NSCS: Kurt Busch hopes to build on last year’s success

Following a first year at Stewart-Haas Racing that saw him finish 12th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Kurt Busch is looking to build on that success heading into this year. He emphasized his want to have success by saying he isn’t here to just win a race and get in the Chase – but to win a championship.

There are positives for Busch heading into the year, in the form of crew chief Tony Gibson. The pair worked together the last three races of the season, boosting an average finish of 8.7.

“Those are the types of races that we know we’re capable of putting together and we need to do that these first 26 races with the Haas Automation Chevy, and get this thing rolling,” he commented.

Busch added that being able to have those three races “validated the reason for a change” and gave a shop a lot of excitement heading into the new season as evident by the excitement seen in preparing the new bodies and cars for the new season.

“It’s exciting to have a tire test already down and feel the race track with the new car, and just to have Tony Gibson’s years of experience on that pit box,” Busch continued. “That’s what I’m looking forward to with tracks like Atlanta, Las Vegas, Fontana early in the season coming out of the gate strong with that experience there.”

Getting the communication down and making sure they’re sharing the right information back and forth will be key, as Busch stated if you’re hesitant at all getting into the corner, you’re already a half a tenth behind the leaders.

“I’m looking forward to this year with the horsepower reduction, as well as the downforce reduction, and finding the right key balance that me and Tony Gibson will be working on,” Busch said.

As far as whether Busch will run the Indianapolis 500 once again this year, he says it’s nice to have Tony Stewart’s blessing and Michael Andretti offering the seat once again, but it’s something that he hasn’t talked about due to being busy in the courts with his ex-girlfriend.