[h=2]'I have more of an appreciation for everything' - Busch[/h] Wednesday, 01 March 2017


By Eric Johnson / Images by LAT

As he continues to bask in the satisfaction of finally claiming a Daytona 500 victory, Kurt Busch (above, with his Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Tony Gibson), has admitted he has come to appreciate the dedication of teammates and crew that goes into NASCAR success more than he did earlier in his career.
"I was in tunnel vision before," said Busch. "I came up through all the ranks of NASCAR's ladder, all of the feeder series. When I got to Cup. I didn't stop that mentality. I was go-go-go, but I didn't know where I was going. I didn't have F1 as aspirations, but I didn't know how to stop once I got the top."
Busch concedes his abrasive style got him into trouble both with Jack Roush's team – despite his Cup title with that team in 2004 – and following his subsequent move to Penske.
"I didn't say the right things, I wasn't appreciative of people around me. I was just young and naive," Busch said. "The pattern that I used – or that I didn't even know that I was using because I was so young – was brash. It was like I was in this one series this year, then in the next series the next year. I never had time to even build enemies or friendships with people because I kept moving so quick.
"When I got to Cup, I didn't realize this was the final destination and I wasn't making friends and I wasn't blending in as smoothly as I should have. Did it lead to controversy? Yes. Did it lead to a championship? Yes. Was I confused on what I was supposed to do next? Yes.
"And that's when Roger Penske was calling, right after I won that championship at Roush. I was like, 'Roger knows how to run motorsports. I'm going to try and help him win a championship in Cup.' Well, I said it right there: I was still so brash and naive that I thought I was the reason why the championship happened at Roush. I didn't respect the team atmosphere enough.
"So that's the difference today – understanding and respecting the team, the personnel, more of a sponsorship value and the return on investment that sponsors want. Ultimately, it's all about doing the same thing – and that is winning and getting those trophies in victory lane.
"But I have more of an appreciation for everything. I love to give back and to help young crew guys develop and help new engineers develop into stars they can be one day. When I first started, I thought it was all me doing it, but it really comes down to the people."



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