May 25, 2014

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

NASCAR UPDATE:

Kurt Busch’s Indianapolis 500/Coke 600 double ended early when the engine of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet erupted on Lap 273 to cause the sixth caution of the evening.

Busch finished sixth in the Indy 500 earlier in the day but completed just 271 laps (4-6.5 miles at Charlotte, leaving his car owner, Tony Stewart, as the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles of the same-day double.

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Kurt Busch completes stellar first leg of Indy/Charlotte double

CONCORD, N.C.—Kurt Busch left Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the first half of his mission accomplished.

No, Busch didn’t win the Indianapolis 500 in his first attempt, but he matched his current car owner, Tony Stewart, with the best first leg of the Indy/Charlotte double.

“P6!!!!!!!!” Busch’s girlfriend Patricia Driscoll posted to her Twitter account at the end of the race. Busch’s sixth-place result in his Indy debut put him in position to better Stewart’s combined sixth and third in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600, a feat the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion accomplished in 2001.

Busch completed all 500 miles at Indianapolis, leaving him within reach of another Stewart record. The co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing was the only driver to finish all 1,100 miles of a same-day Indy/Charlotte double.

Busch drove a patient, intelligent race at Indianapolis, biding his time early to get the feel of the car as his crew adjusted the handling to his liking. Over the last 250 miles, Busch worked his way forward and held the sixth spot after a late restart.

Afterwards, he took a helicopter from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a private plane to Concord, N.C., and another helicopter to a smooth landing in the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s tri-oval grass at 4:50 p.m.

“I have to block out what’s just happened the last four hours, because I still have more than halfway to go,” Busch said after the Indy 500. “So it’s a fun challenge now. I have to focus on the Cup car, get the feel of that Cup car back underneath me.”

(Note: Robby Gordon finished sixth in the Indy 500 in 2000 but arrived late for the Coke 600 because of a rain delay in Indianapolis. P.J. Jones started the 600 for Gordon, who took over the No. 13 car in progress. Jones was credited with a 35th-place finish.)