Busch: Home at last

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2001 | 10:55 a.m.

Sunday, March 4 has been highlighted on Kurt Busch's calendar since the day last September he first learned he would be driving fulltime in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series this season.

"I've been looking forward to that race since (team owner Jack Roush) first told me he was taking me Winston Cup racing," the 22-year-old Las Vegas native said.

"That race" is Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race will mark Busch's Winston Cup debut in his hometown.

Busch acknowledges that he has come a long way in a short time. The Durango High graduate began his racing career six years ago driving Dwarf Cars at the Pahrump Valley Speedway, launching a meteoric rise to stock car racing's pinnacle.

Busch won a handful of races and a pair of championships at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's 3/8-mile track before jumping to the NASCAR Southwest Tour in 1998, where he won the Rookie of the Year award. The following season, Busch won a record four consecutive Southwest Tour races and the series championship.

Busch got noticed by Roush while driving in the Southwest Series and was invited to try out for a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride with Roush. Busch landed the job, beating out three other applicants, and proceeded to rewrite the Truck Series record book last season.

Busch won an unprecedented four races as a rookie and finished second in the championship to teammate Greg Biffle and was named the series' Rookie of the Year.

Last September, Roush decided to part ways with Winston Cup driver Chad Little and put Busch in the No. 97 Ford Taurus for seven of the final eight races of the season.

Busch responded by qualifying 10th at Dover in his Winston Cup debut and posted a career-best finish of 13th at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., in his third career Winston Cup start.

"It was quite a change moving from the Southwest where I had been working three jobs and running at all of the little tracks," said Busch, who now lives outside of Charlotte.

"It was a big transition to only have to focus on one thing and just run at the bigger tracks. It has also been a big chore to keep in touch with my close friends and family since I moved."

Busch plans to renew some old acquaintances this week when he is in town for the $4.1 million UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400. After a successful test at LVMS last month, Busch said he has reason to believe he will improve upon his early-season performance this weekend.

"I'm really optimistic about our chances at Vegas," said Busch, who finished 41st in the Daytona 500 and 36th last weekend at Rockingham. "I always want to do well but it would be especially nice to do well in front of my hometown crowd.

"It's going to be great to race in front of the hometown crowd; it's something I didn't get to do with the trucks and I enjoyed it with the Southwest Tour. I came here two times with the Southwest Tour and won both of those races here in Vegas."

Roush certainly believes Busch has what it takes to put the unsponsored No. 97 car into the winner's circle before too long. Roush credits his latest find for turning around the fortunes of his fourth Winston Cup team.

"He's a driver who will talk to the other (Roush) drivers and draw energy from our information pool and make the best of the situation," Roush said of Busch. "We've got a lot of information that can help a rookie driver -- or a veteran driver -- if it's properly assimilated and respected."

Busch said he can't help but succeed in an environment that includes teammates Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth, the 2000 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year.

"I built some great relationships last year,' Busch said. "I was able to communicate a lot with Greg Biffle and we worked well together. Since I've been in North Carolina, I think all of my Winston Cup teammates at Roush have accepted me and I'm anxious to work with and learn from them.

"I've enjoyed all of the changes in my life over the past year. They are all part of learning."