Kurt Busch hates to do laundry. Credit: Autostock

10 Questions: K. Busch

It appears that if you give Kurt Busch an inch, the 2004 Nextel Cup Series champion will go on a roll, and that's exactly what the driver of Penske Racing South's No. 2 Dodge has done over the last few weeks.

Kurt Busch is 14th in points heading to Daytona. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Kurt Busch's 2006 statistics Race Start Finish Status Daytona 13 38 accident California 1 16 running Las Vegas 6 16 running Atlanta 9 37 running Bristol 9 1 running Martinsville 9 11 running Texas 7 34 running Phoenix 7 24 running Talladega 5 7 running Richmond 13 29 running Darlington 10 19 running Charlotte 20 39 running Dover 4 16 running Pocono 2 2 running Michigan 13 9 running Infineon 1 5 running • Complete stats, click here Victory LaneKurt Busch celebrates his Bristol victory Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Coming into Saturday night's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Busch over the last four races has cut his margin to 10th place in the standings from 19th position and 234 points behind after the Coca-Cola 600 to 14th position and only 165 points behind.

Of course, 10th is currently the final guaranteed spot for the 2006 Chase for the Nextel Cup, and Busch has 10 races to get there.

Busch is relaxed and focused, and he took a break to answer 10 questions not necessarily connected to his racing career.

1. What's your least favorite household chore?

Busch: It's got to be picking up the laundry and doing the laundry. So sometimes that means it's spread all over the floor.

Then, after you do it you have to fold it and put it on hangers and put it back in the closet. Not fun.

The schedule we have to deal with makes it a challenge. You'll go for three weeks, then you have to commit almost a full afternoon to doing it because you have so much piled up.

You know, that's when being sponsored by Miller Lite is a Godsend, because in a pinch I can hit them up for some extra wardrobe items. They've definitely got a full line of their own products.

So it's easy to have the apparel -- whether it's a T-shirt, a polo shirt or a hat -- and they make camo Miller Lite hats. So they've got a full line of apparel and that makes it easier.

2. What is your favorite outdoor activity?

Busch: That's interesting, because I love being outdoors, no matter if it's out on the farm with the tractor, or skeet shooting, golfing, or doing the yard work -- because I love yard work.

But I think probably the coolest outdoor activity is cruising around in a convertible car. My favorite convertible to go cruising in is a Dodge Viper, of course.

3. Which athlete outside of racing do you most admire?

Busch: Lance Armstrong is a guy that has done wonders for his sport despite the adversity that he had to go through to win, and the cancer that he had to overcome.

I met him at Indianapolis this year when I went there for the Indy 500, and he drove the pace car. We got to speak for a few minutes anyway, and he was a very personable guy that was very approachable.

4. What is one thing that your fans don't know about you that you'd like to tell them?

Busch: That I'm a working man's man. If I've got a broken toilet, I'm going to go to Lowe's or The Home Depot and buy the parts that I need and I'm going to fix it myself. I hate calling people to come over and do household chores.

The only thing that I think I can't handle right now that I need to fix are my rain gutters. Eva [Bryan, his fiancée] won't let me get up on the ladder to go fix them, so I might have to call somebody for the new style rain gutters.

No, waiting until after the wedding has nothing to do with that getting put on the 'honey do' list later. There's a 'honey do' list that is already brewed up.

I just love doing different things around my house and on my own car. When it's time to change the oil, I'm the one there dropping the drain plug on it.

5. Which show is "must-see TV" for you?

Busch: Two and a Half Men has been hilarious the last couple seasons; so if I find myself home on a Monday, that's a show that I'll watch.

That kind of comedy is great stress relief. It's hilarious the way Charlie Sheen is, and the brother -- and of course the kid, he keeps getting older each year, but he's still funny.

6. If possible, who would you trade places with for a day, and why?

Busch: Maybe it would be neat to be a fishing boat captain, just for a day. I'd like to go out on the open waters and reel in a ton of fish.

Learning how to do that might help me, for when I go out on my own the next time.

But just to be able to navigate the boat out of the harbor in the morning, before the sun comes up, and to get that whiff of salt water air would probably be the coolest thing ever.

7. Do you have an iPod, and if you don't, what's in your CD player?

Busch: No, I don't have an iPod. Right now, I've got Aerosmith in there, though I don't remember which one. There's a Kid Rock CD. Nickelback has been my most recent cool band, and they're in there.

AC/DC's in there, and then I've got the classic rock, with Boston.

It doesn't matter what kind of mood I'm in, rock and roll will fix it. That's definitely the way to go. I think the satellite stations are cool, and when you get to listen to them it's great.

Sirius sponsors us here at Penske so we're always cranking it up. It's definitely fun to have the rock and roll playing all the time. My favorite Sirius channel is 20, which is Octane.

8. What's your No. 1 guilty pleasure?

Busch: Chicken wings and beer. For me, they've got to be damned near on the atomic level. The atomic ones at Quaker Steak and Lube [in the Carolinas] are not quite right -- but as hot as they can get and taste good, that's the best stuff.

And of course, having them with a cold six-pack of Miller Lite.

9. Which star or celebrity would you most like to hang out with?

Busch: Probably Playboy bunnies. No particular month at this point, but just Playboy bunnies at The Grotto.

10. What have you learned about yourself in the last year?

Busch: I've found that I'm getting older and my bones crack a little easier. Really, I've found that it takes a lot of patience and perseverance to win one of these races or to be a Nextel Cup driver for a duration of time.

I moved so quickly through some of my racing levels and I made it to the Cup level and moved so fast to do that, it's been cool to slow down a little and to just let it all sink in, that I'm with a great team.

Just to be able to go out there and shoot for good finishes with everybody all together on the deal has been good. I feel like I'm more of a team leader, but yet I fit in better with the guys.

Patience definitely makes you realize how many more dimensions there are to this sport. You're so naïve when you come into any deal that's this big, that you don't know what day is going to be next.

When you have more time to digest it all, it slows down and you're more able to be comfortable with everything.