Could Kurt Busch Race an Indy Car at ACS?

Dustin Long, MRN

Kurt Busch says it is a "good possibility" that he'll race in the Izod IndyCar Series finale in October at Auto Club Speedway to prepare for next year's Indianapolis 500.

"We're working on it," Busch said during a break in testing Monday at Watkins Glen International.  "We just have to keep our fingers crossed."

The IndyCar season finale, a night race, is Oct. 19 at Auto Club Speedway.  The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway the following day.

Busch was encouraged by his May 9 test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He passed the IndyCar rookie test and had a top lap of 218.210 mph in a car from Michael Andretti's team.

"Now that it has settled in, and I was able to find some speed and feel comfortable, I'd like to do another oval before I race Indy next year," Busch told reporters at the Watkins Glen test.

The only oval remaining on the IndyCar schedule is Auto Club Speedway. Busch has scored a victory in the Cup and Camping World Truck Series there.

Should Busch attempt to run the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 next year, he would become the first driver since Robby Gordon in 2004 to run both races in the same day.  Only Gordon, John Andretti and Tony Stewart have accomplished that feat.  Stewart has the best result, finishing sixth at Indianapolis and third at Charlotte in 2001, the final time he ran both races in the same day.

Busch's effort is contingent on sponsorship.  If money isn't found for Busch to run at Auto Club Speedway this season, he says he would feel "blind" at Indianapolis next May "and that's just going to be too much to make up."

While he awaits funding for that ride, Busch also is trying to make the Chase with Furniture Row Racing.  He's among five drivers testing at Watkins Glen International, joining AJ Allmendinger, who is driving the No. 47 for JTG/Daugherty; David Gilliland; Michael McDowell and Ron Fellows.

Busch is 14th in the points heading into this weekend's GoBowling400.com at Pocono Raceway.  He's 13 points behind Jeff Gordon, who is in 10th place - the final automatic transfer spot for the Chase.

So why the test at Watkins Glen?

"We're trying to use this as a strength, and come here and polish up and be even better," Busch said.  "You could say we're pushing all of our eggs in this basket to get the best finish we can."

Only four races remain after Wakins Glen before the Chase field is set and Busch said that "we like our chances" in those races.

That could prove pivotal for Busch, who has yet to win and has had some strong runs negated by mistakes and handling issues.

"I see a weak spot for us once tracks rubber in.  We don't seem to have the front grip and the speed like we have in practice," Busch said.  "It's been really odd to unload a lot of these weeks, be the fastest in practice and not have that same speed in the race.  A little frustrating, but we're still in the mix.  We just haven't quite delivered on a win."