Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), had Sunday’s Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race circled on his calendar even before the 2014 season started.
Busch has a history of success at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, starting with his first-career Sprint Cup win in the Food City 500 in March 2002. The win came in only his third start at Bristol, making him the driver with the fewest starts at Bristol ever to record his first win.
But Busch didn’t stop there. He went on to win in three of his next four visits to Thunder Valley by sweeping both the March and August Sprint Cup races in 2003 and winning again in March 2004. His most recent win at Bristol came in March 2006.
Busch is one of four drivers to win three consecutive races at the half-mile, high-banked oval. Fred Lorenzen was the first, winning the fall race in 1963 and following that up with a season sweep in 1964. Cale Yarborough is the second driver to record three straight wins – and he added a fourth for good measure – sweeping both the 1976 and 1977 seasons. Darrell Waltrip became the third to win three or more races in a row when he reeled off seven straight wins by sweeping the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons, as well as the spring race in 1984.
Five Sprint Cup Series wins at “The World’s Fastest Half Mile” ties Busch with his brother Kyle Busch and future Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon among active drivers.
When Busch straps into the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet Sunday afternoon for this year’s Food City 500, he will attempt to record his sixth win and take the lead among active drivers at Bristol.
Busch is set to make his 475th career Sprint Cup Series start, the fourth for his new team at SHR in the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet.
Haas Automation has served as a primary sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series for 11 different drivers and 112 races since 2002. When Busch takes the green flag in Sunday’s Food City 500, he will also be attempting to make his first visit to victory lane since his last Sprint Cup win in October 2011 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
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