When the 2022 NASCAR Cup season began, an interesting little statistic slipped under the radar. As it turns out, Kurt Busch is the last full-time NASCAR driver to race against the 7-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. Suffice to say, he had plenty of stories about the late legendary driver.
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One particular story involved himself, Dale Jr., and a tale of revenge from Dale Sr. Busch said, “I actually bumped Dale Jr. at Rockingham and spun him. At the time Jr. and (Matt) Kenseth were neck-and-neck for the Rookie of the Year race. So, Sr. made it his project all day long to sweat me at Homestead.”
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“It was like we were running 18th all day and he stayed right there to make sure he rearranged my bumper, all day long. His car was good enough for top-five, but he hung with me to mess with me and my day.”
What incident was Kurt Busch referring to?
In the final few races of the 2000 season, Busch was promoted to replace Chad Little at Roush Racing. During those seven races, the then-rookie driver managed to defeat Dale Sr on one occasion. That was when he finished 19th place at Homestead Miami, while Dale Earnhardt could only muster 20th.
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However, at Rockingham earlier, there was a skirmish between Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Evidently, Earnhardt Sr did not take things lying down and looked threatening to Busch all race long. As per Kurt Busch’s testimony, Dale Sr could have overtaken him at any time and had the pace to do so. Instead, he stubbornly super-glued himself to Busch’s rear bumper for the whole race.
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Despite the clear-cut intimidation tactic, Kurt Busch has no regrets about racing the 7-time champion. Interestingly, in Dale Sr’s final race, he and Kurt had one last tangle. The last ever exchange between them was the #3 driver flipping him the bird.