Busch posts 1st win

Monday, March 25, 2002 | 9:29 a.m.

Seven years ago, Kurt Busch was racing Dwarf Cars at the half-mile dirt track in Pahrump.

Three years ago, the Durango High School graduate was fixing broken water pipes for the Las Vegas Valley Water District while waiting for his big break in racing.

Today, the 23-year-old Las Vegas native is a NASCAR Winston Cup race winner.

Less than three years after being "discovered" by noted NASCAR team owner Jack Roush while driving in a NASCAR Southwest Series race at Sears Point Raceway in Northern California, Busch earned his first Winston Cup victory Sunday in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"That's what you always dream about when you're a racer coming up through the ranks," Busch said of his emotional win. "Racing at the quarter-mile track that I grew up on, it somewhat looked like Bristol. It's banked 24 degrees ... and it gave me a little bit of vision of what I used to do back then.

"The biggest break of my life came when Jack Roush gave me this opportunity; that's when you know you made it to the big time. But when you make it to the big time, you've got to capitalize on it and what every racer dreams about is winning at the Winston Cup level."

Busch, who made it to victory lane in his 48th Winston Cup start, became the youngest winner in stock-car racing's premier series since Jeff Gordon (at the age of 22) in 1994.

He also joined Elliott Sadler, Ernie Irvan, Rusty Wallace and the late Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers to get their first career wins at the high-banked, half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch's win didn't come easy -- or without controversy. He inherited the lead with 89 laps to go in the 500-lap event when he opted not to follow race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. into the pits during a caution period.

Busch held onto the lead until Jimmy Spencer passed him on lap 444. On the next lap, Busch tapped Spencer's car and dove underneath to regain the lead. Despite running the final 157 laps on the same set of tires, and a late-race caution that bunched up the field, Busch held off Spencer for a 1.556-second margin of victory.

Spencer, nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" for his aggressive driving, took exception to Busch's maneuver.

"Kurt Busch just smashed right into me, and that's OK; I never forget," Spencer said. "The only thing is when I smash back, he won't finish.

"I passed him fair and square and he just smashed right into my back bumper. You just don't race that way for victories."

Spencer, apparently, isn't the only one with a long memory. Busch said he recalled being spun out by Spencer at Phoenix International Raceway last fall, depriving Busch of a potential top-10 finish.

"Yeah, he would think he got a raw deal," Busch said of Spencer. "He hasn't won since '94. At Phoenix last year, he dumped us flat and he was a lapped car and we were racing in eighth place, so that was in my mind.

"He was the one that never forgets; I guess we could say that I don't forget what happened at Phoenix."

Busch also said he remembered Sadler winning last year's spring race at Bristol by running the final 150 laps on the same set of tires.

"I saw Elliott Sadler do it here last spring," Busch said. "The tires last forever. It just worked out into our favor that we were up front. We had a great pit stop -- came in fourth and went out second behind Junior -- and it was our turn to race.

"We knew we were going to stay out from (lap) 150 on."

Roush, who saw Busch struggle through his rookie Winston Cup season after winning four races as a rookie in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2000, said he believed Sunday was a sign of things to come.

"I'd never been prouder of a young program -- of a young driver -- as I sit here with Kurt today," Roush said. "He has adapted quicker to all the things presented to him in the racing than anybody I've ever worked with.

"I look forward to providing equipment and people to develop his career and to be as good as anybody's ever been at this business, in terms of the things that he can achieve. I believe he's got that potential if I can do my part."