Busch quickly made a name for himself at the age of 15, in the Dwarf Car Series in his hometown of Las Vegas. The Nevada rookie of the year in 1994, Kurt went on to become series champion one year later in 1995. In 1996, he captured the Hobby Stock championship at Las Vegas Speedway Park and garnered notice from owners in some of NASCAR's regional touring series.
Getting noticed by some of the owners in NASCAR’s Southwest Touring Series, Kurt moved to the regional series and was rookie of the year in 1998. Jack Roush hired Busch in 2000 to drive in the Craftsman Truck Series. The decision paid immediate dividends, as Busch captured four checkered flags and finished second in the championship standings. Busch's unexpected success led Roush to make an unprecedented decision -- he moved Busch from the Truck Series directly to the Cup Series, a move that had some shaking their heads in disbelief.
Busch quickly quieted the critics, driving the #97 Rouch Ford to second in the race for rookie of the year with six top-10 finishes and his first career Cup Bud Pole Award. From that point on there was no stopping Kurt Busch. He got his first Cup victory in 2002 at the spring race at Bristol, muscling Jimmy Spencer out of the way to take the lead and the win. It would be just the first of four wins Busch would garner in a season that solidified him as a bonafide Cup star.
Kurt had a unfortunate year in 2003, only finishing 8th in the points standings. In 2004 however, Busch is leading the Chase to the Nextel Cup by 59 points over second place driver, Jimmy Johnson, with 3 races left.
