Busch has eventful start in truck series

Monday, Feb. 21, 2000 | 10:07 a.m.

The week didn't start well for Kurt Busch, and it nearly turned disastrous midway through Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

But the 21-year-old Las Vegan drove his Roush Racing Exide Batteries Ford from the 34th starting position to a second-place finish in his truck series debut.

"I couldn't have asked for anything more from my debut," Busch said. "I definitely had hoped for a little quieter one, though."

Busch got caught up in a horrifying crash on lap 56 of the 100-lap Daytona 250 that claimed 11 trucks and sent driver Geoff Bodine and nine fans to the hospital.

Busch became the "meat in the sandwich" between drivers Rob Morgan and Bodine. The ensuing contact sent Bodine into the outside wall and resulted in a fiery crash -- although Busch was able to escape the incident with only minor body damage to his truck.

"People were going by me and I was happy to just tuck in wherever I could," Busch said of the incident. "Then (a driver) tried to make it three-wide in the tri-oval, which wasn't a good idea. It really was an unfortunate incident.

"I put myself in a very precarious situation at the wrong time ... but I was able to skate through it. A couple of drivers needed a slap on the hand before they calmed down."

Busch said part of the problem stemmed from the fact that, as a rookie in the truck series, very few drivers were willing to draft with him.

"I kept getting shuffled to the back but, having a fast truck, I kept coming back," he said.

Late in the race, Busch was involved in another close call as he and Roush Racing teammate Greg Biffle traded paint, sending Biffle into the wall and out of the race.

"We were trying to work too hard together," Busch said of the scrape with Biffle. "For some reason, the No. 99 and No. 50 didn't draft together too well -- the trucks, not the drivers."

A miscommunication by the two drivers' spotters led to the accident. Busch said he was expecting Biffle to pass him on the inside of the track, so he moved up towards the wall, where he bumped Biffle when he tried to pass on the outside.

Escaping a massive crash and a bump with his teammate weren't the only reasons Busch was elated with his strong showing Friday. Earlier in the week, Busch crashed in his first test session and the team was forced to bring out its backup truck.

Then, during Wednesday's qualifying session, Busch's engine blew up, forcing him to start 34th on the grid for Friday's race.

"Winning the race wasn't even in our minds after the week we had," Busch said. "But the team kept digging and working hard and we were able to regroup.

"Then we realized that with (team owner Jack) Roush's equipment, whether it's primary or secondary, it's going to be the best."

A second-place finish in his NCTS debut hasn't altered Busch's goals for the season -- with one exception.

"We're still sticking with the same game plan," he said. "We plan to run for Rookie of the Year and we're still looking for a top-10 finish in the points ... but, now, we're looking at possibly winning a race or two before the season is over with."