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| Kurt Busch |
Kurt Busch's impressive sixth-place finish in the 98th Indianapolis 500 earned the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion the prestigious Sunoco Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award at Monday night's Victory Awards Celebration at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Busch is the first NASCAR driver to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award since Donnie Allison finished fourth and earned the award in the 1970 Indianapolis 500.
Photos: Kurt Busch arrives in Charlotte for Coca-Cola 600
Hunter-Reay earned $2,491,194 from an overall purse of $14,231,760 for his victory in Sunday's Indianapolis 500. He praised Busch's effort in his first-ever Indianapolis 500.
"In his first Indy 500? Busch started 12th and dropped to as low as 20th place but fought his way through the field to finish sixth.
Kurt Busch impresses as Indianapolis 500 rookie
"I was thinking about this after the race," Hunter-Reay said.
It was not easy and Kurt did a great job his first time in an open-wheel car.
Busch actually got a little choked up when he talked about the opportunity he received from IndyCar team owner Michael Andretti.
"Michael said, 'Kid, you can have a ride in one of my Indy cars any time.'
How significant was Kurt Busch's sixth-place finish in his first Indianapolis 500 on Sunday?
With all of Busch's prior major professional auto racing experience in stock cars, to come into the biggest open-wheel race of the year in a series he'd never raced in, in a car he'd never raced in and with a team he'd never raced with, was eye-opening to say the least.
Castroneves won the 500 as a rookie in 2001. Of course, Castroneves had been driving open-wheel race cars for virtually all his professional career.
How did Busch fare relative to recent Indy 500 winners in their first appearances in the big race? Also in 2002, Tony Kanaan was 28th. In 2003, Scott Dixon finished 17th in his first race at the fabled 2.5-mile track. Five years later, Dixon would win at Indy.
Kurt Busch sixth in Indy as Ryan Hunter-Reay wins
Yesterday's winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay, finished sixth as rookie -- the same as Busch yesterday -- in his first 500 in 2008.
Juan Pablo Montoya finished 34th at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006.
AJ Allmendinger was 40th at the spring race at Bristol in 2007.
Kurt Busch arrives in Charlotte for Coca-Cola 600
Last but not least, three-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. came home 30th in the November 2007 Phoenix race.
"What an unbelievable experience," said Busch of his Indy run. "I'm sure I had a top-five car. SATURDAY: Man charged with murder in shooting near Indy 500 track
Cars are being bunched into historically tight packs while running closer together at increasingly high speeds. "In IndyCar, the closer you get to another car, the faster your car goes," said Team Penske's Juan Pablo Montoya, who moved over from NASCAR in the offseason and is making his second start at Indy since winning his 2000 debut. Two cars don't fit through a corner. Five drivers to watch at the 2014 Indy 500
"Yep," 2008 winner and three-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon said.
Kurt Busch's attempt at completing "The Double" ended Sunday night after his car blew an engine late in the Coca-Cola 600.
Busch finished sixth in his first Indianapolis 500 and was attempting to become the second driver to complete 1,100 miles in both races on the same day.
Busch qualified 28th for the Coca-Cola 600 but had to start the 400-lap race at the rear of the field because he didn't make it to the track in time for the driver's meeting. I thought it was great racing in traffic. The feel of the stock car right after driving the IndyCar is a feeling I'll never forget."
Busch successfully completed the Indianapolis 500 earlier Sunday, then darted to the second race. Only Stewart in 2001 successfully completed the two races, finishing sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
