How much of an influence did Kurt Busch have in SHR' success last season?

JJ_14

JJ_14

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As we all know, SHR was the most dominant team last year. This season, they haven't won a race, which makes me wonder; how big was Kurt Busch's veteran knowledge when it comes to that success SHR had as a whole?

This year, they replaced Busch with an unproven driver another team didn't want anymore in Suarez. Kurt was undoubtedly better in that ride last year, even winning a race.

It seems to me that Kurt's high IQ when it comes to these race cars goes unnoticed, particularly when talking about the success Haas had last yr.

Should Stewart-Haas consider bringing Kurt back to the #41?

PS: Chevy has won three straight. It's the first time that happens in 2 years.
 
I don't think Kurt would ever consider going back to SHR. It was never "his" team, and his comments last night kind of confirmed this.

They definitely lost a valuable asset and it's probably hurt them in some regard, but I think SHR has some other issues at this point that they're trying to work through.

Harvick is a good driver, he'll eventually pull through. Same with Almirola. Not so sure about Bowyer and Suarez though. I think one of them is getting the boot after this year to make room for Custer. They'd be foolish not to.
 
Joker said:
Lol this board sometimes. You realize Kevin's been around just as long as Kurt right?
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Of course. They were both rookies in 2001. However, it seems to me that Kurt has a better understanding of these racecars. He seems like a smarter individual as a whole.
 
I found Kurt to be highly immature up until maybe a season or two ago, tops. He finally seems to act like a grown up should act.

I’m sure Kurt did bring something to the table that SHR needed....

He’s finally made chip’s #1 an actual contender... instead of mid pack car with an occasional firework here and there, every few seasons.
 
His departure is one of a handful of factors that have influenced SHR's lack of victory lane moments this year. I've read that Kurt is known to be one of the greatest at providing analytical feedback on the car and describing what he needs in a car. This would explain how he has been able to win with so many different crew chiefs.
 
Does Harvick Win the 2014 Cup Championship without Kurt as his teammate? :)
 
A couple of comments.....First, the Busch brothers are very smart about race cars, so there is bound to be something missed at SHR, but I doubt that they wouldn't be struggling with him there. More than anything, as has been mentioned, we had a major package change. They measure these cars to the smallest margin, off a bit....and you are off a lot. It's tough to right the ship, but the package is designed for competitiveness, so I doubt they will be lacking for long.
 
Truex_rox said:
His departure is one of a handful of factors that have influenced SHR's lack of victory lane moments this year. I've read that Kurt is known to be one of the greatest at providing analytical feedback on the car and describing what he needs in a car. This would explain how he has been able to win with so many different crew chiefs.
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He is fantastic at giving feedback. He'll break everything down for you much better than most drivers.
 
Joker said:
That's some real revisionist history. Need we go over his late 2000s, early 10s meltdowns?
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Being "smart" & being "mature" are two separate things. Kurt has always been a good race car driver, which leads me to believe he's always had that knowledge in him. When Harv & Kurt joined SHR in 2014, Kurt actually had more wins & a title to boot.
 
Ventisca said:
Does Harvick Win the 2014 Cup Championship without Kurt as his teammate? :)
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This is basically what I'm trying to say. I'd go as far as saying that he, indeed, influenced Harvick's title run with his input on setups.

Same goes for last year when Harvick had his best statistical season. Busch was indeed a major asset on that team that is solely being missed. We're talking about a 19 year vet with a title to his name.
 
Elliott_Fan_9 said:
This is basically what I'm trying to say. I'd go as far as saying that he, indeed, influenced Harvick's title run with his input on setups.

Same goes for last year when Harvick had his best statistical season. Busch was indeed a major asset on that team that is solely being missed. We're talking about a 19 year vet with a title to his name.
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I agree that Kurt is a huge asset to any team he is on, but Kevin doesn't need kurt to win and Kevin could easily pick off a few wins in no time once the get ahead of the package and stop making mistakes.
 
This thing can be spun to infinity, and I have some conflicting thoughts.
Harvick performed better at SHR.
Truax performed better at Front Row.
Brad performed better at Penske.
The 22 car he left at Penske is better with Logano, or without Kurt.

That being said, Kurt deserves a better legacy than the above comments.
Imo, Kurt is a Nascar HoF driver on his first eligible year and he has talent that only a fool would ignore. But I do believe the thread premise inflates his accomplishments with intangibles that would be difficult to prove or disprove.

He is definitely easier to like and respect now. He is closing out as a great story. In fairness all of the mentioned drivers in this thread have some flaws (conflicting thoughts as previously stated). I am glad that Kurt turned it all around.
 
Joker said:
Lol this board sometimes. You realize Kevin's been around just as long as Kurt right?
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Kevin may have been around as long but I doubt he has helped the team (s) improve more.
Most of his chatter is complaints while Kurt does the same, he also helps the CC make changes
that will improve his car. Both Bush brothers are the best at doing that.
 
I think with some of the drivers their ego's get in the way and the blame game between the crew chief and the driver continues to escalate. Maybe Kurt has figured it out.
 
Team Penske said:
Kevin may have been around as long but I doubt he has helped the team (s) improve more.
Most of his chatter is complaints while Kurt does the same, he also helps the CC make changes
that will improve his car. Both Bush brothers are the best at doing that.
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This is actually a very good point. I've listened to both of their radios during races, and Kurt always says something to the effect of "The car is too loose, you want to try air pressure and maybe wedge at _____." At Pocono this year, he was even talking about changing the shocks during the race! If you listen to Harvick, he'll say something like "Car is too loose, can't get through the center like I need to." That pretty much leaves it up to his CC to figure out what to do, whereas Kurt seems to take it a bit further and kind of guide the CC along.
 
Elliott_Fan_9 said:
As we all know, SHR was the most dominant team last year. This season, they haven't won a race, which makes me wonder; how big was Kurt Busch's veteran knowledge when it comes to that success SHR had as a whole?

This year, they replaced Busch with an unproven driver another team didn't want anymore in Suarez. Kurt was undoubtedly better in that ride last year, even winning a race.

It seems to me that Kurt's high IQ when it comes to these race cars goes unnoticed, particularly when talking about the success Haas had last yr.

Should Stewart-Haas consider bringing Kurt back to the #41?

PS: Chevy has won three straight. It's the first time that happens in 2 years.
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Gibbs has without a doubt been the dominant team the last 4 years. Including last year.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Greg said:
This thing can be spun to infinity, and I have some conflicting thoughts.
Harvick performed better at SHR.
Truax performed better at Front Row.
Brad performed better at Penske.
The 22 car he left at Penske is better with Logano, or without Kurt.

That being said, Kurt deserves a better legacy than the above comments.
Imo, Kurt is a Nascar HoF driver on his first eligible year and he has talent that only a fool would ignore. But I do believe the thread premise inflates his accomplishments with intangibles that would be difficult to prove or disprove.

He is definitely easier to like and respect now. He is closing out as a great story. In fairness all of the mentioned drivers in this thread have some flaws (conflicting thoughts as previously stated). I am glad that Kurt turned it all around.
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You saying that he is closing out as a great story is so true. The only thing that further cements it is if he can win another title or finally start putting up wins on the board more often. It's crazy to me that his best seasons, win-wise, were very early on in his career. I feel like he has more in him than what has necessarily come out. Kentucky provided evidence of that. I'd like to see him put together a pretty stellar season, and it doesn't seem all that impossible given that Kyle Larson squeezed out 4 wins in a season with CGR not all that long ago.
 
JohnHill said:
I found Kurt to be highly immature up until maybe a season or two ago, tops. He finally seems to act like a grown up should act.

I’m sure Kurt did bring something to the table that SHR needed....

He’s finally made chip’s #1 an actual contender... instead of mid pack car with an occasional firework here and there, every few seasons.
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From the brief Furniture Row tenure onwards, he's become a different person.
 
It is an interesting career. On one hand he's known for elevating teams that aren't traditional powers, on the other hand he's left three cars that went on to win titles (2, 22, 78).

I think he thrives in an underdog role and is a hard person to work with so his best driving comes when he's at teams like the 78 or the 1 and then he underwhelmed at Penske and SHR.
 
Cholo said:
It is an interesting career. On one hand he's known for elevating teams that aren't traditional powers, on the other hand he's left three cars that went on to win titles (2, 22, 78).

I think he thrives in an underdog role and is a hard person to work with so his best driving comes when he's at teams like the 78 or the 1 and then he underwhelmed at Penske and SHR.
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I don't think His time at Penske was indicative of his abilities, Kurt was going through a very
dark stage in his life and his anger over ruled his abilities. I believe this started with him getting dumped at Roush. We won't ever know what he could have done with the 78 team because of the offer to drive for Hass. We will never know what the 78 team would have accomplished if not for the marriage of the new driver and CC.
I think He could have done better at SHR but I believe Tony wasn't giving him the green light.
Kurt has shown CGR what is possible and this will raise the level of those cars if Larson buys into Kurt's thinking. Larson has to decide he will drive Nascar or dirt.
 
Adapting to the changes of the new package is a huge variable int he analysis of performance this year. Dale Jr. was just on NASCAR Radio, and suggested that Truex's performance might have something to do with Cole's creativity being limited at JGR. How do we get to that place without considering the drastic rule change that changed everything? We can't. So, it's hard to tell if Kurt is the secret sauce. Certainly, it doesn't help that he is gone, but is he the sole reason for the struggle? No.
 
Revman said:
Adapting to the changes of the new package is a huge variable int he analysis of performance this year. Dale Jr. was just on NASCAR Radio, and suggested that Truex's performance might have something to do with Cole's creativity being limited at JGR. How do we get to that place without considering the drastic rule change that changed everything? We can't. So, it's hard to tell if Kurt is the secret sauce. Certainly, it doesn't help that he is gone, but is he the sole reason for the struggle? No.
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Going to a large organization from a small one I imagine there is a chain of command the Pearn didn't have to deal with. Truex has shown bursts of speed, I think it is more a factor of how close the competition is this year. With the new package, Nascar took even more wiggle room out of the car. They have designated inspectors for each car this year, DQ's for non compliance so I think that is a factor, and we aren't seeing as much of a car that is so much better then the others they run away from the pack like we have seen in years previous. I think it has showcased driver skill more this year than crew chief tricks. Drivers coming out of the cars after the race look like they have been in one, hot, sweaty and out of breath instead of a day at the office. It's been an interesting change IMO this year.
 
StandOnIt said:
Going to a large organization from a small one I imagine there is a chain of command the Pearn didn't have to deal with. Truex has shown bursts of speed, I think it is more a factor of how close the competition is this year. With the new package, Nascar took even more wiggle room out of the car. They have designated inspectors for each car this year, DQ's for non compliance so I think that is a factor, and we aren't seeing as much of a car that is so much better then the others they run away from the pack like we have seen in years previous. I think it has showcased driver skill more this year than crew chief tricks. Drivers coming out of the cars after the race look like they have been in one, hot, sweaty and out of breath instead of a day at the office. It's been an interesting change IMO this year.
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I agree with all of this. Any analysis of performance this year has to factor into the significant changes made to the rules package. As a group, JGR has been somewhat suspect with the 550 package while dominant with the 750. They are still figuring it out. I don't think Junior's comment that creativity was being stifled was fair....and let us not forget that the 19 is having a very nice year anyway.....
 
StandOnIt said:
Going to a large organization from a small one I imagine there is a chain of command the Pearn didn't have to deal with. Truex has shown bursts of speed, I think it is more a factor of how close the competition is this year. With the new package, Nascar took even more wiggle room out of the car. They have designated inspectors for each car this year, DQ's for non compliance so I think that is a factor, and we aren't seeing as much of a car that is so much better then the others they run away from the pack like we have seen in years previous. I think it has showcased driver skill more this year than crew chief tricks. Drivers coming out of the cars after the race look like they have been in one, hot, sweaty and out of breath instead of a day at the office. It's been an interesting change IMO this year.
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Cole Pearn on NASCAR Radio right now....Points to the package and the impound schedule as contributing factors to 1.5 mile inconsistency.....
 
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