Kurt Busch has come full circle. After two years of rehabilitating his reputation while driving for smaller, single-car teams, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion will return to being part of a multi-car squad as the fourth member of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.
The official announcement, which also revealed that Busch will carry sponsorship from Haas Automation (the non-racing company of team co-owner Gene Haas), took place earlier today at SHR headquarters in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
Next season, he’ll round out a four-car roster that will also feature co-owner Tony Stewart, the also-incoming Kevin Harvick, and Danica Patrick.
“Stewart-Haas Racing has proven itself to be a very competitive race team,” Busch said in a team statement. “Every team wants to win, but the preparation and resources Gene Haas and Tony Stewart and everyone at SHR put into their race cars each and every week is incredible.
“This is the kind of situation every driver wants to be in, and I’m grateful to Gene Haas and Haas Automation for providing me this opportunity. I didn’t think anyone wanted to win as much as me until I met Gene Haas.”
In case you couldn’t tell by the amount of times his name was mentioned by Busch, his jump to SHR is largely Haas’ doing. The machine tools magnate – who has also been a Sprint Cup team owner since late 2002 – called Busch “a premier talent” in his own statement.
“When he became available, we seized the opportunity to make him a part of Stewart-Haas Racing,” Haas said. “This is an organization built on winning, and Haas Automation is a company built on performance. Kurt embodies each of those qualities, and it’s why we’re investing in his abilities.”
Busch’s bid for a Chase berth this season with the single-car Furniture Row Racing has been an impressive one, even though it hit a snag last weekend at Bristol.
While he hasn’t been able to win, he has collected six Top-5 and 14 Top-10 finishes for the Colorado-based franchise, and with two races remaining before the Chase, he’s just six points out of the Top 10 in the Cup standings (which automatically enter the post-season).
Some have already questioned how well he’ll be able to work with Stewart, Harvick and Patrick – all of which, like himself, have shown in the past to be a bit tempestuous at times.
But considering what he’s done with FRR this year, Busch’s ability behind the wheel can’t be overlooked. It’s clearly helped give him this opportunity.
“I’ve had a tremendous amount of respect for Kurt’s talent and determination for as long as he’s been racing in the Sprint Cup Series,” said Stewart, who didn’t attend today’s press conference as he recovers from a broken right leg he sustained in a sprint car crash earlier this month.
“Kurt is extremely knowledgeable, and his input will make all of Stewart-Haas Racing better.”
