Busch finishes 36th after mishap

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001 | 10:20 a.m.

Kurt Busch isn't off to the start he had envisioned in his rookie season on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit.

The 22-year-old Las Vegas native finished 36th in Monday's rain-delayed Dura-Lube 400 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham after making contact with the outside wall early in the race.

"We had another rookie day," Busch, who qualified ninth, said. "I was watching the guys with fresh tires and old tires going three-wide. I was just trying to get out of the way and got my right-side tires up in the gray (and) knocked the toe-in off and that made for a long day."

Busch lost a lap on the ensuing pit stop to change tires and fix the sheet-metal damage and eventually finished the race 10 laps off the pace set by race winner Steve Park.

"Our pit stops were excellent," Busch said. "My hat goes off to my whole team because they really stuck with me all day."

It was Busch's second disappointing finish in two races this season in the No. 97 Roush Racing Ford Taurus. Busch, a Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate, came home in 41st place in the season-opening Daytona 500 and now stands 42nd in the Winston Cup points standings.

Busch will look to turn his season around when he returns home for Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Qualifying for the fourth annual Las Vegas Winston Cup race will be held Friday at 2:15 p.m.