Busch stays away from trouble in his first race

Monday, Sept. 25, 2000 | 10:53 a.m.

DOVER, Del. -- Most of the veteran NASCAR Winston Cup drivers had little or no comment on Kurt Busch's performance in Sunday's MBNA.com 400 -- which, in racing, generally is a good thing.

Bobby Hamilton, on the other hand, offered a backhanded compliment to the 22-year-old Las Vegas native who made his Winston Cup debut at Dover Downs International Speedway and finished 18th.

"I didn't really race him today," Hamilton said. "I've raced against him in the (NASCAR Craftsman) Truck Series and I try to stay away from him -- he's a weapon.

"He done a good job today but, just like me, everybody just gave him a lot of room."

Hamilton apparently still was smarting from an incident in the truck series season opener at Daytona International Speedway in which Busch, Hamilton and three other drivers tangled in the tri-oval. Although Busch was able to continue racing and eventually finished second in his truck debut, Hamilton was knocked out of the race after only 36 laps.

Hamilton appeared to be in the minority, according to Busch's crew chief, Jeff Hammond.

"I talked to some of the veteran (drivers) and I think that Kurt worked with the leaders very well," Hammond said. "I didn't see him take any unnecessary chances. I'm tickled to death with what I saw."

And that, Busch said, was his plan going into the 400-lap race.

"We weren't going to make low-percentage passes just to gain two positions," Busch said. "It's a completely different set of drivers than I've ever raced with before and I'm just a new guy (coming) in and I've got to learn how their operation works."

Hammond said he didn't know what to expect from Busch in his Winston Cup debut, but was impressed with what the Durango High School graduate accomplished.

"What we have seen in the truck division and how well he had adjusted and how well he adapted to race tracks, yeah, we were hoping that he could do the same thing when he came up here," Hammond said.