A few days removed from the 87th annual running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the haunted Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France where he attended as a “fan”, one Kurt Busch was in a talking sort of mood.
“You know, at Michigan where I got that second place finish last week before I left for Le Mans,” pointed out Busch, “that was the tightest I ever pulled my belts at the end of a race. It was like, we don’t need to get anything but the win and we got second place. [Joey] Logano’s car was tough.”
Kurt Busch, the 2004 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion, is right there in the fray for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCA Cup title. Entering the season with a somewhat tenuous one-year contract with the Kyle Larson-focused Chip Ganassi Racing team, the once embattled driver has flourished with a prism of top 10 (nine times) and even top three (three times) finishes.
“My heart that I grew up with in racing is there,” Busch offered. “It’s still fueled by the passion to race.”
On his way to Sonoma Raceway for this Sunday’s Toyota/SaveMart 350, Busch spoke with us about the past, present and future of his racing endeavors. Easily on of this nation’s most prolific and accomplished auto racers, Busch has no plans on lifting anytime soon. Relaxed, in good spirits and in something of a reflective mood on his French walkabout, he talked about the recent flurry of activity which has seen him climbing in and out of world class race cars.
“My heart that I grew up in racing is there. It’s still fueled by the passion. Bring on Sonoma.”