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Sports Moments That Are Freaking Awesome: Moment #3
Okay, it's time for a NASCAR moment. For this entry, we're going with Kurt Busch v. Ricky Craven, Darlington 2003, also known as the Best Finish Of All Time.
Lady in Black (Darlington Raceway) + brash up and comer (Kurt Busch) + single car team with old school driver (Ricky Craven) = racing that no one expected
Darlington is the baddest, toughest track currently on the NASCAR circuit. It's a bitch. You don't race each other out there, you race the track. Open wheel drivers new to the sport have cussed the track because it's all you can do to stay off the wall.
You don't have battles in the last laps at Darlington, because someone usually has a great day there and runs away from the field. They get in the moment, find their zen, and conquer the bitch.
In 2003, Kurt Busch was racing for Roush, the biggest team in the sport (they have 5 cars) with amazing resources. Ricky Craven was driving for Cal Wells, a one car team that was struggling and desperately trying to stay afloat by making amazing engines. (Cal Wells has since folded and left the sport.) Ricky Craven had only one win under his belt (and the win at Darlington would be his only other win). But that day, neither planned on giving up the win, and what's considered the best racing in NASCAR history happened.
Kurt Busch had lost power steering. That's hard enough for those of us in our street cars. He lost it and almost won the race at the hardest track. In the last three laps, they swapped the lead three times. They slammed into one another, hit the wall multiple times, and wrecked coming across the finish line. Craven's saving grace may have come in the form of the nose design on his car - Pontiacs had a slight kick out on the nose at that time. Busch had a Ford.
The margin of victory - .002:
2 one thousandths of a second.
But bigger than the margin of victory was the fact that it was amazing racing, with neither man willing to give, but with clean racing all around. In the end, Craven came out on top, and Busch was happy to be second, which is something that no one ever wants to be. But he recognized something - that the racing was more important. It's one of the few times that the runner up will be remembered, because they're inextricably linked by some of the most amazing racing ever.
Okay, it's time for a NASCAR moment. For this entry, we're going with Kurt Busch v. Ricky Craven, Darlington 2003, also known as the Best Finish Of All Time.
Lady in Black (Darlington Raceway) + brash up and comer (Kurt Busch) + single car team with old school driver (Ricky Craven) = racing that no one expected
Darlington is the baddest, toughest track currently on the NASCAR circuit. It's a bitch. You don't race each other out there, you race the track. Open wheel drivers new to the sport have cussed the track because it's all you can do to stay off the wall.
You don't have battles in the last laps at Darlington, because someone usually has a great day there and runs away from the field. They get in the moment, find their zen, and conquer the bitch.
In 2003, Kurt Busch was racing for Roush, the biggest team in the sport (they have 5 cars) with amazing resources. Ricky Craven was driving for Cal Wells, a one car team that was struggling and desperately trying to stay afloat by making amazing engines. (Cal Wells has since folded and left the sport.) Ricky Craven had only one win under his belt (and the win at Darlington would be his only other win). But that day, neither planned on giving up the win, and what's considered the best racing in NASCAR history happened.
Kurt Busch had lost power steering. That's hard enough for those of us in our street cars. He lost it and almost won the race at the hardest track. In the last three laps, they swapped the lead three times. They slammed into one another, hit the wall multiple times, and wrecked coming across the finish line. Craven's saving grace may have come in the form of the nose design on his car - Pontiacs had a slight kick out on the nose at that time. Busch had a Ford.
The margin of victory - .002:
2 one thousandths of a second.
But bigger than the margin of victory was the fact that it was amazing racing, with neither man willing to give, but with clean racing all around. In the end, Craven came out on top, and Busch was happy to be second, which is something that no one ever wants to be. But he recognized something - that the racing was more important. It's one of the few times that the runner up will be remembered, because they're inextricably linked by some of the most amazing racing ever.
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