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Kurt Busch Becoming The Forgotten Brother

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By TONY FABRIZIO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2008

Updated: 06/07/2008 12:22 am

LONG POND, Pa. - When Kurt Busch was a young phenom at Roush Racing several years ago, he teased about what was coming next.

"If you think I'm good, wait until you see my little brother," he said.

Well, the little brother has arrived. Kyle Busch, 23, has won 10 races in NASCAR's three national divisions this year, and he holds a commanding lead in the Sprint Cup standings entering Sunday's Pocono 500.

And 29-year-old Kurt Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion and a driver accustomed to running up front, has practically become forgotten.

"We have the equipment, we have the people, we have the technology all around us ... I don't know what we're missing that's keeping us from building that consistency," Kurt Busch said inside his team's hauler Friday.

"It's a character-building year. It's great that I had some great years early on. You have your good years, but you're going to have your bad years, and this has been one."

Kurt's season started out well enough. He finished second in the Daytona 500, pushing Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman to victory.

Since then, however, he hasn't finished better than 11th. His average finish of 21.8 is the lowest since his rookie season in 2001. Until leading 64 laps in the Coca-Cola 600 two weeks ago, Kurt Busch had led only 10 laps all year.

Kyle Busch, meanwhile, has been the toast of NASCAR in his fourth season at NASCAR's top level. He scored his fourth Sprint Cup victory last week at Dover, and this weekend, he's trying to become the first driver to compete in NASCAR's three national series on the same weekend in different cities.

In Sprint Cup competition alone, Kyle Busch has led 786 laps.

"He's got everything going for him," Kurt Busch said. "Just the maturity he has in the race car, the comfort level. And that race team is on top of their game. You can't deny that they're building the thing the right way. But he's driving the wheels off of the car, too."

Already one of the most prominent brother tandems in NASCAR history, the Busch brothers have similar starts to their careers. Kyle has posted eight victories and 39 top-five finishes in his first 127 Cup races. Kurt had nine victories and 25 top-fives in his first 127 races.
Little brother has had a huge advantage this year. He's driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, which in its first season with Toyota engines and engineering support, has been ahead of the learning curve with NASCAR's next generation race car.

Kurt is in his third season with Penske Racing, which has struggled mightily with the new car.

"The front end of our cars won't turn like we need for them to be competitive," he said. "At Daytona, we had the right setup for the night portion of that race, and everything played out perfectly. Beyond that, we haven't been able to crack a solid finish."

Kyle hasn't been able to offer any help. He says his team's "secrets" lie with crew chief Steve Addington and lead engineer Chris Gayle, and he couldn't share them even if he knew what they were.

He does feel for his older brother.

"With the full-time new car, they are just struggling," Kyle said. "They haven't figured it out, and I'd say it's not necessarily their driver. I'd say it's got a lot to do with the team and the engineers and stuff."

The Busch brothers have been close through the years, although they did have a high-profile falling out after they wrecked each other in the 2007 all-star race. They barely spoke until Christmas dinner seven months later.

Kurt said the brothers haven't spoken much this year, noting that Kyle has been busy traversing the country while running the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series full time and the Craftsman Truck Series part time.

"It seems like he's been a bit distant with all the projects he's got going on, and just being 23 years old and having the world in the palm of your hand," Kurt said.

Kyle figures it won't be long before his brother rebounds.

"Kurt is a champion and I know he's a great driver, and for him to be struggling, it's kind of sad to say, but that's what's happening right now," he said.

Reporter Tony Fabrizio can be reached at (813) 259-7994 or afabrizio@tampatrib.com.

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