Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Kurt Busch begins race weekend with blistering qualifying lap

Eighteen drivers break Kyle Busch’s old qualifying record

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Steve Marcus

Kurt Busch adjusts his cap as he poses for photographers after taking the pole at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.

NASCAR

Kurt Busch waits to qualify at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.  Busch took the pole. Launch slideshow »

The tears came early for Kurt Busch.

Busch, the Las Vegas native who graduated from Durango High, finished first in qualifying for Sunday’s Shelby American NASCAR Sprint Cup race Friday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a track record 28.614-second lap.

“I’m stoked,” Busch said. “To do it here in my hometown of Las Vegas, it’s fun for me and all of the fans who were here today.”

Busch tried to hold back his emotions in a press conference after the round but couldn't when he started talking about his family and ties to Las Vegas.

For years, Busch has vocalized how special a win in his hometown would be. Now, he’ll have the pole in his bid to do so.

“This is definitely cool to sit on the pole,” Busch said. “It’s great just to have a buzz around the team.”

Busch is hoping history repeats itself in some fashion. Last year, his younger brother, Kyle Busch, set a track record on qualifying day and parlayed it into a victory on Sunday.

Kyle Busch won’t be far behind this year. He finished fifth in qualifying with a 28.7-second lap, which also beat the 29-second record he set last year.

In total, 18 drivers posted a better time than the previous track record. Although the number sounds staggering, Jeff Gordon — who finished second behind Kurt Busch — said it was expected.

“It’s the tires,” Gordon said. “Goodyear has some new stuff. I don’t even know all the differences, but it’s the tires.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the first driver to shatter Kyle Busch’s record with a 28.697-second lap.

Earnhardt’s speed intimidated Kurt Busch, who said he had no idea his car could actually be faster.

“Junior just totally squashed everything I was going for,” Kurt Busch said. “You never know how fast your car can go sometimes. You go off confidence and the guys you see around you.”

Ryan Newman finished third in qualifying with a 28.696-second lap.

Newman hasn’t finished the first two races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season and said he hopes Friday’s practice and qualifying is a harbinger of better things to come Sunday.

“I’m going in with a good attitude and everyone else has a good attitude,” Newman said. “I know what’s happened to us is bad luck.”

After Kurt Busch got over his emotional moment, he talked about staying focused and finishing the job Sunday.

Friday was a good start, he said, but it’s far from his goal.

“To have the track record, that’s cool,” Kurt Busch said. “Next year, it could be better conditions for qualifying. Track records are meant to be broken. But I get to sit on it for 365 more days, so I’ll take it.”

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