Conversation: Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch has made a pretty fast ascent through the NASCAR hierarchy. He's only 24 years old, yet here he is winning five of the last 15 Winston Cup races. He's third in the points standings and is a legitimate contender to bring car owner Jack Roush his first Winston Cup championship.

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There haven been bumps along the road, of course, but Busch is learning.

He spent some time recently with NASCAR.com's Lee Montgomery to talk about life, his beloved Chicago Cubs, Roush and other topics. And of course, dip.

Q: The Cubs are in first place, you've won a couple races this year. Life's pretty good for Kurt Busch right now.

Busch: You could say that. It's a lot of fun to venture off to see a game or to go to Wrigley Field and experience the Cubs. We all have to say, "Maybe next year, maybe next year." This year we can honestly say that it could be this year.

	Credit: Autostock

We're having a good time on our side as well, with winning races and being able to build cars. Team morale is real right now, so we're having a good time.

Q: You're from Las Vegas. How did you end up a Cubs fan? Your dad's from that area, right?

Both my mother and father are from the Chicago suburbs. Growing up in Vegas, there's no professional teams there whatsoever, so the Cubs just grew on me.

I'm where they were from, and I didn't have a team to root for. And with the likes of Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg and those cool infielders they had over that era, it grew on me. And just the lure of Wrigley Field.

Q: People have the impression that Las Vegas is this high-roller town. Is that the case? What was it like growing up there?

There's a town outside the strip. Of course, there's all the color and the glamour that goes on. For sure, it's a different city to grow up in.

But there's a school system there, and there is a place to actually call your own, which is what you have in any small town in the USA.

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There was somewhat of a racing community there. We were able to go race cars on the weekend, and I was the normal kind of kid in school that tried for good grades and tried to get out of there as quick as I could.

Q: So you made good grades all through school?

I think I had a 3.6 GPA. I was looking to go and get in dad's garage and work on race cars after school, or to go and hang out with buddies on a Friday night.

Q: What did your dad teach you about racing? Did he kind of push you in that direction? Or did he give you the freedom to pick and choose what you wanted to do?

It was really what the time meant. What I mean by that is, I'm 8, 9 years old, and here's the stuff in the garage.

Of course, I was hands-on, and I was interested in all of it and wanted to know what this meant and what that meant. He never really pushed racing on me, but it was a direction I picked up because it was so easy to understand.

That's what we did on the weekends or during the week. It was real easy for me to grasp the general characteristics of working on a car. That's what he had done. He was an auto mechanic, a tool salesman.

That was the work of the trait. But I knew I wanted to do something different.

Q: A lot of folks have said they've seen a bit of a change in you since you started in Winston Cup. Do you think you've changed that much, and if so, what areas are they talking about?

I think there's been quite a significant amount of change in just the way my demeanor is on the race track or with the media in general. Just learning has been the biggest key.

I didn't know much when I got the opportunity to come and drive Winston Cup, except for the car itself and how to make it go around the race track.

	Credit: Autostock

Being a kid right out of college, I was 18 and got the ride with Jack to being 20 years old in the truck series, and now I'm 24 in the Cup deal.

You learn so much, and you become your own self within this circus or this Winston Cup Series. There's a lot to learn and a lot to grasp. It's been a coming of age over time.

Q: Has it been overwhelming. Do you ever find yourself saying, 'This is too much. I'm 24 years old, I shouldn't going through all this.' Or is that just part of the business.

It's part of the business. It's part of the way this series is. It's a fast-paced deal that will eat you up and spit you out if you don't keep up.

In my rookie year, I thought it was quite a bit to swallow or understand or to keep up with.

Over time, and working with different people and trying to associate myself with those better people, it's been a little bit better to handle all the different circumstances that come about.

Q: You and Jimmy Fennig seem to be kind of different in some ways, I guess because of age. Is that the case? If not, how have you gotten along so well. Is he a mentor, father-figure? How would you describe him?

He's the cool, classy, experienced guy that knows the direction of how it's supposed to operate. Whether it's from A to Z, he's on top if it.

The way we feed off of one another, it's a unique balance of having that youthful exuberance -- just wanting to go all the time, innovative ideas, and then he's got the calm, cool, experienced hand on everything.

That balances both of us. I'm able to kick him in the ass every now and then, and he's able to smack me around. We get things done together.

Q: Does he have to rein you in on the race track? Is ever like, 'All right, son, calm down.' Every driver is pretty high-strung. What does he say to try to calm you down? Or does he have to say anything? Does he kind of clear his throat, and you know he wants you to calm down and do whatever?

I don't think he's ever done that to me on the race track. We've had things that happen off the race track, or things within the company -- or just a better outlook on things.

He waits for me to ask the question. I somewhat have an idea when I'm wrong. When I do ask the question, he lends that advice and that experience. He just has such a smooth way of controlling a situation and giving the right advice.

Q: You and Jack seem to have a unique relationship. You've butted heads a time or two, if you want to call it that. Is he also that kind of a mentor? What's that relationship like with him?

	Jack Roush

I got this unique opportunity to drive this Winston Cup car because he felt that I could adapt to many situations quickly. I think a lot of it is the fact that he sees a lot of me in what he was 40 years ago. I've been given this wonderful opportunity because of that.

The way we work together, we're so similar in many ways, we might run into one another every now and then. It's really been a challenge to try to please him, as far as his goals and his mindset.

I'm willing to step up to it. It's been a lot of fun, and we have a great relationship that's open, that's back-and-forth at any time. Some of the times, we get excited, and the other times, we're able to celebrate in Victory Lane.

Q: When he sees something that he thinks you did wrong, does he come right to you, or does he wait a couple days, or is it the same thing with Jimmy -- does he wait for you say something to him? How does it work?

Different situations, he's done different things, and I've been able to do different things. There's no real set pattern that he has.

Some things have more significance than others, as far as the value that can be attained from it, and so he'll let you know right away.

Q: Will anything less than a championship be dissatisfying to you this year. I know that's the goal for everybody, and you guys are obviously a contender. If you somehow didn't win, would that lessen the season at all?

I don't think so. The way we've been able to build on the 97 and get Rubbermaid the exposure they've received thus far, just working on the whole program in general, to finish third in points last year was a great effort. To win four races, it exceeded our expectations.

	Credit: Autostock

We've got this year to build on upon that, and I'd like to see us continue moving forward. Whether we're second or first in points, it'll be a great year. If we come up short of that, then there'll be reasons why, and we'll have to learn from those and continue moving forward.

So you have to stay on top of your game, and you have to put pieces together, and put that frame around the outside of the puzzle, and then started piecing pieces in.

It's not necessarily who gets it done first, it's a matter of having the right people behind you to put those pieces in place with the least amount of congestion.

Q: You mentioned about keeping things going forward. You're obviously on a roll, five wins in the last 15 races. Your youth, exuberance, is that something that's going to help the team push forward so you don't get complacent, you don't sit still and you try to get better?

This team, the overall youthfulness of it, is able to maintain a higher level of intensity, or being able to adapt or to be able to go through the highs and lows -- they're such a strong-willed team.

I've got a good role in being a leader within it, and Jimmy Fennig has the primary role with that. But the way this group of guys can go through a race whether we're good or we're bad, they're really even-keeled.

They're on a plateau, focused, and they're not the weak points whatsoever.

Q: So you don't see any reason why somebody who's sitting on the couch wanting dip should get up and get it?

They should always keep watching. You should get your priorities straight.