Kurt Thomas Busch was born on August 4th, 1978 and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. He currently drives the #2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing South.
Kurt Busch comes from two generations of racing. His grandfather raced in the Midwest and his father, Tom, relocated from Chicago, Illinois to Las Vegas and raced dwarf cars throughout the western region of the United States. Kurt Busch pursued the same ambitions as he traveled with his father to races, all the while learning the rudiments of the sport by racing go-karts. Following ten consecutive wins at the youthful age of 16, it was apparent that the time had arrived for Kurt to compete on a bigger stage.
In 1996, when Kurt turned 18 year of age, he began to racing in the Legends Series. In addition to his racing aspirations, he enrolled in the University of Arizona with an interest in pharmacy and microbiology. However, Kurt's passion for racing overwhelmed his desire to earn a degree.
Kurt began racing in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division Southwest Series in 1998 and competed against established drivers such as Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, and Ron Hornaday. He was named the series Rookie of the Year.
However, the big break that every young driver hopes for occurred in 1999 with the tragic passing of Chris Trickle. Trickle was an established short track racecar driver and was mysteriously shot. He would eventually die from the injuries sustained in the shooting. His ride in the #70 Star Nursery team was left vacant, and Kurt Busch, with a heavy heart, assumed the driving duties. Busch would go on and capture the 1999 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division Southwest Series championship, honoring the late Chris Trickle.
His remarkable championship run led to an audition at Jack Roush’s Gong Show. The Gong Show was the term used for Roush’s annual testing session for aspiring racecar drivers. Jack Roush was impressed and Kurt Busch was offered the #99 truck ride in the Craftsman Series for 2000. He won his first Craftsman Truck Series event at the Milwaukee Mile on July 1st of 2000. He also won the very next race at the New Hampshire International Raceway. By August of that same year, Kurt was handed the opportunity to compete in the Winston Cup Series in the #97 John Deere Ford. His best finish in seven races in the ride that was eventually vacated by Chad Little was 13th at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in October.
In 2001, Jack Roush announced that Kurt Busch would compete for Rookie of the Year honors in 2001 while the team pursued sponsorship. He would be teamed up with Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, and Matt Kenseth. In the spring of 2001, Roush Fenway Racing signed Newell-Rubbermaid and the Sharpie brand as the sponsor on the #97 Ford. Busch would struggle in his rookie season, finishing second to Kevin Harvick in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.
In 2002, Kurt Busch earned his first Cup win at the Bristol Motor Speedway by bumping veteran Jimmy Spencer out of the way. The Busch and Spencer feud began to sizzle after it started at Phoenix in November of the previous season. The two tenacious personalities would trade paint and barbs throughout the season. Busch added three more wins to his resume in 2002 and finished third in the final championship standings behind Tony Stewart and Mark Martin.
In 2003, Kurt Busch became recognized as a legitimate championship threat. At Darlington in March, Busch and veteran Ricky Craven battled down to the wire for the victory, which was won by Craven by a mere .002 seconds. The Busch and Craven duel was friendly and provided possibly the most exhilarating finish in NASCAR history. The season grew sour for Busch in August when he admittedly attempted to cut down the tire of Jimmy Spencer at Michigan International Speedway. Following the race, Spencer approached Busch’s car after Busch had antagonized him, and punched the young driver in the face. Spencer was suspended for the next race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the fans clearly sided with the veteran. In fact, ‘Free Jimmy’ T-shirts were being sold at Bristol and were in popular demand. Despite the censorious response from other drivers and fans, Busch won the race at Bristol, his fourth and final of the 2003 season. The win was greeted with thousands of boos from the angered grandstands. Busch would falter following the win and would drop to 11th in the final championship standings.
In 2004, Busch easily clinched a spot in the Chase for the Championship, and would post 9 top ten showings in the final ten races en route to his first Nextel Sprint Cup Championship. Busch’s championship included three wins, ten top ten finishes and 21 top ten finishes. He was the first driver to win under the Chase for the Championship format, and the first driver to win the title with Nextel as the series sponsor.
The 2005 season was not so kind to Kurt Busch as his boss Jack Roush fired him towards the end of 2005 following an off-track incident that resulted in Busch's suspension for the final two races of the season. Busch was cited for reckless driving following a confrontation with a local Sheriff in Avondale, Arizona. Just three months prior to the thwarting episode with the law, Kurt Busch announced his intentions to leave Roush Fenway Racing in order to replace Rusty Wallace in the famed #2 Miller Lite Dodge owned by Roger Penske and Penske Racing. By this time, Kurt Busch had amassed 14 wins, 43 top-five finishes and 79 top-ten finishes, including the 2004 Nextel Cup Championship. He would team up with Ryan Newman at Penske Racing.
In 2006, Kurt Busch won his first race with Penske Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, the site of his first Cup victory four years earlier. However, the season was marred with inconsistency as he would place 16th in the final championship standings, his worst showing since his rookie season in 2001.
Despite the disappointment, Busch won his very first NASCAR Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in April in his first start.
In 2007, Kurt Busch posted two wins, and finished 7th in the final championship standings after he returned to the Chase for the Championship.
In 2008, Kurt and Ryan Newman will welcome Sam Hornish Jr to the Penske Racing South stables.
Kurt Busch has been known as a controversial driver throughout his career. He has engaged in notable duels with drivers such as Jimmy Spencer, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Greg Biffle. He even clashed with his kid brother Kyle Busch at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May of 2007.
Kurt married Eva Bryan in July of 2006. He is a long-time fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. He has even thrown out the first pitch at a Cubs game in Wrigley Field.
