The 2007 Season So Far - Kurt Busch
I had high expectations for Kurt this year, since he began to run very well at the end of 2006 and because NASCAR approved a more typical, sloping Dodge nose (to me it looked mostly as if the grille was moved up more toward the hood and not the vertical part of the nose). The building year for Kurt was over at Penske. He had gelled with crew chief Roy McCauley and with teammate Ryan Newman. He had gotten married to the love of his life Eva Bryan. He had even started to make some fans who absolutely hated him before tolerate and even like him. Things were looking up.
It's been said that Kurt had the best car at the Daytona 500 this season along with Tony Stewart, but unfortunately Kurt faced an unavoidable mishap when Stewart suddenly checked up as they drafted 1-2. With only milliseconds to react and nowhere to go, the #2 Miller Lite Dodge tagged Stewart's bumper and the two best cars were wrecked.
The next milestone was the Penske cars' improvement on 1.5 milers. Both Kurt and Ryan ran notably better on the so-called "cookie-cutters" than they had during the previous year.
In early April, however, events took a sad turn. Roy McCauley took a leave of absence as a result of his wife, Amy, suffering with the effects of her Leukemia treatment. Troy Raker, a Penske engineer, would take over as crew chief.
Since then, Kurt's average finish has been 9.8, and yet the entire team is frustrated. Kurt has been contending for wins, leading a combined 76 laps at Texas, Talladega and Richmond. Most of their problems have been ill-timed pit calls which seemed good at first but quickly went sour. Kurt, of course, has been very upset with the consequences of these calls - who wouldn't be? I've been very disappointed seeing his cars that deserve to be covered in confetti and champagne in Victory Lane finish behind several cars at the end of the day.
I like Troy and I think Kurt likes him as well. We all feel a little thwarted.
But like Kurt said after Texas, "It’s not as much of a hardship as Roy and Amy are going through."
It's nice to put things in perspective.
It's been said that Kurt had the best car at the Daytona 500 this season along with Tony Stewart, but unfortunately Kurt faced an unavoidable mishap when Stewart suddenly checked up as they drafted 1-2. With only milliseconds to react and nowhere to go, the #2 Miller Lite Dodge tagged Stewart's bumper and the two best cars were wrecked.
The next milestone was the Penske cars' improvement on 1.5 milers. Both Kurt and Ryan ran notably better on the so-called "cookie-cutters" than they had during the previous year.
In early April, however, events took a sad turn. Roy McCauley took a leave of absence as a result of his wife, Amy, suffering with the effects of her Leukemia treatment. Troy Raker, a Penske engineer, would take over as crew chief.
Since then, Kurt's average finish has been 9.8, and yet the entire team is frustrated. Kurt has been contending for wins, leading a combined 76 laps at Texas, Talladega and Richmond. Most of their problems have been ill-timed pit calls which seemed good at first but quickly went sour. Kurt, of course, has been very upset with the consequences of these calls - who wouldn't be? I've been very disappointed seeing his cars that deserve to be covered in confetti and champagne in Victory Lane finish behind several cars at the end of the day.
I like Troy and I think Kurt likes him as well. We all feel a little thwarted.
But like Kurt said after Texas, "It’s not as much of a hardship as Roy and Amy are going through."
It's nice to put things in perspective.
