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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Chase Bio — Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch won the first Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2004...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 10, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Kurt Busch has two points wins, plus a victory in the Sprint All-Star Race, this season. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Kurt Busch, Penske Racing
Points position: 8th
2010 season: 2 wins, 8 top-fives, 15 top-10s
Defining moment: Charlotte sweep

The 2004 season sure seems like it’s a lifetime ago, but that’s when NASCAR launched the first Chase for the Sprint Cup, which was won by then-Roush Racing driver Kurt Busch.

PHOTOS: 2010 Chase Contenders - Kurt Busch

A lot’s happened since then. Busch, the fiery Las Vegas native, bolted the Roush camp late in 2005 to drive for Roger Penske. Under the guidance of “The Captain,” Busch radically retooled his image from bad boy to an active philanthropist whose worst flaw is to occasionally torture the English language in press conferences.

Sprint Cup Chase Driver Bios

Last year, Busch finished fourth in the Cup points standings, and first among the nine Chase drivers who don’t drive for Rick Hendrick. This time around, he’s done pretty well for himself, too, making the Chase for the fifth time in seven years.

Busch had a huge month of May at Charlotte Motor Speedway, sweeping the $1 million-to-win Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 on successive weekends. He also won at Atlanta in the spring and had an excellent runner-up finish on the Watkins Glen International road course.

This season’s good performances earned Busch a new contract with Penske, where next year he will move from the No. 2 Blue Deuce to a new No. 22 Dodge with Shell/Pennzoil sponsorship.

“As far as Kurt goes, we signed him up five years ago and he has really developed,” said team owner Penske. “As a driver, he’s always been a great driver. ... He certainly has matured. He understands that it’s a team effort and he’s looking forward to continue to give us some more support.”
Kurt Busch is enjoying a strong season for Penske Racing. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

On the debit side of the ledger, Busch was on the receiving end of a couple of shots from his arch-rival Jimmie Johnson, one of which resulted in a hard crash at Pocono and some harsh words from Busch afterwards.

Lately, Busch has been sort of luke warm. He has three top-10 finishes in the last four races, including the Watkins Glen runner-up run, and a sixth last week in Atlanta. But in the six races before then, Busch failed to lead a single lap in any of them.

When he won the first Chase in 2004, Busch did so from seventh place when he wasn’t regarded as one of the favorites. But the fact that he went all the way once already and had a strong run last year makes him a serious threat this time around, too.

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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