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- now a two-decade veteran in this series
- you guys are all well aware of the name
- Kurt Busch just looking at his resume
- he's accomplished so much I mean you
- have his dominance during the 2010 show
- at 600 taking furniture ro to a
- championship competitive team and his
- victory three years ago in the Daytona
- 500
- yet his very best years in this sport
- are often non-existent or they're not
- talked about amongst NASCAR fans during
- the early 2000s Kurt Busch had that
- stretch of energy that would put himself
- over the top of the competition this is
- without a doubt the prime of Kurt Busch
- and the glory years driving for the Cat
- in the Hat so going back to the early
- 2000s you had Kurt Busch a two son
- graduate with a pharmacy degree but
- along with this combined successes in
- the school books he longed to bolster a
- healthy career behind the wheel and you
- just look at his time in the Truck
- Series his time in the blue and pink
- Exide colors completely charged the hype
- around the young 20 year old around this
- time being labeled the next big
- superstar or the next Jeff Gordon was a
- hell of a drug to be prescribed to have
- you don't believe me just look at Casey
- Atwood and Andy Houston and the
- long-term side effects to their careers
- and through his early results in Cup it
- looked like Kurt Busch was going down
- this path as well his rookie stripes
- 2001 was a complete disaster a season
- full of crashes mechanical failures and
- a dnq during fall Atlanta now the main
- culprit to this was honestly a lack of
- direction with this 97 team this was
- something pretty evident the minute the
- unspun surd team ford racing taurus was
- unloaded Roush promoted Bush's truck
- series crew chief Matt chambers up to
- the 97 team only to be released six
- races into the season Ben Leslie would
- be promoted atop the box after only ten
- races as a top-level NASCAR crew chief
- and as you guys know from this channel
- constantly having a crew chief carousel
- that definitely works for an
- inexperienced driver now the new
- combination started strong out of the
- gate
- but it wore down faster than Larry Mac
- cheese grading the hell out of a tire
- this pairing was so bad that Kurt Busch
- only scored one top 20 finish in the
- final 15 races luckily an antidote would
- be prescribed as salvaged Kurt Busch's
- career the engineering genius known as
- Jimmy pfennig would crew chief for the
- 97 team so moving past a disappointing
- 2020 needed going forward a true
- mastermind that could get the most out
- of his cars and obviously drivers on the
- racetrack little did we know this was
- the long-lost key that open up Kurt
- Busch's prime window of opportunity
- jimmy pfennig started utilizing the
- elder bushes potential leading laps and
- earning for top 20 finishes and five
- races and I know what you're thinking
- this is a rouse team they should be
- doing a lot better and after all they
- were competing for championships at this
- time but I mean considering that they
- didn't even have a primary sponsor this
- time the previous year this was a great
- start yet Kurt Busch would need to
- become a gladiator at the last great
- Coliseum between the lady and the tiger
- the elder Bush had seen the fierce eye
- of Bristol way too much tearing up his
- ford taurus the prior two starts from
- there it was the 2001 spring race where
- Kurt Busch truly learned the
- significance of performing at Bristol
- for one there was no way he could exit
- the Speedway as the pedestrian tunnel
- wasn't a thing so as a driver of course
- when you're stuck in the infield for
- another two hours not racing you're
- bound to learn the ins and outs of how
- to hug that low groove and truly learn
- how to race this place and then
- obviously having a cooler head like
- Jimmy Fenny definitely works to help
- patient a young driver like her Busch
- thus on the horizon was the 2002 running
- of the Food City 500 the big-money race
- after all he had a million dollars
- scattered all over his Sharpie ford
- taurus growing off from the 27th
- position Kurt Busch would have the race
- of his NASCAR Cup career he methodically
- worked his way to the front with one big
- red bullseye left to hit the target
- dodged a mr. excitement Jimmy spent
- sir even with the rise of Jeff Gordon
- this was mostly stolen old guy sport
- with the kids still largely in check but
- taking his skills gathered from the
- Bristol infield
- Kurt Busch would rattle the old guard
- and take the lead and 56 laps later the
- Las Vegas native cashed in his chips to
- earn his first ever NASCAR Cup victory
- with the victory on that Bristol
- afternoon he joined a leek company with
- Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt as
- first-time winners in Thunder Valley in
- terms of his 2002 Kurt Busch would end
- the season by winning three of the final
- five races that was the icing on the
- cake for an insane rally during the
- final 11 races of the season Jimmie
- pfennig and the 97 team climbed all the
- way up to finished third in the NASCAR
- Cup Series point standings with how
- crazy the 2002 championship was if you
- get rid of his three consecutive
- finishes outside the top 35 garner
- during the summer
- Kurt Busch likely ends his sophomore
- season by hoisting the Winston Cup
- trophy it certainly would have been the
- most remarkable 180 in performance in
- NASCAR history without a doubt in the
- final year of the good old Winston Cup
- Kurt Busch is remembered for two things
- one was his door-to-door battle with
- Ricky Craven the second was his
- continued on track saga with Jimmy
- Spencer the old versus new generation
- clashed once again at Michigan with the
- silver and red Rubbermaid Ford trading
- paint with Spencer's light blue Dodge
- this rivalry got so heated in fact it
- led to a post race altercation at which
- Jimmy Spencer himself punched Kurt Busch
- now even with Jimmy Spencer suspension
- some of the tedious turmoil extended to
- the night race at Bristol nonetheless
- Kurt Busch would shut down the haters
- during the 2003 running of the midsummer
- spectacle he would highlight the way for
- the final 121 circuits of the race and
- route to sweeping the hills of Tennessee
- now as for 2003 itself it was
- undoubtedly a success on the wind sheet
- he had wins at Michigan an Auto Club
- which gave him eight victories in his
- first three sea
- but the one thing that prevented it from
- being a surefire championship contender
- however was inconsistencies without a
- doubt the fingers pointed to the Roush
- Engine Department for these issues in
- fact five of his eight DNFs on the
- season were from mechanical issues
- because of that his average finished
- plummeted year-to-year and so did his
- top tens without a doubt that was
- something that needed to be worked out
- prior to the 2004 NASCAR season but once
- again you had Jimmy fending on the Box
- you had the towel and a Kurt Busch and
- the Roush cars were still fast after all
- Matt Kenseth won the championship all
- they needed to do was get the
- consistency right like at the end of
- 2002 and they would be competing for
- championships galore so to start out
- 2004 in complete shocker
- Kurt Busch won the Food City 500 this
- would be his third straight and his
- fourth Bristol victory in the past five
- races just thinking about it it's
- completely insane for a young driver to
- be good at a short track that early but
- to win for Bristol races in your mid-20s
- that's an absolute statement as a driver
- going into the postseason Kurt Busch was
- seated seven thirty points removed from
- the lead odds are nobody saw 2004 as his
- year I mean you got a look at Jeff
- Gordon Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt
- jr. they completely dominated the season
- chances are some 25-year old kid wasn't
- about to steal the trophy from more
- experienced drivers however was you had
- to keep in mind in this situation was
- the inaugural playoff race played into
- the wheelhouse of the 97 team it would
- be at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway
- the Erwin tools Ford Taurus put on a
- clinic in route to win number two on the
- year and rolling off from the seventh
- position the Roush Racing Fords brought
- that added horsepower to the one-mile
- oval and from that first race Kurt Busch
- made a statement leading 155 laps on the
- day to claim the victory with defending
- champ Matt Kenseth not too far behind in
- the blink of an eye the elder Bush
- brother left lobster country tied for
- the season points lead
- from there Kurt Busch would put together
- a consistent stretch in the first chase
- for the cup the only race of disaster
- for this 97 team was a 40 second place
- finish at Atlanta and even with that
- poor finish he still left the Hamptons
- 59 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson
- without a doubt
- Jimmie pfennig and crew were poised to
- win a championship but still you had an
- all-important race in Miami looming
- large in order to capture and clinch the
- championship as the green flag waved on
- the final race of the season Kurt Busch
- in the 97 team were faced with adversity
- throughout the 400 lap race on lap 91
- the right front tire came loose from the
- golden Sharpie ford taurus then some
- miscommunication on Jimmie pfennig Zen
- paved way for a long stop on pit road by
- taking four tires instead of to the 97
- was mired all the way back in the 25th
- position without a question they were
- choking up their big moment in front of
- a network audience on NBC but this is
- where Jimmie pfennig would rally the
- troops and Kurt Busch would keep his eye
- on the prize the elder Bush methodically
- worked his way back up through the field
- and found himself in the top five late
- in the race and at that point all we
- needed to do was keep Jimmie Johnson and
- Jeff Gordon in sight and Kurt Busch
- would be forever sharp Ede into the
- history books as a NASCAR Cup champion
- anyway Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon
- finished second and third
- [Music]
- and there it was in just year four of
- his NASCAR Cup career
- Kurt Busch would have his name alongside
- Richard Petty Dale Earnhardt and Cale
- Yarborough as champions to hoist the
- trophy but what really makes this
- championship truly special compared to
- others is who he had to beat in order to
- hoist the title Jeff Gordon winner of
- four of the last nine championships and
- the winningest active driver on the tour
- Dale Earnhardt jr. the son of Dale
- Earnhardt and NASCAR's most popular
- driver by a longshot
- Mark Martin a grizzled veteran and fan
- favorites still vying for his taste to
- the cup and then you had Jimmie Johnson
- the winningest driver of the 2004 season
- and he have to think through all this
- Hendrick Motorsports had a strong
- motivation to claim that championship in
- the wake of the organization's tragic
- plane crash through all of these
- household names and storylines it was
- the young and still relatively unknown
- Kurt Busch doing burnouts in the Big
- Apple with rush Fenway Racing still
- competitive Kurt Busch would definitely
- be in the mix to defend his crown for
- 2005 he has some truly dominating
- performances spanning the Poconos to the
- deserts of Phoenix the 97 team had the
- speed which led to a career high nine
- hundred and fifty-eight laps led on the
- tour and then to cap off the regular
- season he had a royal victory at the
- Richmond Fairgrounds once again it was
- time for Jimmie pfennig and crew to do
- what they do best and win the second
- championship in two years slide
- unfortunately that championship defense
- would go sour in just the first three
- laps of the ten race fight Scott Riggs
- showcased how much of a bust he was by
- drifting up the track and taking out
- Kurt Busch with heavy damage to the nose
- that pretty much hindered any chance of
- Kurt Busch getting a good finish in the
- first race entering the Dover Downs Kurt
- Busch knew he pretty much needed a top
- five to dig himself out of the hole that
- first race was and once again Jimmie
- pfennig brought a fast hot rod and they
- were up front dominating the day leading
- a good amount of laps 192 to be exact
- but then in the form of teammate Matt
- Kenseth blowing a tire things would
- quickly downward spiral at an instant
- and Kurt Busch who had already pitted
- scored a 17 one lap down so Kurt Busch
- another championship contender finished
- 35th a week ago and just like that Kurt
- Busch ended up with a 23rd place finish
- and was all but eliminated from nascar
- title contention as the 2005 season came
- to a conclusion this would also be the
- end of the road for his tenure at Roush
- Racing intrigued by a vacated blue dews
- Kurt Busch would take his talents to
- Roger Penske Jack Roush envisioning
- Jamie McMurray as a championship-caliber
- driver let the elder Bush depart the
- 9070 meet achieved so much success in
- only his first five seasons even as Kurt
- Busch figured this was a wise decision
- ultimately this would end his prime
- window 2006 would see him struggle in
- the blue deuce albeit he won Bristol
- again he wouldn't even make the playoffs
- the next season and really when you look
- at the numbers of Kurt Busch he hasn't
- been the same since he drove the 97 car
- the highest amount of wins he's gotten
- in one season since is only two and that
- happened on five separate occasions he
- also hasn't led more than 900 laps in a
- season with the closest times coming in
- 2007 and 2010 and then when you look at
- his statistics per car number you can
- just tell it
- hasn't been the same since that prime
- era ultimately when I think back on this
- era not only do I reflect on the things
- that they achieved in such a short
- amount of time but I think of what could
- have been Roush Racing for one really
- didn't start tapering off until the
- early 2010's I certainly believe how do
- you remained at Roush for another five
- to seven years he would have won another
- championship and would have gotten a lot
- more victories after all during the
- early 2000s the 97 team was almost
- perfect but looking back the era of the
- 97 was remarkably special and unless
- Kurt Busch suddenly wins a lot of races
- at Ganassi this will be the peak of Kurt
- Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series so
- anyways this is NRF signing out and just
- remember life's a beach and then you
- drive
-
now a two-decade veteran in this series
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