CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – When 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch participated in his first Indianapolis 500 for Andretti Autosport and won Rookie of the Year following a sixth-place finish in 2014 he said “I’ve been to 15 Daytona 500s and every Brickyard 400 since I’ve been in NASCAR. But the Indianapolis 500 will blow you away.”
Next week Busch heads to Florida to begin preparations for his 16th Daytona 500 and in July he will return for the Brickyard 400. But Busch would love a chance to get “blown away” in a second Indianapolis 500 in May.
“It’s definitely on the ‘To Do List’ and I’m thankful to have Michael Andretti’s blessing to do it again and have Tony Stewart’s approval,” Busch said. “All the things are right there for us to take a look at; it’s just a matter of having the cards all stack up in order to do that.”
Considering last year’s Indy 500 was the first time Busch had ever competed in an IndyCar he had a stellar month of May. He was fast in practice and qualifications, fell back in the pack in the early portions of the race but fought his way to a sixth-place finish and Rookie of the Year honors – the first true NASCAR driver to win that award since Donnie Allison in 1970.
“My race peaked when I got close to that top five and I realized I was not a top-five IndyCar driver,” Busch said. “You don’t do that in one race; you don’t do that overnight. Watching video and trying to develop as an IndyCar driver I’m still not to that point. But with all of the rookie nuances, all of the newness and oddball experience you don’t know how to prepare for – now that all those are done and achieved the last thing to do is work on the race mechanics, making passes and running in the top-five with those guys. I want to show them they can trust me.”
Throughout his life Busch had heard how special the Indianapolis 500 was but until he experienced it himself he didn’t realize just how big it really is.
“I’ve heard about the Month of May at Indy but to experience it, walk out across the ‘Yard of Bricks’ for driver introductions – to be at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Weekend, to be a participant is a moment of a lifetime,” Busch said. “To block all that out and go out there and perform and drive 230 miles an hour that is a tough set of emotions to go through.
“It was a thrill of a lifetime. I’m driving an Andretti Autosport car and I was competitive in my first Indianapolis 500.”
Team owner Michael Andretti would like to have him back for the 99th Indianapolis 500 but both sides have a long way to go before that happens. There is mutual interest in doing it again, however.
“It’s nice to have Michael Andretti invite me back but it’s something we haven’t been able to talk about because so many things have happened in the offseason,” said Busch, who is currently involved in a legal dispute with his former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll.
Before Busch can think about Indy he has another big race to prepare for as he heads to the Daytona 500.
“It’s a matter of going down to Daytona and taking names,” Busch said confidently. “We want to go down there and do well and get our season started strong.”