Kurt Busch: Ganassi's "streamlined" two-car program was appealing
Kurt Busch says his move to the Chip Ganassi Racing NASCAR Cup series team for 2019 was made appealing by it being "streamlined" two-car outfit.
Photo by: Russell LaBounty / NKP / Motorsport Images
Busch has left a four-car Stewart-Haas Racing squad spearheaded by 2018 title contender Kevin Harvick to make the switch.
The new Ganassi recruit will partner Kyle Larson in 2019, replacing Jamie McMurray.
The smaller operation means Busch will have more resources available to him than he would in a larger outfit.
Busch said: “The way that I look at Ganassi and all of his motorsports platforms - IndyCar, sportscars, NASCAR - all these champion-type drivers and situations, there is nothing different with the quantity of the cars and equipment and effort.
“What I see, is more of a quality of the two-car program with Larson and myself and streamlining the cars and having that transparency amongst the two.
“I don’t see much difference in it. I just see more of a concentrated effort in making sure that the cars go to the track, and there is that communication that is completely black and white and wide open.
“That is what I’m looking forward to the most because sometimes in a four-car programme if one car goes through tech, the other one might not necessarily go through the same way.
“By the time you get to a fourth car things are very different.
“I just like a challenge with this whole thing of switching and going after a fresh start and having a guy like Kyle Larson who is going to teach me some things about how the new trend of driving style is going.”
The 2004 series champion added that he and Ganassi want to push the team towards a title in 2019.
Ganassi explained why he hired Busch.
“First of all, I think as anyone knows, it’s not often times a NASCAR champion and a Daytona 500 winner comes available,” said Ganassi.
“I think when you’ve got a guy that’s a racer like Kurt, who with 30 Cup wins, he has won at every place like Daytona, Charlotte, Bristol, he has won the All-Star race of his bigger wins.
“You know, when somebody like that comes along you’ve got to take a serious look at him.
“It didn’t take me long to say yes, when he became available.”
Busch has made a habit of signing short-term contracts in recent seasons.
When asked if his new deal was one year in length, Busch said: “Right now I’m all in, no matter what it’s going to be.
“Whether it’s 36 races and a championship run or as a pact like Chip and I have talked about along with Monster.
“If we come out of the gate gangbusters and we’ve got five wins by July Daytona, well let’s talk about 2020."
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The one thing W Series needs in 2020 to continue its rise
Eaton "got it wrong" with initial W Series criticism
Hamilton still revisits texts from "great pillar" Lauda
Porsche lodges appeal over da Costa's Misano Formula E disqualification
Ricky Taylor looking for redemption at Long Beach
How Senna’s early Pacific GP exit raised his Benetton suspicions
What could have been: When Villeneuve’s shock return thwarted an F1 rookie
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments