Kurt Busch marks 600th start at 'special' Bristol

Kurt Busch will hit a career milestone tonight at Bristol Motor Speedway, one that has taken him nearly 17 years to reach.

With the drop of the green flag in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, Busch will have started 600 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races. His No. 41 Ford is sporting a decal on the rear bumper to commemorate the milestone. The Stewart-Haas Racing calls the achivement fun and something a driver doesn't think about while racing.

"You don't have it as a goal when you start out racing," Busch said.

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The fact that his 600th start comes at Bristol is not lost on Busch. The Tennessee bullring has been one of Busch's best tracks throughout his career. In 2002, Busch scored his first career Cup Series win at the track after a classic battle with Jimmy Spencer. Between 2002 and 2006 Busch won five races at Bristol.

"It's been a special place for me over the years," said Busch. "I never thought I'd see 600 [starts], you don't really think about it. It almost feels like 400 to me. I still feel like there is plenty more to do, more races to win. I haven't won at Darlington or Indianapolis and those are ones I want to check off the list.

"But it's a proud moment for myself. And a time to say thanks to my dad and all the different car owners I've raced for and raced with. And all the sponsors. It's been a great ride. But it also feels like there is more left."

Start number one came in late September 2000 at Dover. At age 22, Busch climbed behind the wheel of the No. 97 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, where he would spend five full-time seasons. In 2004, Busch captured the inaugural championship with Roush under what was then the "Chase" format.

Oh, and the driver who won Busch's debut race is his current car owner, Tony Stewart.

"I was in way over my head," Busch said with a laugh about that first race. "I think I qualified 10th and they dropped the green flag and guys like Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Dale (Earnhardt) Sr., just went blowing by me. And I'm flat out. I was like, 'What's the rush? I thought this was 400 miles?'

"I literally fell back to last place, and I remember radioing in and said, 'Am I last yet?' and they said, 'Yes.' And I said, 'Good.' I took a deep breath and just started passing them one at a time, and I ended up 18th and two laps down in my first race."

In 599 starts, Busch has earned 29 wins with 127 top-five finishes and 253 top-10 finishes. Busch has also earned 21 pole positions with 8,867 laps led.