CONCORD, N.C.—Kurt Busch took his first tangible step toward his May 25 Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 double, posting a lap at 229.960 mph in the first round of qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
That speed was third fastest when Busch left Indy for his regular job—driving the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet in Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race.
As drivers continued to run laps at the Brickyard, Busch slipped down the speed chart, but no matter. The starting order, including the pole for the Indy 500, won’t be determined until the second qualifying session on Sunday.
Tony Stewart, new to Twitter but well-versed in all aspects of motorsports, posted a message of encouragement to his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate.
“Congrats to my teammate @Kurt Busch for qual for his first #Indy500,” wrote Stewart, who obviously is getting the hang of Twitter handles and hashtags.
“Thnx, Boss—let’s go get ‘er done tonight!” Busch replied before boarding a plane back to North Carolina.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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