Born Kurtis Thomas Busch, Kurt, as he is known, together with his brother, Kyle, also a race driver, is a third generation NASCAR race car driver. He was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on the 4th August 1978 and after graduating at Durango High School he enrolled at the University of Arizona to gain a degree in Pharmacy. From the age of six Kurt accompanied his father, Tom, to the race track where he was able to drive go-carts. When he was fourteen years old Kurt had his first driving experience, driving a Dwarf car at Pahrump Valley Speedway. He won his first race in Dwarf competition at the Las Vegas Speedway Park while he was still an underage teenager, this was his second race. It was obvious that Kurt was a natural race driver and together with his father he competed at western tracks covering Utah to Southern California and in 1994 Kurt won ten consecutive races at ten different race tracks. This was impressive as it was only his first year as a driver.

Kurt Busch (Courtesy or Wiki Commons - Tom Roberts)

His break came when Christ Trickle, a fellow race car driver, was gunned down by a mysterious assailant and the Star Nursery team had to look for a replacement driver for the #70 team and in 1997 Kurt gained national exposure while competing for the first time in the 1997 Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park.

In 2004 the "Chase for the Cup" points system was introduced and Kurt won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Championship where he finished just eight points ahead of Jimmie Johnson. Following a Nationwide Series win in 2006 he became one of only twenty-one drivers to have a win in the Sprint Cup Series, Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series, all three of NASCAR’s top divisions.

2005 Kurt's season was cut short after being cited for reckless driving after being pulled over by the police on suspicion of drink driving. This allegation of drink driving later proved to be false but not before Roush Racing suspended him for the remainder of the season. It was also reported that he was aggressive and abusive to the police officer. He was given a ticket and ordered to complete fifty hours of community service.

Kurt's aggressive behaviour has got him in trouble with NASCAR and other drivers several times, both on and off the track. He was hit in the face by one driver who said that he was deliberately trying to "wreck" him. He has had run-ins with Greg Biffle, Kevin Hardwick and Tony Stewart to name but a few, overheard cursing a NASCAR official and is booed by fans who don’t like his aggressive driving. Fortunately, Kurt has had a successful career and with that has brought him to the public through talk shows, photo shoots, charity events and a busy social calendar and this will encourage him to become an ambassador for the sport in the future.

Kurt married his girlfriend, Eva Bryan, on 27th July 2006 in Virginia. The marriage ceremony was recorded and aired on the national television. Eva enjoys racing and the couple travel together each week to the race tracks. Kurt and Eva currently have two Terriers named Ginger and Lola. The family and pets all appear on the NASCAR Pets calendar. Kurt is an avid fan of The Chicago Cubs and Bears.

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Kurt Busch - Wikipedia
NASCAR Website
Kurt Busch Fansite

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