Kurt Busch Opted Out Of Bristol Nationwide Race To Focus On Sprint Cup

Two weeks ago at Watkins Glen, Kurt Busch stepped in the Penske Racing Nationwide Series car for injured teammate Brad Keselowski and went to Victory Lane in his first series start of the season.

Presented with the opportunity yet again this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, Busch turned down the offer to focus his attention entirely on his Sprint Cup Series program as the Chase approaches.

Since Busch scored his first victory of the season at Infineon Raceway, he has backslid from fourth in points to eighth with two races left before the Chase. With two DNFs in the last two races, Busch looked at the chance to race Friday night and decided to pass.

“I thought the best opportunity for us to get our Cup program where it needed to be was to focus just 100 percent on it,” he said.

Among the areas Busch feels his team has to focus over the next few weeks include making adjustments throughout the race, having strong pit strategy and solid pit stops.

In turning down the opportunity to race, Busch made a decision few in the Sprint Cup ranks make and also reflected on the meaning of the Nationwide Series.

“It made me think what the Nationwide Series is about, and that’s a development program, a development series for people to work their way on up to Cup,” he said, adding sometimes filling in for an injured driver “can make your career happen in a big way.”

“It’s an opportunity for a young driver to try and make a name for himself and have a good run this weekend,” Busch said. “The attention will be on him because that is a championship car, and has had a lot of big names in it this year.”