Lundqvist dominant; Rangers lead 2-0
ISee NDIANAPOLIS — When Kurt Busch’s colleagues in NASCAR ask him about his firsttime Indianapolis 500 experience this month, he’ll have yet another tale to tell, of how he walked away from his first crash in an IndyCar yesterday.
One day after securing the No. 12 starting spot in the 98th Indy 500, Busch lost control in practice yesterday. His car struck the SAFER barrier in turn two of the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
He was cleared at the track medical center soon
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MONTREAL — Henrik Lundqvist made 40 saves, Rick Nash scored for the second straight game and the New York Rangers earned a 3-1 victory over the Carey Price-less Montreal Canadiens last night.
The Rangers, who also got goals from Ryan McDonagh and Martin St. Louis, lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals 2-0 heading back to New York for Games 3 and 4.
Nash’s goal with 1:02 left in the first period put the Rangers ahead for good. St. Louis gave Lundqvist some insurance, scoring a day after the forward and his teammates attended the funeral of his mother, who died just before Mother’s Day. The Rangers have rallied around the grieving veteran and have won five in a row.
“It’s been an emotional
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afterward. But his Andretti Autosport race car is in for several days of reconstruction if it is to be used in the final practice on Friday.
On Sunday, Busch will attempt to become just the second driver to complete both the Indy 500 and the Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day.
“I was trying to find that rhythm and pace myself as I would on race day, and I just got behind on the adjustments on the car,” Busch told reporters. “If you’re going to have (an incident), it’s better to have it early in the week so there’s time to work on the car, get back on your horse and get out there again.”
As for the “horse,” it will need extensive rebuilding, Busch said. The right side of his Dallara-Honda incurred extensive damage after he lost control while running seventh in a line of nine cars about 95 minutes into practice.
How the crash might upset the rhythm of Busch’s carefully planned week remains to be seen. But here’s the rough itinerary:
Today he’s in New York to promote the 500.
Wednesday is his only full day off of the week.
Thursday is practice and qualifying at Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600.
Friday is the final practice for the Indy 500.
Saturday is the final practice at Charlotte.
Sunday, the Indy 500 starts just after noon. Then it’s a helicopter ride to the airport, a private jet flight to the Charlotte area and a helicopter ride to the track for the start of the CocaCola 600 at 6 p.m.
Busch said ever since he was a kid “watching Al (Unser) Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi at Indy on TV” he’s always wanted to
He sanctioned the website kurtbuschdouble.com at which people can pledge an amount for each of the possible 600 laps he completes, with the proceeds going to veterans of the armed forces to help deal “with the invisible wounds of war, including post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.”
give the 500 a try.
And he’s doing the double for a cause. In a move he said was inspired in part by his girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, he sanctioned the website kurtbuschdouble.com at which people can pledge an amount for each of the possible 600 laps he completes, with the proceeds going to military veterans to help deal “with the invisible wounds of war, including posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.”
Busch had a practice run on Saturday when he was whisked from Indy after qualifying to Charlotte for the All-Star Race, in which he finished 11th.
“It was a good exercise to have the helicopters and the plane rides back and forth, and to drive both cars on the same day,” Busch said.
Beyond any possible weather hurdles, the key will be coming to grips with the steering wheel he has in his hands at the moment. While his front-engine 850-horsepower stock car weighs about 3,500 pounds, the turbocharged, rear-engine, 700-horsepower IndyCar has a minimum weight of 1,575.
“It’s just a matter of respect for the car that I’m driving at the time,” Busch said. “They have their own personalities.”
Among those rooting for him is his team owner in NASCAR, Tony Stewart. In 2001 Stewart became the only driver to complete all 600 laps of the double, finishing sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte. John Andretti was the first to try it in 1994, and Robby Gordon made five attempts from 1997 to 2004, but neither turned in 1,100 miles.
Stewart said earlier in the process that Busch had aligned himself with the right team owner in IndyCar, Michael Andretti, to help smooth the process. Andretti took a liking to Busch, too.
“He’s not in it to just do it. He wants to win it,” Andretti said. “And that’s what we want to do.”
But to finish first twice, he must finish twice. That’s Busch’s goal, though as yesterday taught him, every step can be a learning experience.
“Each day is a lesson,” Busch said. “And it’s great to be a student with 15 years of motorsports experience.”