Kurt
Busch returns to his hometown for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 Sprint Cup Series race at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, returning to a place where, almost a decade and a
half ago, he took a leave of absence from working the graveyard shift at the
Las Vegas Valley Water District to pursue his NASCAR dream.
After
graduating in 1996 from Durango High School in Spring Valley, Nev., Busch left
his home state to pursue a pharmacy degree at the University of Arizona. After
a year where schoolwork took a back seat – quite literally – to racing, Busch grew
tired of doing homework in the back seat of the transporter and returned to Vegas
to work for the Water District.
There
was a method to his madness.
When
Busch was approximately nine years old, his father asked him, “What do you need
to survive in this world?”
Kurt
responded, “Money,” and his father encouraged him to think of a public utility
that people cannot live without. That conversation eventually led him to pursue
a career at the water district, where Busch eventually scored a full-time spot
on the graveyard shift in 1998.
“We
were pretty much the construction and fixer-upper group,” he recalls. “We
replaced service lines, fire hydrants and handled water main breaks. I applied
for the job to try and get some steady income rolling, but all along, it was
about racing. Racing, racing, racing… that’s where I wanted to be.”
While
the schedule did little for his social life, it turned out to be a blessing in
disguise, allowing Busch to go racing on the weekends.
“We
would work four ‘10s,’ (10-hour days),” recalls Busch. “I’d go to work at 8 p.m.
and get off at 6 a.m. When I got off on Friday, I didn’t have to be back at
work until 8 p.m. Monday. That gave me all weekend to play with race cars. Then
on Monday, I would sleep all day (before getting) up to go to work.”
By
2000, Busch’s success at the wheel of a race car had earned him a driving contract
with Roush Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He took a 12-month
leave of absence from the Water District to pursue his racing dream, and 11
months later, picked up the phone and informed his boss that he would not be returning
to the Graveyard Shift, instead accepting a full-time Sprint Cup Series ride
for the following year.
As
a token of appreciation to his former Water District co-workers, Busch returned
the following year as a full-blown NASCAR star, throwing a pizza party for the
boys on the night shift.
“I
came back in March and bought pizza for everyone, as a thank you for holding my
spot,” he said. “I was the new guy… helping do the grunt work, but there were a
lot of life lessons that I learned from those guys.”
Now,
15 years later, the Las Vegas native is set to make his 473rd career
Sprint Cup Series start, this time driving the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet
for Stewart Haas Racing. And who knows, maybe he’ll bump into one of his old
cronies from the water crew.
“In
Phoenix last week, I ran into a guy named Vern; one of my crew leaders (who)
has since retired,” said Busch. “Here he is in my autograph line at the
souvenir trailer and he said, ‘Hey Kurt, remember me? I’m Vern.’
“I
was like, ‘Yeah, Vern, I remember you.’
"That group of guys isn’t there anymore
and I’m sure it wouldn’t be the same, but when I was nine years old and Dad
asked me, ‘What do you need to live in life,’ it’s funny that was the direction
he was trying to push me.”
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