Busch brothers remembered for 'bizarre' weekend

When a monkey selling programs is the least unusual thing about a race, you know you're in for a bizarre day at the track. And Sunday's race at Texas was nothing if not bizarre. A fight between two veteran drivers? A wholesale pit crew swap in the middle of the race? A two-lap unsportsmanlike behavior penalty for a middle-finger salute and cockpit meltdown?

But "bizarre" would also be a perfect definition for the events surrounding the 2005 Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, when incidents off the track involving Kurt and Kyle Busch wound up being significantly more newsworthy than what happened on it. And the front-row starters from that day would have a direct bearing on the 2010 points race.

Busch in 2005, one month before his 'bizarre' weekend at Phoenix.

Kurt Busch, who had won at Phoenix earlier in the year, didn't even make it to the starting grid. He was suspended for the final two races of the season by team owner Jack Roush under pressure from sponsors after Busch was allegedly belligerent to sheriff's deputies during a traffic stop near the raceway earlier in the weekend.

Younger brother Kyle Busch won the race, but then walked out of the post-race media conference after commenting about what he considered false accusations in the media concerning his brother's situation.

And even the events on the track that day in a way foreshadowed this weekend's return to Phoenix. Denny Hamlin, in only his sixth Cup start, won the pole but wound up being spun late in the race by Kevin Harvick to bring out the day's final caution. And Jimmie Johnson, who came into the race 38 points behind Tony Stewart, started alongside Hamlin and finished seventh, but couldn't gain any ground on the points leader.

Kurt Busch had already announced plans to bolt Roush Racing for Roger Penske's organization at the end of the season, but the fallout from the traffic stop -- deputies claimed he allegedly ran a stop sign and swerved to miss another car -- ultimately forced team officials to replace him with Kenny Wallace.

It was an anticlimactic end to Busch's career with Roush. During that time, he was punched in the face by Jimmy Spencer, called an "arrogant punk" by Harvick and launched into an expletive-laced tantrum after a crash at Darlington, culminating in him hitting a NASCAR official with a thrown water bottle.

"It's the last straw for Roush Racing," team president Geoff Smith said the morning of the Phoenix race. "We're officially retiring as Kurt Busch's apologists, effective today."

Kyle Busch eventually passed Greg Biffle with 27 laps remaining and went on to win. He then made this declaration to reporters: "Usually, things in the media are false and that's just what it comes down to sometimes."

One reporter asked a follow-up question asking Busch to explain what had been reported falsely.

"I'm not going to go there, bud," Kyle said. "That's a very, very inappropriate question to ask."

And with that, Busch walked out, making a strange day even stranger. However, he returned some 20 minutes later to complete his thoughts.

"There is a lot of speculation out in the media," he said. "And the only things that are out there to acknowledge is the police report and any information Kurt Busch chooses to release in the future.

"Whether or not you're on the rocks with your girlfriend or you're doing whatever else outside the race track, you come in here and get in that race car, you're focused and you're down to one duty, and that's obviously to win the race."

Even though neither front-row starter was eventually successful in 2005 -- Hamlin in winning the race, Johnson in winning the championship -- both return to the Valley of the Sun this weekend with the same objective.

Five years ago, Hamlin was still in the process of learning from crew chief Mike Ford what it took to consistently run up front.

"He's done a great job with me, and I feel like I've been with Mike for years and this is only our sixth race," Hamlin said. "So hopefully it will be on a good future."

Ford, the former crew chief for Bill Elliott, said Hamlin and Elliott share a similar driving style.

"He's very smooth in a race car," Ford said. "There's nothing he does to try to force something in a race car. So that's really helped me get over the hump and understanding that the driver has very similar traits to what I'm used to."

And Johnson, who watched Kurt Busch win the title in 2004 and would eventually finish fifth behind Stewart in 2005, offered some advice five years ago that proved invaluable for four consecutive years, and could be just as prescient over the next two weeks.

"There is no more relaxing," Johnson said. "I hope I'm relaxing after the trophy has been raised in victory circle ... at Homestead. But it's go time. That's all there is to it."

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.