Kurt Busch calls 2010 NASCAR All-Star Race one of his ‘top five favorites’

FORT WORTH — Kurt Busch’s victory in the 2010 NASCAR All-Star Race is a prime example of the “checkers-or-wreckers” mentality produced when a pack of Type-A personalities chase a $1 million payday.

The second running of the Cup Series’ nonpoint event at Texas Motor Speedway showcasing drivers and pit crews is scheduled for May 22. Reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson will return to defend the victory he pulled off against Brad Keselowski here on June 13. Larson overtook Keselowski on Lap 93 of the scheduled 100 with a pass through Turns 1 and 2 of the 11/2-mile oval en route to a winning margin of 0.206 seconds.

Larson’s calculated move in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro stands in contrast to Busch’s improbable victory 11 years earlier at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch prevailed on CMS’ 11/2-mile layout on a night when younger brother Kyle crashed out while battling Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.

Racing for the lead, Hamlin tried to block Kyle’s passing attempt — a defensive move that pinched Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry against the wall and sent him sliding back through the field. Busch subsequently hit the wall again, bounced into Kasey Kahne’s car and dove into the garage area. But instead of parking behind his hauler, “Rowdy” drove over to Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx trailer.

In a now-classic YouTube moment, a still-helmeted Kyle marched into Hamlin’s hauler with team owner Joe Gibbs trailing as potential referee. To Gibbs’ credit, no drivers were injured in the back of that hauler. Indeed, Hamlin and Busch — now a two-time Cup champion — remain teammates at one of NASCAR’s highest-profile organizations.

While that drama unfolded, “KuBu” celebrated his win over Martin Truex Jr. in front of the packed front stretch grandstands.

“It’s one of my top five favorites,” said Busch, then driving the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger fielded by Penske Racing. “I had to battle hard late in the race. In like the first segment, we scrubbed the fence and I thought our day was done. We just did a ‘Hail Mary’ with a change on the car — changed the right rear shock — and went for it. It hooked the car up so amazingly for the last segment.”

Busch and crew chief Steve Addington went on to win the Coca-Cola 600 the following weekend at CMS using the same setup change on their Car of Tomorrow-era Dodge. Busch led 252 of 400 laps in NASCAR’s longest race to become only the seventh driver to complete the series’ “Month of May” sweep.

“So, All-Star Races are pretty cool,” said Busch, 43, who is in his 23rd Cup campaign but first season with 23XI Racing, co-owned by Hamlin and retired NBA superstar Michael Jordan. “Sometimes these races help you, and sometimes you’re just out there trying to do some research and development.”

And sometimes, a $1 million payday isn’t necessarily a 401k windfall. “Uncle Sam takes half right upfront,” Busch said with a laugh. “And then Roger Penske — Uncle Roger — he took the other half. I just go out there to race for salary or race for the trophy.”

The 2004 Cup champion with Roush Racing, Busch finished 10th here last year under a six-round, 100-lap format that emerged as a ratings winner for Fox Sports. A total of 2,735,000 viewers tuned into the Sunday night telecast, making it the most-watched All-Star Race since 2017. In fact, viewership peaked at 2,933,000.

This year’s “Next Gen format” featuring NASCAR’s new-for-2022 cars from Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota calls for four rounds — three stages of 25 laps, including a four-tire pit stop competition after the second stage, and a 50-lap finale for a total of 125 laps.

TMS General Manager Rob Ramage said the revised, extended format for the event’s 38th annual edition is the result of a collaboration among NASCAR, Speedway Motorsports, Fox Sports and the teams. “We’re looking for peak performance out of everybody and wanted to include the backbone of the racing teams, the crews,” said Ramage, who succeeded longtime TMS President and GM Eddie Gossage in August.

Ramage has been scheduling up to five speaking engagements a day with area civic groups and organizations — including Visit Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Sports Authority — to ramp up awareness among the ticket-buying public.

“We’re trying to reach out to anybody that will listen to us,” Ramage said. “We talk about not only the great racing but how important this event is to our state, how fortunate and blessed we are to have it here and have everybody come out and have fun.”

To that end, Trackside Live — an interview-style show hosted by Performance Radio Network on-air personalities — will operate Friday through Sunday from an outdoor stage in the Fan Zone near Gate 3. Shows will be headlined by drivers from NASCAR’s Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck series as well as Texas-centric stars representing country music, the NFL, NHL and boxing. The Fan Zone also will host a variety of entertainment options ranging from canine all-star shows to a human cannonball.

Topping the bill is country music superstar Blake Shelton, who will deliver a 60-minute concert at 3 p.m. Sunday. A 60-minute postrace concert by Mexican ranchero music group Banda MS will send the crowd home.

“I want a priceless experience to where everyone in the Metroplex is going to see an early-morning to late-at-night show that fits everybody,” Ramage said. “Blake Shelton is an A-plus level talent, a household name. That telegraphs to the Metroplex we’re a big-time venue, and we do big-time things.”

Informed about the Shelton concert, Kurt Busch said, “Oh, nice. I’m definitely a big fan. But I’m usually in race mode on those days, so I’ll have to listen from afar.”

John Sturbin is a senior writer at RacinToday.com, based in Fort Worth. He can be contacted at jsturbin@racintoday.com

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