Over the years, many an article has been published about the “new Kurt Busch.”
Those stories, which usually appeared after Busch appeared to be putting his bad behavior behind him, often were followed by another hot-tempered outburst.
But the Kurt Busch who met with members of the media at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday seems to have finally begun to settle down.
At age 38, Busch has won 29 Cup races, including last week’s Daytona 500 and three at AMS, in 2002, ’09 and ’14. Last year, he won the pole at AMS and finished fourth behind winner Jimmie Johnson.
He said his years in the sport have taught him some valuable lessons, among them to “slow down and to not push so hard and to not put so much emphasis on one race weekend.”
He said he was a perfectionist early on, which helped him quickly advance from the Legends tracks in his native Las Vegas to NASCAR’s elite series, which he joined full time in 2001 at the age of 22. But he said that focus on perfection kept him from being prepared for his role as a Cup driver.
“It also took away some abilities to absorb what was going on around me and to help myself enjoy those moments. …,” he said. “Coming from Las Vegas, being an outsider, moving to the Southeast and trying to fit into the ‘Good ol’ boy Southern world’, I was just hell-bent to try and stay.”
But, looking back, he said he should have relaxed a bit and realized that because of talents, his spot in the upper levels of NASCAR was fairly secure.
“I could have told myself, ‘You’ve made it this far. Things are going to work out OK. Just calm down a little bit.’
“That is something that I didn’t do early on in my career.”
Busch, like many other drivers, including his brother, Kyle, seems to benefit from having a wife who is a positive influence on his career.
Kurt married his wife, Ashley Van Metre, a polo player and model, in January.
“Since the first day that we met there’s been this instant chemistry, and a lot of it has to do with her sports background and being an athlete and jumping out onto the polo field to compete,” Busch said. “She knows what it takes, the time, commitment, effort, to be with teammates and to do your homework, do research, watch video.”
He said his wife preaches to him to focus on the positives.
“She’s helped me grow and become stronger on the race track,” Busch said. “To have the home life and the time at the track and the celebrations and the fun things that we do, I couldn’t find a better partner in life.”
About the Author
