Daytona 500: 7 Days and Counting
Sunday, February 10th, 2008 11:47pm CST
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
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Kurt Busch
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2007 Stats
- Organization: Penske Racing South
- Car Number: 2
- Crew Chief: Pat Tryson
- Sponsor: Miller Lite
- Points: 7th :: 6231 :: -491
- Starts: 36
- Poles: 1
- Wins: 2
- Top 5’s: 6
- Top 10’s: 14
- Winnings: $5,287,850
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2008 Preview
- Organization: Penske Racing South
- Car Number: 2
- Crew Chief: Pat Tryson
- Sponsor: Miller Lite
In 2007 Kurt saw 3 different crew chief. Starting with Roy McCauley, who understandably needed some time at home, Troy Raker took the reins until Pat Tryson took the helm at Michigan in June. Tryson stays atop the pit box for 2008, as they work to build on the success they found early on with the pairing.
Of course we’re talking about Kurt Busch here, so we can’t get out of it without some sort of controversy. Starting at Daytona when he and Tony Stewart tangled, it was all downhill from there. Words with Harvick would boil later that spring, culminating in a clash on pit road at Dover last summer with Tony Stewart. 100 points, $100,000, parking for the remainder of the event, and a probationary period later, things settled down a bit.
Welcome to 2008, where practice for the Bud Shootout took a turn for the worse. Tony gets into Kurt, Kurt hits wall, Kurt aggressively doughnuts Stewart on the access road coming to the pits. During practice. A trip to the Oval Office ensued, supposedly Kurt accidentally looked at Stewarts fist a little too close (while in the trailer, although NASCAR is pleading “Vegas” on it), another trip to the trailer the following morning, and all is just peachy now. It isn’t believed that much more will come of this, although if so a potential fine could be laid out this week. Personally, I think it’s over. It wasn’t as bad as some people would have you believe.
Looking past this weeks action, Kurt and Pat look to build on their early success last season and carry that momentum into 2008. Having to rely on his “past champion” provisional for the first 5 races, since Roger Penske transferred his 2007 points to the #77 so that rookie Sam Hornish could make the first 5 races, qualifying day will be interesting for the #2 team for a while. However, it doesn’t seem it will be too big of an issue.
Note: information is accurate as of date published. Check Thunder Lounge for additional updates and information.
Filed Under: Daytona, Drivers, Kurt Busch, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Penske Racing #2, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tracks
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