LV’s Busch ready to take giant step

Friday, Sept. 22, 2000 | 1:49 a.m.

DOVER, Del. -- Throughout his relatively brief racing career, Kurt Busch never has been subject to expectations any higher than those he has had for himself.

But all that will change this weekend when the 22-year-old Las Vegas native makes his NASCAR Winston Cup debut for Roush Racing in Sunday's MBNA.com 400 at Dover Downs International Speedway.

The 400-mile race on the 1-mile banked concrete oval will be the first of seven Winston Cup races for Busch, who will drive the No. 97 Roush Racing Ford Taurus full-time next season.

He is the first native Las Vegan to be named to a full-time ride in NASCAR's most prestigious division.

For the first time since he started racing Dwarf Cars on the quarter-mile clay track in Pahrump six years ago, the expectations of his team owner actually may exceed those of Busch.

"The team really hasn't sat down yet and discussed our game plan or goals," Busch said as he prepared for this afternoon's Winston Cup qualifying session. "Just real quick, I've talked with Jack Roush and ... he said he expected a couple of top tens and maybe even a top five (in these seven races).

"That's way overboard (but) that's the exact same impression that I had with the truck team; they wanted to finish top five in points and have a couple of wins. Well, that's what we're doing. (Roush Racing has) realistic goals that they set and they always seem to exceed my goals."

As a rookie in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Busch has driven Roush's No. 99 Exide Batteries Ford to a pair of wins, three poles and a third-place standing in the points with three races remaining. Hence, Roush may be expecting more from Busch than any other rookie driver he has brought into the sport.

"Kurt has demonstrated in the truck series that he has the ability to compete with the best the series has to offer, and it will be our responsibility to get him to that next level," Roush said. "He has learned a tremendous amount this year in the truck series and he has demonstrated the maturity that it takes to be successful on the Winston Cup circuit.

"We wouldn't put him through this unless we felt he was ready."

Busch, who is noted for keeping his emotions on an even keel both on and off the track, admitted that will be a difficult task this weekend.

"You can understand my feelings on how exciting -- and surprising -- this is for me to be going to the big dance so early," the Durango High graduate said.

"I don't think it has really sunk in yet ... but I'm sure it'll sink in slowly but surely, and I think that moment will be when it comes time for driver introductions on Sunday morning in front of 120,000 fans."

Busch, who is taking over for Chad Little in the No. 97 John Deere-sponsored Ford, will make his first Winston Cup qualifying effort this afternoon in an attempt to make the field as one of the 25 fastest cars. If he doesn't qualify among the top 25, he will have a second chance Saturday morning when starting positions 26 through 36 are determined.

Even if Busch should fail to qualify in the top 36, he will make the field via one of the seven provisional starting positions NASCAR grants based on car owner points.

But not making the race on speed was the furthest thing from Busch's mind going into today's qualifying. During a two-day test last week at Dover, Busch turned three laps fast enough to qualify in the top 10 (based on qualifying speeds from the June race here) and his last run would have been quick enough to capture the outside pole.

"I would like to qualify the first day and get in the top 25 -- that would be an overachievement -- and to finish in the top 25 would be a realistic goal," Busch said. "Of course, staying out of trouble and making 400 laps is the ultimate goal."

Based on the success of his test here, and the fact that he will be competing in tonight's truck race at Dover, Busch expects to be comfortable with the track by Sunday afternoon's race.

"It's an awesome race track, just awesome," Busch said of the Monster Mile. "The way the banking configures itself into a one-mile oval, with 24 degrees (banking) and concrete -- it's my style of track. You can take it off in there deeper and stand on it earlier.

"But because it's concrete, you can burn the tires off the car pretty quickly. It's got all the elements that I enjoy: Fast qualifying and saving the tires."

Although some racing observers have suggested that Roush may be rushing Busch into the premier stock-car racing series, Busch is quick to point out that he heard the same criticism a year ago when Roush selected him for the truck series.

"Some could feel that it's too early to go (to Winston Cup) but I think the transition going to Winston Cup is just as steep as the trucks," Busch said. "Since I've been through it before -- it won't necessarily be easier the second time around -- I know what to expect."

That's not to say Busch is approaching Sunday's race the same way he did his truck series debut at Daytona International Speedway in February, when he charged from the 34th starting position to a second-place finish.

"It'll be slightly different, of course," Busch said of his race strategy. "Being in Winston Cup, that's the ultimate level and you don't want to hurt yourself early on as far as making bad calls in the pits or bad judgments on the track.

"It's going to be a race where we're running our own lap times, not over our heads, and just making some laps. It will be a bit more conservative -- I don't think it'll be a second-place finish like it was at Daytona this year."

Then again, if the opportunity presents itself, Busch isn't about to disappoint his boss.

"This is the opportunity of a lifetime," Busch said. "I appreciate everything that Jack and the entire Roush organization has done for me. This is a dream come true and I'm going to do my best to show Jack and everyone else that they have made the right decision."

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