Kurt Busch to start eighth in return
— -- AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Kurt Busch strapped himself into a race car Friday at Phoenix International Raceway for the first time in three weeks. It was easy for him to explain how he felt.
"That feeling was home," Busch said.
Amid hugs from Stewart-Haas Racing crew members as he walked in the garage, the 2004 Sprint Cup champion felt a warm welcome at PIR as he returned from a NASCAR suspension.
Just hours after the first practice, Busch had a solid qualifying effort and will start eighth Sunday in the CampingWorld.com 500.
" 'Glad you're back' is what I hear a lot of [in the garage], and I'm thankful to be back and to have this competitive car that I can put in the top 10 on the first day out," Busch said after qualifying.
With the opening race at a restrictor-plate track and the next two races on 1.5-mile tracks, Busch hopes he isn't at too much of a disadvantage heading into the race Sunday on the 1-mile PIR.
"Mine is a little bit of a learn as you go with the draft and the dirty air on Sunday," Busch said. "But overall I'm very pleased. ... I don't feel like I'm too far behind. This is the first short track of the year."
NASCAR suspended Busch on Feb. 20 after a Delaware family court commissioner determined that the preponderance of the evidence in a protective order hearing showed that Busch had committed an act of domestic violence against ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll on Sept. 26 at Dover International Speedway.
The attorney general's office declined to press charges -- announcing March 5 that it felt it could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt -- and NASCAR reinstated Busch and granted him a waiver Wednesday from the rule that a driver must compete in every event to be eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
"Everything feels good," Busch said after the opening practice. "The seat, the belts and just the love from the crew guys has been pretty cool [with] the way that the garage feels like a fraternity, and it's nice to see good friends."
Busch was fastest early in the first practice session Friday and ended up 17th as teams began working on qualifying setups.
"For me, just to get some laps in today, in race trim, the car seems fast," Busch said. "[In qualifying trim], it's a different game this year. ... I've got to learn the cars and the feel because it looks like the lap times are so tight. So if you mess up just a little bit, the [car] is [in position] 17."
Was he worried about the reception in the garage?
"We're here to race," Busch said. "That's all we're here to do."
Busch will need to race well over the next 23 races to make the Chase. He likely would need to win a race and finish in the top 30 in points, something that is certainly doable even though he is 42 points out of 30th because he has earned zero points this year. He also could make the Chase based on points if there are not 16 winners during the 26 regular-season events.
Regan Smith had replaced Busch for the first three races in the car, which team co-owner Gene Haas supports through his Haas Automation company.
"Everybody is just excited that we're able to just kind of put it all behind us," said Kevin Harvick, a Busch teammate at SHR. "I don't really know much about it other than it seems like it's on its way to being over.
"And to have Kurt back in the car is an asset to everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and from a performance side. And everything that he does inside that race car is a benefit to us. So we're definitely looking forward to just worrying about racing the car."
Busch still has a little bit of a legal battle ahead of him, as he is appealing the ruling on the protective order. Kent County (Delaware) Family Court Commissioner David Jones issued an opinion Feb. 20 that the preponderance of the evidence during the protective order hearing showed that Busch committed an act of domestic violence against Driscoll "by manually strangling her by placing his left hand on her throat, while placing his right hand on her chin and face and smashing her head into the wall of his motor home." Busch contends that he cupped her cheeks with his hands and repeatedly asked her to leave his motor home. The couple's four-year relationship had ended a week earlier.
NASCAR stated Wednesday that it required Busch to have meetings with a domestic violence expert, who recommended that Busch be reinstated immediately. Busch will undergo additional steps to address his behavior, NASCAR said, without being specific.
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