Nascar

Table of Contents

DAY ONE: The Guru and the Kid
On the afternoon of Saturday, July 8, 2000, a man who looked barely old enough to drive climbed into an automobile designed to race at almost a third the speed of sound. Kurt Busch and 33 other drivers fired up their engines. Bone-rattling noise rocked New Hampshire International Speedway and the air smelled suddenly burnt.

DAY TWO: Black Sunday
On the morning of the biggest day of his young life, the Winston Cup rookie Kurt Busch awoke at a reasonable hour, about eight o'clock. Outside his motor coach, Daytona International Speedway was coming alive.

DAY THREE: The Racer's Edge
Dale Earnhardt's death had yet to be announced when Jeff and Kim Burton left Daytona International Speedway the evening of Feb. 18. They were crossing the track when a flatbed tow truck carrying Earnhardt's wasted vehicle passed by. A tarpaulin covered the car.

DAY FOUR: Fathers and Sons
Many racers consider Bristol Motor Speewday, in the hills of eastern Tennessee, the nastiest track on the Cup circuit.

DAY FIVE: Floating it In
Jeff Burton kissed his wife and strapped himself into his racecar. The drivers fired up their engines, and the Coca Cola 600, NASCAR's longest race, was underway. It was the Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend.

DAY SIX: Engine Trouble
Sunday, August 5, the day of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, dawned sunny and hot.

DAY SEVEN: Extreme Risks
Many racecars had been repainted in red, white, and blue when they arrived in Delaware for the first Winston Cup competition after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Others carried messages for the victims of the attacks and the rescue workers who were digging through rubble.

DAY EIGHT: The Checkered Flag
Kurt Busch awoke early on Sunday, Feb. 17, ate a light breakfast, and went from his motor coach to a souvenir trailer on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway. He signed autographs for fans, then visited a hospitality tent. Employees of his sponsor applauded when he spoke of his optimism for the Daytona 500, opening race of the new season.

EPILOGUE
Heading to Bristol Motor Speedway for the sixth race of the 2002 season, the Food City 500 on Sunday, March 24, Kurt Busch was 11th in the point standings. He had nearly won the race at Atlanta, and he had placed 12th at Rockingham, N.C., a track that had bedeviled him the two occasions that he competed there last year. The new season continued to smile on the sophomore racer.