Kurt Busch will be at Indy 500 with Andretti

The weekend of May 25 promises to be busy for Kurt Busch. The new recruit of the Stewart-Haas Racing confirmed on Racer.com that he would be the first driver in the Nascar since Robby Gordon in 2003 to participate in the Indianapolis 500, contested on the same weekend as the Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, in an Andretti Autosport DW12. The 2004 Nextel Cup champion should be at the wheel of the No. 26 with which rookie Carlos Munoz took second place last year behind Tony Kanaan.

The challenge promises to be difficult to meet. Kurt Busch will have to compete in two major oval races on the same day with 600 miles from Charlotte on his No. 4 Chevrolet SS and 500 miles on the DW12, or 1100 miles (1770km) in the same day! But the Indy 500 will demand its presence during the previous two weeks. The first trip will take place after the Kansas Speedway race on May 10, before starting around ten round trips between Charlotte and Indianapolis. Only Robby Gordon, John Andretti and Tony Stewart have taken on this challenge in the past.

“Maybe I'm a little old for a racing driver. It will really be a challenge in motorsport”, comments the 35-year-old American who already took part in the rookie tests with Andretti Autosport last year. “I enjoy seeing drivers racing different cars testing themselves in other disciplines. This is difficult to implement for several reasons, but I want to jump in when the opportunity presents itself. While Nascar is my home, I had the chance to race Pro Stock on the NHRA circuit a few years ago and also got to race a V8 Supercar. This opportunity came from a discussion with Michael (Andretti) at a dinner and it became a reality. It's great to be able to talk about it with Tony (Stewart) who has already been there. »

Kurt Busch featuresa website allowing you to follow your preparation program for a double weekend.