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Sprint Cup
CUP: Kurt Busch Still In Hunt At Charlotte
Kurt Busch picked up the pace Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kurt Busch hopes to visit Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the third time in the 2010 season. (Photo: Getty Images)
When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series raced at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this season, one guy hogged most of the headlines. And, no, it’s not who you’re thinking of.
While Jimmie Johnson has been the man to beat at Charlotte in years past, this season at least, the dominator has been Kurt Busch, who won the Sprint All-Star race here in May and followed it up a week later with a powerhouse victory in the Coca-Cola 600.
And although he qualified just 15th for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at CMS, Busch is still very much a force to be reckoned with at the 1.5-mile oval. His Penske Racing Dodge showed much-improved form Friday afternoon, when he was fourth-fastest in the first of two practice rounds.
If Busch is able to win on Saturday night, he will become the first driver in history to sweep both points race and the All-Star race at CMS in the same season. Busch would like nothing better than to do just that and in the process administer a beatdown of Johnson in the process.
“We have a very unique opportunity,” said Busch, who comes into the race sixth in points, 140 behind Johnson. “There have only been seven guys to have the opportunity to sweep all three Cup races in the same season here at Charlotte. I feel excited about it. We’re definitely pumped up about it inside the team with the challenge that’s out in front of us during these 10 weeks of the Chase.”
Busch knows he needs to win this weekend — or at least finish ahead of Johnson and the rest of the points leaders — to remain in serious championship contention.
“To bring home a win here at Charlotte on Saturday night would boost us up in the points and get us back on track to where we need to be,” said Busch. “It’s a win-win for us. We like the extra pressure. It’s a chance to do something special and hopefully we can deliver with the Miller Lite Dodge.”
Unlike some of his competitors, Busch hasn’t conceded the championship this year.
“Anything can happen at any given moment,” he said. “Whether it’s an engine failure, another competitor running into someone on the track, points can swap so fast that anything can happen and it’s anyone’s game.”
By Busch’s take, Saturday night’s race and the championship both remain wide open.
“There’s no reason to panic,” he said. “There’s no reason to do anything out of the ordinary. If you’re running around fifth or sixth in points and you win, you can’t expect to vault into second-place anymore, you have to work your way around those guys. But if the leader has problems then it opens the door for everybody.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
While Jimmie Johnson has been the man to beat at Charlotte in years past, this season at least, the dominator has been Kurt Busch, who won the Sprint All-Star race here in May and followed it up a week later with a powerhouse victory in the Coca-Cola 600.
And although he qualified just 15th for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at CMS, Busch is still very much a force to be reckoned with at the 1.5-mile oval. His Penske Racing Dodge showed much-improved form Friday afternoon, when he was fourth-fastest in the first of two practice rounds.
If Busch is able to win on Saturday night, he will become the first driver in history to sweep both points race and the All-Star race at CMS in the same season. Busch would like nothing better than to do just that and in the process administer a beatdown of Johnson in the process.
“We have a very unique opportunity,” said Busch, who comes into the race sixth in points, 140 behind Johnson. “There have only been seven guys to have the opportunity to sweep all three Cup races in the same season here at Charlotte. I feel excited about it. We’re definitely pumped up about it inside the team with the challenge that’s out in front of us during these 10 weeks of the Chase.”
Busch knows he needs to win this weekend — or at least finish ahead of Johnson and the rest of the points leaders — to remain in serious championship contention.
“To bring home a win here at Charlotte on Saturday night would boost us up in the points and get us back on track to where we need to be,” said Busch. “It’s a win-win for us. We like the extra pressure. It’s a chance to do something special and hopefully we can deliver with the Miller Lite Dodge.”
Unlike some of his competitors, Busch hasn’t conceded the championship this year.
“Anything can happen at any given moment,” he said. “Whether it’s an engine failure, another competitor running into someone on the track, points can swap so fast that anything can happen and it’s anyone’s game.”
By Busch’s take, Saturday night’s race and the championship both remain wide open.
“There’s no reason to panic,” he said. “There’s no reason to do anything out of the ordinary. If you’re running around fifth or sixth in points and you win, you can’t expect to vault into second-place anymore, you have to work your way around those guys. But if the leader has problems then it opens the door for everybody.”
Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.
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