many sources are reporting that Kurt Busch, driver of the #97 Rubbermaid Ford for Roush Racing, will tests the #9 Team Rahal Gigante Champ Car during Spring Training testing at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, FL. UPDATEs: Kurt Busch is set to drive one of Team Rahals cars, today, at Sebring International Raceway. Yes, that is an open wheel car from the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford series. Set to arrive late this morning at the track he plans to meet with Michel Jourdain Jr. and the engineers from Team Rahal. Next, hell get his seat fitted and go through a debriefing with the engineers. Of course he will be fitted with a Head and Neck System device. Hell spend some time watching the second practice session scheduled at 1:15-4:30pm. Then, Busch will have the track to himself for an hour.( Ford Racing – need to register for free to read) AND This rumor is upgraded to ‘fact’ today. We have confirmed that indeed Kurt Busch will test a Champ Car today for Team Rahal. 2/4/03 – Rumor has it that Ford flew NASCAR Winston Cup driver Kurt Busch from Daytona to Sebring Tuesday for his first test drive in an open-wheel car. However, we have yet to spot him.( Autoracing1.com – need subscription to read) AND 2: Kurt Busch, third in NASCAR Winston Cup driver points last year, will test a CART Champ Car World Series car today at Sebring International Raceway in Florida. Busch, a member of the Roush Racing team, will jump into a 700-horsepower, open-wheel machine for a spin around the 1.4-mile road course. The opportunity comes during CART’s spring training session at Sebring, which ends Thursday. Busch, 24, will drive a Ford-Cosworth/Lola owned by Team Rahal. The car will be driven by Michel Jourdain Jr. of Mexico this year. A fan of open-wheel racing, Busch, who is from Las Vegas, has said in the past that he would like to to start one day in the Indianapolis 500.( Detroit Free Press – an yep it is Free, no registration needed)(2-5-2003) UPDATE: Kurt Busch turned 18 laps at Sebring International Raceway in Michael Jourdain Jr.’s Champ Car. Busch, who drives a Ford Taurus for Roush Racing in NASCAR’s Winston Cup series, was invited by Team Rahal to give its Ford-powered Lola a spin around the 1.669-mile short course during CART’s annual spring training test days. “It was an experience I could not pass up,” Busch said, grinning. “But I’m going to stick to my day job, racing on Sundays and driving Winston Cup cars.” The 24-year-old racer from Las Vegas had never sat in a Champ car before climbing into the open-cockpit Wednesday under the watchful eyes of CART veteran Jourdain, who earlier gave Busch a quick tutorial during a ride around the track in a rental car. Busch’s only previous experience in an open-wheel car was in a much less powerful Formula Ford at a racing school about four years ago. When all was in readiness Wednesday, the crew cranked up the 700-horsepower Ford Cosworth turbocharged V-8 engine at the back of the Lola and cleared a path for Busch to leave the pits. Busch stalled the engine after traveling about 10 feet. The car was pulled back and restarted, and Busch was able to pull away this time, squealing the tires as he left his pit. As he approached the second turn of his second lap, the car skidded sideways and spun to a stop just short of a low concrete wall. After being towed back to the pits and getting a tire change, Busch started to find the groove. His first timed lap was just over 61 seconds – about 103 mph. After that, Busch’s time came down steadily, finally getting down to 54.72 – about 110 mph – before a second spin ended his adventure. By comparision, rookie Patrick Lemarie was the slowest at 53.44 seconds, 112.424 mph in CART’s final session of the day, which ended just before Busch took to the track. Sebastien Bourdais, another rookie, was fast in the session at 50.95 seconds, 117.920 mph.( ThatsRacin.com/AP )(2-6-2003)
