Kurt Busch still mulling Indy 500 attempt

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I really want to see him do this.

Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch said he expects to have "a pretty good indication" by the end of January if he will make what he expects will be his last attempt to enter the Indianapolis 500.

The 2004 Sprint Cup champion completed IndyCar's rookie orientation program for the race last season in a car prepared by Andretti Autosport, and said he has a standing offer from that team -- plus another -- to enter the May 25 spectacle. Doing so would make the Stewart-Haas Racing driver the first since Robby Gordon in 2004 to contest both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's Memorial Day weekend offering, on the same day.

Busch said he has a "couple of strong leads for advertising partners" but is concerned over a lack of testing time and that the Indianapolis 500 is the first oval event on the 2014 IndyCar schedule. His age, he said, might make this his last shot.

"Testing, we still would probably need to go to Fontana [Calif.], or we're just going to have to bite the bullet and show up at Indy and let 'er rip," he said. "But I turn 36 this summer and to me that's like an artificial drawing a line in the sand of 'I'm getting too old.' I can't teach myself new tricks. You can show up at Indy as a 20-year-old and go and do that. So I'm thinking this is probably the cutoff year."

Andretti switched engine manufacturers this offseason from Chevrolet -- which supports SHR -- to Honda, which could involve GM officials in Busch's potential process. Busch said he fielded an "interesting call" from another team after his rookie test last May.

"It was intriguing," he said. "It's neat to get the interest from quality teams from another branch of motorsports."

Sprint Cup team owner Tony Stewart, who won the 1997 IndyCar title but never finished better than fifth in five Indianapolis 500s, supports the bid, Busch said.

"Tony is like, 'Man, I will be there with you. We will use my plane and we'll go,'" Busch said. "It's really neat to have his enthusiasm."

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/10309795/kurt-busch-mulling-potential-indy-500-run
 
I'd like to see it happen too. I followed John Andretti, Robby Gordon, and Tony Steward when they did it (Tony had the best finishes of the three). It is a monumental endeavor.
 
The Indianapolis 500 is also my favorite sporting event, by far.
Kurt's desire to drive at Indy makes me want to root for him in any race, and reminds me of the days when real racing drivers sought out challenges wherever they could get a ride.
 
In my opinion, there is nothing in motor car racing that compares to the Indy 500. It's just too bad that it's never been quite the same since Tony Hulman died and also since the CART split years ago. Even now, they still have problems filling the field some years. It was really sad a few years ago when they had to black flag the two Lotus cars 11 laps into the race because they couldn't meet the minimum speed.
 
Of all NASCAR drivers other than Tony.... Kurt and his brother Kyle are the best overall drivers.....I hope it happens and I'll be cheering for him!
 
why will indy not move their race to monday or something. that sport badly needs american drivers in it. stock car drivers in the race would bring some much needed publicity to the event. the problem is the guys running that series are all foreigners that the average person doesn't relate to. add to that the race is so early in the day on sunday its rare I end up watching the race.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
why will indy not move their race to monday or something. that sport badly needs american drivers in it. stock car drivers in the race would bring some much needed publicity to the event. the problem is the guys running that series are all foreigners that the average person doesn't relate to. add to that the race is so early in the day on sunday its rare I end up watching the race.
Click to expand...
IndyCar drivers are typically more personable and accessible than NASCAR drivers...
 
hidesert cowboy said:
why will indy not move their race to monday or something. that sport badly needs american drivers in it. stock car drivers in the race would bring some much needed publicity to the event. the problem is the guys running that series are all foreigners that the average person doesn't relate to. add to that the race is so early in the day on sunday its rare I end up watching the race.
Click to expand...
Why can't NASCAR move their race to Monday or something?
 
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