Lesson at Indy helped Busch make strides as a sophomore

Friday, Nov. 22, 2002 | 10:12 a.m.

As Kurt Busch made his way through the garage area at Indianapolis Motor Speedway following his early exit from the Brickyard 400 on a hot and humid afternoon in August, it was hard to tell where the tears ended and the sweat began.

The Las Vegas native, who celebrated his 24th birthday that day, had just been knocked out of the race as the result of a tap from behind by Jimmy Spencer. He knew his 41st-place finish would drop him from fifth to 10th in the NASCAR Winston Cup points standings -- erasing his five-position gain in the points during the previous three races.

As he surveyed his crumpled No. 97 Rubbermaid-sponsored Ford Taurus, Busch had no way of knowing that race -- and the ensuing two in which he finished 41st and 39th as the result of engine failures -- would be the springboard to a wildly successful sophomore season in which he won four races and finished third in the championship.

"It was a great lesson learned," Busch said of his mid-season slump. "To finish last three times in a row, anybody could have got down on themselves ... (but) I think we all pulled together stronger as a team. The sponsor didn't let us down, they actually whupped me upside the head a couple times and said, 'Listen, let's focus on what's important.'

"There was no one big turnaround from that month of August; it was just a gradual swing. We really didn't look at it as something that would turn our season -- as, in fact, it did as far as points -- but we knew that we could bounce back and to (finish) third in points is somewhat of a statement within itself."

After the disappointing races at Indianapolis, Watkins Glen and Michigan, Busch and his Roush Racing team righted the ship with a sixth-place effort at Bristol -- the site of his first career victory in March -- and followed that with a seventh-place showing a week later at Darlington. After a 19th-place run at Richmond, Busch took second at New Hampshire and seventh at Dover and was confident he was on the right track.

"It was somewhat fulfilling in knowing that we had made the turn," Busch said. "It was just a matter of getting those finishes and applying what we had learned in the first half of the season to the second half of the season and we were starting to do that."

Busch finally moved back into the top 10 in points with a 12th-place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., on Oct. 13 and then stunned the stock-car circuit by winning back-to-back races at Martinsville Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway and moving to sixth in points.

A third-place finish the following week at North Carolina Speedway and a sixth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 10 allowed Busch to climb to third in points -- a position he cemented with a win in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It was his third victory in five races.

"Wow -- what a day, what a year," Busch said as he celebrated his fourth career victory. "We've been on a torrid pace here at the end, somewhat of a mind-boggling pace to gather up points, and it's great to be able to be in position at the final race of the year to be able to finish third in points.

"Not many drivers would give themselves good grades; they'll always say that there's room to do this and there's room for that. I'd say that we've had an 'A' season. It's a great year for us with the way things have progressed internally and, of course, on the race track and results-wise."

Although that three-race stretch in August robbed Busch of the opportunity to contend for the Winston Cup championship going into the final race of the season, he said he is looking forward to carrying the momentum from this year into the 2003 season and battling for the championship.

"I think that when we get the (2003) season under way, we'll evaluate how we're beginning the start of the season and stay away from those DNFs and just continue forward with the way we've been going," Busch said.

"I've got many years in front of me. We're for sure going to go after it next year -- don't get me wrong. We're going to be able to put forth a lot of technology that we've learned this year ... and we're just going to continue forward."