Busch facing uncertain future
LONG POND, Pa. — Kurt Busch’s talent behind the wheel has never been challenged.
It’s why he always had a ride.
Busch’s fiery temper has never been fully harnessed and it’s the reason he suddenly has a job to salvage and a reputation to repair.
Busch was absent Friday at Pocono Raceway as part of the one-week suspension levied by NASCAR for verbally abusing a media member. The 2004 Cup champion is not eligible to return to a NASCAR-sanctioned event until June 13. Busch has free time to think about his Tuesday meeting with Phoenix Racing owner James Finch and decide if this frayed relationship can be saved, or, if perhaps a professional divorce is on the horizon.
“I don’t want to lean one way or the other,” Phoenix General Manager Steve Barkdoll said Friday. “Ultimately, everybody in this garage knows Kurt’s as good a talent as anybody out there. It’d be crazy for us not to want Kurt in our car. But some things certainly have to change for that to be that way.”
Finch, who was not at the track, told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week their partnership will be on a race-by-race basis going forward. Barkdoll laid out a glum picture of Busch’s first season with underfunded Phoenix.
“We have wrecked 14 cars and we are not attracting any sponsors as of right now,” Barkdoll said. “We want to keep this company going and part of that is to get this turned around. We certainly want Kurt to be part of that, but he’s got to do his part, because James is most certainly doing his part.”
Barkdoll said he thought Busch could pattern this season in the mold of how Dale Earnhardt Jr., qualified last year for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Earnhardt was winless, with nine top-10 finishes and three top fives over the first 26 races — not out of reach for a driver like Busch.
“We were hoping to be like a 15th-place car,” Barkdoll said.
All Phoenix got out of Busch was a string of poor results and one giant headache.
Busch got the winless part, but posted one top 10, finished in the 30s three times, and was no better than 20th in his last five races. He’s 26th in the standings.
He was caught on video having a confrontation with a Sporting News reporter after Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Dover. The confrontation was in violation of the probation he was placed on after an incident last month at Darlington. Busch was fined $50,000 by NASCAR and placed on probation through July 25 for reckless driving on pit road, and a post-race altercation with Ryan Newman’s crew members.
His probation was extended through the end of the year because he couldn’t keep his cool over a question.
“It refrains me from not beating the s*** out of you right now because you ask me stupid questions. But since I’m on probation, I suppose that’s improper to say as well,” Busch replied to the reporter.
Busch apologized in a statement Monday night for his behavior and accepted NASCAR’s decision. He also apologized to Phoenix Racing.