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Kurt Busch back in top 10 after 2006 struggles
By MIKE HARRIS
Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.05.2007
advertisementKurt Busch made a leap of faith when he left Jack Roush's team, where he got his NASCAR start and won a championship, to work for Roger Penske.
Busch, who took over the seat in the No. 2 Dodge last year, replacing the retired Rusty Wallace, had a decent, though quiet, 2006 in his new ride. He won six poles, had one race win and finished 16th in the points - nowhere near what he and the team had hoped for in his Penske Racing South debut.
Busch said that, instead of getting down, the entire team took the first season together as a challenge to improve.
"We saw what kind of team and what kind of talent we really possessed," Busch said. "We knew we had a great foundation to build on."
While Busch hasn't exactly set the Nextel Cup series on fire in the first nine races of 2007, he definitely is making strides.
After finishing a season-best third last Sunday at Talladega, Busch is 10th in the season standings and looking for a lot more heading into Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway.
"We had been having good top-five and top-10 performances, but poor fuel mileage led to us getting caught by the caution flags and we just haven't had some of the finishes we deserved," Busch said. "But we've still been making steady progress up the ladder in the points."
After finishing a disappointing 18th at Phoenix, the Talladega performance was an important one for Busch to regain momentum. To get it done, he managed to charge from 26th to third in the waning laps.
"We were pretty aggressive moving up through there, but with the laps running out, we just had to go for it and get all the positions we could," he said. "The team said we made up 23 spots in the final 10 laps and that's pretty incredible."
Busch hopes that Talladega finish is something to build on.
"It was a finish that we needed and it came at a really good time for our team," he said. "We had a great test at Richmond earlier this month and we're really looking forward to getting back there this weekend."
By MIKE HARRIS
Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.05.2007
advertisementKurt Busch made a leap of faith when he left Jack Roush's team, where he got his NASCAR start and won a championship, to work for Roger Penske.
Busch, who took over the seat in the No. 2 Dodge last year, replacing the retired Rusty Wallace, had a decent, though quiet, 2006 in his new ride. He won six poles, had one race win and finished 16th in the points - nowhere near what he and the team had hoped for in his Penske Racing South debut.
Busch said that, instead of getting down, the entire team took the first season together as a challenge to improve.
"We saw what kind of team and what kind of talent we really possessed," Busch said. "We knew we had a great foundation to build on."
While Busch hasn't exactly set the Nextel Cup series on fire in the first nine races of 2007, he definitely is making strides.
After finishing a season-best third last Sunday at Talladega, Busch is 10th in the season standings and looking for a lot more heading into Saturday night's race at Richmond International Raceway.
"We had been having good top-five and top-10 performances, but poor fuel mileage led to us getting caught by the caution flags and we just haven't had some of the finishes we deserved," Busch said. "But we've still been making steady progress up the ladder in the points."
After finishing a disappointing 18th at Phoenix, the Talladega performance was an important one for Busch to regain momentum. To get it done, he managed to charge from 26th to third in the waning laps.
"We were pretty aggressive moving up through there, but with the laps running out, we just had to go for it and get all the positions we could," he said. "The team said we made up 23 spots in the final 10 laps and that's pretty incredible."
Busch hopes that Talladega finish is something to build on.
"It was a finish that we needed and it came at a really good time for our team," he said. "We had a great test at Richmond earlier this month and we're really looking forward to getting back there this weekend."