On Sunday, Kurt Busch was able to hold off the charge of Jimmie Johnson on the last lap to score the victory at Martinsville Speedway. It marks Busch’s first win in 83 races, and his first win Stewart-Haas Racing after moving over during the off-season.
For that reason, Busch says it’s an unbelievable feeling to deliver them a win because of how badly he wanted to score that win.
“There’s things you have to do in the car to manage your emotions and then tires, most importantly, and to be in position to win this early with the Haas Automation team, it’s been for — to the credit of a lot of hard work and a lot of mistakes have been made, but enough that we could learn from,” Busch said. “To deliver for Gene Haas this early, it shows the potential of this team. I know Kevin Harvick won earlier this year at Phoenix, and I think our strength this year with the Haas Automation Chevy and most of Stewart-Haas Racing has been at the short tracks.”
Busch emphasized that he’s going to soak up the win as it’s an “unbelievable feeling” to get back to victory lane after everything that he’s been through over the past couple of years. Busch was let go from Penske Racing after some “temper” issues, though landed his feet with Phoenix Racing and carried that to Furniture Row Racing. The season at FRR proved a lot to everyone as Busch put the single-car organization in the Chase and brought forth the opportunity to now drive for SHR. Now in victory lane with SHR, Busch says it’s pure satisfaction.
“It’s a moment of self-satisfaction and enjoyment of all the hard work that I’ve put in and all of the people that have been around me to help me, and to have a guy like Gene Haas believe in you and give you a shot with a brand-new team and a brand-new car,” Busch commented. “You’ve got to put life in perspective, and you have to learn from your mistakes, and you can’t just sit there and try to muscle your way individually through certain situations, and so you rely on your experience level, you rely on your team, and this is a great day for me to be able to lift the trophy in victory lane for Stewart-Haas Racing.”
The win marked a surprise for some based on Busch’s other races this season so far to date. In the first four races this season, Busch failed to post a top 20 finish. The last two races have been much better as he finished third at Fontana to go with the win. For that reason, Busch says this win shows a step forward but shouldn’t equal them being where they want to be.
“I don’t want it to camouflage any of the work, though, that we still have to do to make our car stronger and to be more competitive week in and week out, but don’t think that I’m not going to enjoy this for one moment,” Busch commented.
Busch says now with the weight of getting that first win lifted off his shoulders, he’s focused on being consistant from here on out.
