Kurt Busch Would Love To Play The Spoiler At Texas

Having celebrated the Cubs winning the 2016 World Series after a brief drought of 108 years last fall, Busch was a little disappointed that the Northside team was eliminated from the Major League Baseball playoffs by the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to one in this year’s National League Championship Series.

So while Busch may not be paying attention to the World Series quite as closely in 2017, he can reflect on accomplishing one – or two – of his lifelong goals.

The first was to see every Major League ballpark in the United States and Canada. He accomplished that feat.

The second was to win the prestigious Daytona 500, which he accomplished in February.

Busch joined names like Petty, Pearson, Foyt and Andretti.

Busch was sadly eliminated from the NASCAR playoffs this year after the first round, but there is still much to learn as 2017 comes to a close. And Busch will see what he can do this week in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

The driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has one pole, one win, three top-five finishes and 16 top-10s at the 1.5-mile oval. Additionally, the 39-year-old driver has led 295 laps, has an average starting position of 14.6, an average finish of 15.3, and has completed 98.4 percent – 9,511 of 9,669 – of the laps he’s contested there.

This week marks three years since Busch and veteran crew chief Tony Gibson were paired up, as well. On November 2, 2014, Busch started fourth, led 15 laps and finished an impressive eighth in his first race with Gibson.

Both Gibson and Busch are hoping they can find victory lane once again the great state of Texas.

“We’re still strong and we can snake a victory away. Texas is a good track for us and a good market. I always enjoy coming out to Texas. The weather looks perfect this weekend, all days – Friday,Saturday and Sunday.”

How would you describe your year as the season comes to a close?

“We knew our performance wasn’t where we needed to be this summer, but we felt leading into the playoffs we found some things that would help our cause. Things like grip level, the strategy of calling the races. We almost won the Southern 500 at Darlington. Once the playoffs started, we just didn’t execute well and made some fundamental mistakes and we got eliminated in the first round. It was tough to take, but the season overall, we started out winning the Daytona 500. It was great for Monster Energy, Haas Automation and Ford. It was a homecoming being back with Ford. It’s been a good year, it’s been a challenge, but we’ve built up everything to be strong again next year.”

You had a goal to go to every Major League Baseball park. Talk about that.

“I have completed it. I went on this tour throughout the last 15 years to go to all the different ballparks. I tried to get to some of the older ones before they built the new ones. Now that some of the new ones are being built, I made a pact to see the Cubs when they play at the new stadiums. It worked out well this year with the new Braves stadium, SunTrust Park, in Atlanta. The Cubs were playing on a Monday and Tuesday and I wasn’t racing on those days.”

Other than Wrigley Field, what was your favorite park?

“Fenway is the most nostalgic park on the American League side. I was really impressed with the Rangers ballpark in Arlington. The feel of the outfield and the design of the architecture and the buildings, it creates an intimate feel for the Texas Rangers. I was really impressed with that park. One of the fun ones was all the way up in Toronto. The people in and around the stadium were a lot of fun.”

·   Busch has career total totals of 29 wins, 21 poles, 131 top-fives, 257 top-10s and 8,877 laps led in 609 starts.

·   His most recent Cup Series win came 33 races ago in the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (Feb. 26).

·   His last Cup Series pole came 65 races ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway(March 4, 2016).

·   Previous Win – Busch has one career NASCAR Cup Series win at Texas, which came in November 2009. It was his second victory that season and the 20th of his career and came by a nearly 26-second margin. Busch led six times for 89 laps.

·   The Las Vegas native has one pole to his credit (April 2015) at Texas. Busch has 21 career NASCAR Cup Series poles.

·   Busch has led laps in 12 of his 29 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas for a combined total of 295 laps led. Busch has led 50 or more laps in a race twice at Texas. In addition to his 89 laps led in the November 2009 win, he led 50 laps in April 2011 en route to a 10th-place finish.

·   A Win in Other Series at Texas – In April 2006, Busch scored the victory in his first-ever NASCAR Xfinity Series start. He became the fifth driver to win the race in his first start in NASCAR’s second-tier series. He also earned the distinction of becoming the 16th driver to record a victory in all three of NASCAR’s top-tier series – NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity and Camping World Truck.

·   Thus Far in 2017 – Busch has accumulated one win, six top-five finishes and 14 top-10s in 33 starts.

·   Get to the Points – With his 22nd-place finish last Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Busch is 15th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings with 2,139 points.

·   The No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford Fusion will carry decals on the lower-rear quarter panel for:

LaRue Tactical – 850 County Road 177 in Leander, Texas 78641 – www.larue.com

LaRue was founded in 1980 and is synonymous worldwide with auto-resetting sniper targets and quick-detachable mounting systems for every weapon-mounted optic, laser and night-vision device used by the nation’s warfighters.

Maximum Industries Inc., – 1408 West Walnut Hill Lane in Irving, Texas 78641 –www.maximumind.com

Maximum Industries was founded in 1996 and supplies companies, both large and small, across a broad range of industries – including aerospace, defense, industrial, oil and gas, and medical. Few companies can offer the full range of cutting and production services that Maximum Industries can. Traditional and non-traditional machining processes enable the company to evaluate its customers’ projects for maximum efficiency, and it makes recommendations as to which process would create the highest-quality part at the least cost. Advanced tooling and large work envelopes provide faster machining rates and quick setup of large parts. In addition to its cutting and machining processes, Maximum offers finishing operations that can further reduce part cost and furnish components ready for assembly. Maximum Industries is an AS9100/ISO9001-certified facility committed to providing the highest quality products available. Laser QC equipment and FARO CMM technology assist its quality control department in certifying production accuracy.

Haas Factory Outlet Houston – 1151 Cypresswood Lake Drive in Spring, Texas 77373 –www.championscnc.com

Haas Factory Outlet Houston, a division of Champions Machine Tool,is the sales and service distributor for American-made Haas Automation CNC machine tools in South Texas. Its knowledgeable staff helps customers choose the right machine for their requirements and help lower production costs. Haas Factory Outlets delivers outstanding Haas Automation sales, service, training, and applications support. Champions also supports manufacturing education through the Haas Technical Education Centers at Rice University and the University of Texas, among others.

Haas Factory Outlet Dallas – 1633 Firman Drive #200 in Richardson, Texas 75081 –www.hfodallas.com

Haas Factory Outlet Dallas, a division of Manufacturing Machinery Company, is a 21-year exclusive dealer for Haas Automation CNC machine tools. HFO Dallas serves all of North Texas. Dependable Haas machine tools deliver high accuracy, repeatability, and durability, and Haas Factory Outlets provide outstanding local sales, service, and applications support. All HFOs maintain substantial inventories of replacement parts for next-day delivery, and field factory-trained and -certified Haas technicians, with fully stocked service vans to ensure fast, efficient, local service. HFO Dallas also supports manufacturing education through the Haas Technical Education Centers at Lincoln College of Technology and Southern Methodist University, among others.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!