rpm.espn.com: Kurt Busch

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Thursday, December 26
Updated: December 31, 1:37 PM ET

Kurt Busch
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com

Team: Roush Racing
Car/sponsor/make: No. 97 Rubbermaid Ford

Kurt Busch
Busch

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Top 5
Top 10
Best finish

2002 3 4 12 20 1st, four times

Career 4 12 20 First, 4 times

2002 recap
The good: Busch had arguably the best season of any driver, earning a number of career firsts, including his first four wins. He challenged for the championship and wound up being the most successful "young gun" on the circuit, with the promise of an even greater season in 2003.

Season highlight: Without question, Busch's spectacular late-season run, with three wins in the last five races. He climbed from 12th to third in just eight races late in the season.

The bad: It's hard to find anything negative to report. Like most drivers, Busch had some bad races, but for the most part, he drove with the savvy of a veteran. It's a rare driver that you can find little bad about during the course of a 36-race season.

Season lowlight: Busch's only notable bump in the road came during the three-race stretch in August from Indianapolis to Watkins Glen, N.Y., to Brooklyn, Mich., where he finished 41st, 41st and 39th, respectively. Those were three of his four worst finishes in 2002, along with a 40th at Pocono, Pa. Had he finished higher in those events, he could have stolen the title.

Kurt Busch
Young Kurt Busch celebrated four victories in 2002.

Key stat: While not exactly a statistic, the most significant element to Busch's season was the preseason "trade" of Busch's former crew chief, Ben Leslie, to Mark Martin's team in exchange for veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig. The move, orchestrated by team owner Jack Roush, proved brilliant, as Martin finished runner-up and Busch right behind in the standings.

2003 outlook
What needs to be done: Nothing. This team is as good as you're going to find, with a strong pit crew, crew chief and driver. The biggest challenge will be to do as well, if not better, in 2003.

Prediction: Given the outstanding year he had in 2002, Busch has to be considered one of the favorites for the 2003 title. The one thing he has to guard against, however, is to suffer a major setback. Busch is one of the most talented drivers on the circuit, and will only get better. With what he showed last season, he's in line to win the championship or at least finish in the top-five.

Your take
Can Busch take the next step and claim a championship? Or will he he suffer a hangover after his breakthrough run in 2002? Here are your thoughts on this Busch prospects for 2003.

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