat his brother Kyle by 0.076 seconds after an overtime restart at which track in 2019?

Kentucky Speedway saw the brothers' third one-two finish in a Cup race, and the first in which Kurt came out ahead.

Which teenage Xfinity Series driver made his Cup debut replacing a concussed Kurt Busch at Pocono in 2022?

Ty Gibbs was announced as the stand-in on race day and finished 16th. He was still filling in weeks later, as Busch was not cleared to return that season.

Which Newell Rubbermaid brand became the main sponsor of Kurt Busch's No. 97 car during his 2001 rookie season?

Sharpie arrived partway through 2001, after Busch had started his first full Cup season with no sponsor on the car at all.

Kurt Busch made his first Cup starts in 2000 in a No. 97 car sponsored by which farm equipment maker?

John Deere's car had been Chad Little's ride until Busch took it over at Dover that September. The sponsor left when the season ended.

Kurt Busch enrolled at the University of Arizona intending to earn a degree in which field?

Pharmacy was the plan after he left Durango High School. Within a few years he was a NASCAR touring-series champion instead.

Kurt Busch began racing at age 14 at Pahrump Valley Speedway in which scaled-down class of machine?

A Dwarf car came first, after his father introduced him to the sport. Busch moved on to IMCA Modifieds before landing a seat in NASCAR's regional touring ranks.

Kurt Busch won his first Truck Series ride at a team's driver auditions nicknamed after which TV talent contest?

The Gong Show auditions cut hopefuls round by round, in an elimination-style test of young drivers. Busch's win put him in the No. 99 truck for 2000.

Kurt Busch finished second in the 2000 Truck Series standings as a rookie, behind which champion teammate?

Greg Biffle took the title by 230 points. Busch still won four races and the Rookie of the Year award, then jumped straight to Cup.

Kurt Busch won the Coca-Cola 600 in May 2010 just days after winning which million-dollar exhibition event?

The All-Star Race was then run at the same Charlotte track the weekend before the 600. Busch became only the seventh driver to win both in the same year.

Kurt Busch clinched the 2004 title at which track despite his right-front wheel breaking off on lap 93?

Homestead nearly cost him everything: the loose wheel rolled away as he just missed the barrels at the pit entrance. He recovered to finish fifth.

Kurt Busch earned his first Cup road-course win in June 2011, leading 76 laps, at which track?

Sonoma, then called Infineon Raceway, ended a long wait: it was his first road-course win after more than a decade in the Cup Series.

Which veteran driver was suspended for a race after confronting Kurt Busch in his car at Michigan in 2003?

Jimmy Spencer, nicknamed Mr. Excitement, had been bumped out of the lead by Busch in a race the year before, one flashpoint in a long feud. Busch himself was placed on probation.

Which crew chief was suspended when Kurt Busch won at Pocono in 2016, a year before their biggest win?

Tony Gibson missed that win, but was on the pit box for their last-lap victory in NASCAR's biggest race the following February.

Kurt Busch became a free agent in 2021 when which team bought Chip Ganassi's NASCAR operation?

Trackhouse Racing took over both of Ganassi's charters, for the No. 1 and No. 42 cars. Busch answered with one more win for his outgoing team eleven days later.

Kurt Busch won on his debut in NASCAR's second-tier series in 2006, driving the No. 39 Dodge, at which track?

Texas Motor Speedway put him on a short list: only a handful of drivers have won their very first start in that series.

After leaving Penske, Kurt Busch spent most of 2012 driving the No. 51 for which small team owned by James Finch?

Phoenix Racing ran most of that season without a sponsor, yet Busch still took the underfunded car to a third-place finish.