Roush: Busch 'used up his equity' with team

 

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - When Kurt Busch was suspended from Roush Racing for the final two races of the 2005 season, it afforded a rare look at the complex relationship between car owners and drivers.

Sometimes those relationships erode quickly. In Busch's case, his actions in Arizona were the straw that broke the camel's back.

Busch had been on the Roush Racing payroll for six full seasons, but dialogue between Busch and owner Jack Roush ceased as the season wore on.

Roush now says that he has not talked to Busch in a month, and it is unclear whether Busch will represent the team at next month's Nextel Cup awards ceremony.

Even with the two-race suspension, Busch is guaranteed 10th place in the standings -- and a spot on the stage at the ceremony.

"I don't know about the banquet. I'm not sure what convention requires or what Nextel will require there. I'm just not sure," Roush said. Roush said on Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway that reinstating Busch for the season finale was not an option.

"Kurt had been a challenge for everybody that interacted with him on the team at some time or other," Roush said."He used up his equity with his sponsors. He used up his equity with me."

Initially, Roush was going to let Busch finish the season, but as facts were collected, Roush reconsidered.

"When I heard of what happened on Friday night out there, I thought I could personally stand aside from it," Roush said. "I thought that we'd be able to go on through the two races here and get through it.

"As the news came in I didn't understand, first of all, how animated and how much difficulty the people had stopping him and talking to him. I didn't realize the angst that was there and the emotion that went with that and their willingness to report it and talk about it.

"Then, of course, the outrage in the broader community and the embarrassment that we felt for it, it was just time for Kurt to fix his problem and to let the rest of us move on."

Busch was scheduled to take part in track appearances at Homestead-Miami in conjunction with his Nextel Cup title reign, but those appearances were canceled.