Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Bad-boy Kurt Busch learned tactics at LVMS

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003 | 10:05 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Kurt Busch seems resigned to the fact that he has inherited the mantle of NASCAR's bad boy.

"It seems like that's the direction it's been taking," Busch, a 25-year-old Las Vegas native, said Saturday night after winning the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway -- then getting loudly booed by the majority of the 160,000 in attendance.

Busch noted that he had plenty of practice playing the role of the driver fans love to hate while he was racking up victories and championships in various stock-car classes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's short track.

"I got a lot of training from my Saturday night racetrack back in Vegas, winning all the time there," Busch said when asked about the fan reaction Saturday night at Bristol.

"They had a unique blend of fans that would come out and see us there. With my little brother and I racing there, and my father, the Busch name out there really wasn't all that well liked. But they are great fans out there."

"I have some really sore ribs and I bit the heck out of my tongue, but I've been up and moving around all morning long," Wallace said the day after the wreck. "I'm fine but really sore right now. But if we had to race at Darlington tomorrow, I'd be right there ready to go."

Wallace made hard contact with Waltrip, who had hit the wall and slid back into the path of Wallace's car. Neither driver was injured in the accident.

"I did all I could to avoid hitting (Waltrip)," Wallace said. "I'm just glad that we both came out of that one OK. When I was in the infield care center there at the track, Dr. (Jerry) Petty said that it might be a good idea to go get a CT scan, so we went over to the hospital and checked out just fine."

Wallace, who is a licensed pilot, spent Sunday afternoon flying his 18-year-old daughter, Katie, back to school in Charleston, S.C.

This weekend will mark the final Labor Day weekend race at Darlington now that NASCAR has moved that date to California Speedway in Fontana beginning next season.

"The Southern 500 has always been a particularly special race to my family and me," Jarrett said. "This being the last Southern 500 to take place on Labor Day, it makes it that much more important because I've known very little else on Labor Day weekend than the Southern 500.

"I've been going there every year since I was born and when you talk about tradition and how things got started in our sport, you certainly think of Darlington and the Southern 500. That would mean a lot to me to get that first Southern 500 win on the last time we'll race there on Labor Day. That would be pretty special."

Jarrett's father, Ned, won the Southern 500 in 1965 -- his only victory at the 1.366-mile track.

Dodge is sponsoring the night and the first 600 fans through the gates will receive a free Dodge hat. Bill Elliott's Winston Cup car also will be on display. Spectator gates open at 6 p.m., qualifying starts at 6:30 and racing begins at 7:15.