Kurt and Kyle Busch, By the Numbers
June 25, 2008 by Tim Zaegel
Filed under Racing
All season long, the only name people want to talk about in championship discussions has been Kyle Busch. When we want to talk about the evolution of the sport, again, Kyle Busch’s name is one of the first that comes to mind. If we’re talking about who can give Jeff Gordon a run for his money as the most hated driver in the sport … yup, you guessed it, we’re talking Kyle Busch.
So, basically, all the way from talking about the possibility of winning three championships in one season to his desire to test a Formula One car later this year, this season has been all about Kyle … but, the same cannot be said for older brother, Kurt. It’s funny when you think about it, really. It wasn’t all that long ago that Kurt Busch’s career was getting off to a pretty much identical start to the Kyle’s, yet Kurt now seems to be nothing more than a footnote at the end of Sunday’s races.
I mean, have we forgotten that Kurt is the one in the family boasting a Cup Series championship on his resume’? Was Kurt not originally one of the garage area’s “bad boys” himself? Heck, some of my fondest memories from earlier this decade include the battles between Kurt and Jimmy Spencer, which eventually led to a black eye on the Busch family … or, at least Kurt, anyway.
Just for turds and giggles, let’s take a look at Kurt and Kyle’s careers by comparison through their first 128 starts:
Kyle Busch – (9) Wins, (40) Top-Five’s, (62) Top-Ten’s, (4) Poles
Kurt Busch – (9) Wins, (26) Top-Five’s, (46) Top-Ten’s, (2) Poles
It should also be noted that Kurt’s 128th career start came in 2004, the same year that he later went onto win his first and only Sprint Cup championship. Coincidentally, Kyle currently leads the series point standings this year. Kurt’s performance since then has slipped dramatically, particularly since joining Penske Racing in 2006. Since making his first 128 starts in the series, Kurt has competed in another 148 events, tallying up (8) wins, (31) top-five’s, and (61) top-ten’s, though he has since won (9) more pole awards.
