Magic Mile Moment No. 8: Kurt Busch Completes Sprint Cup Season Sweep At NHMS

(Press Release from New Hampshire Motor Speedway)

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is celebrating 25 years of racing at the track with a countdown of memorable moments 

Kurt Busch capped off a season sweep at NHMS in 2004, winning the Siemens 300 in July and the Sylvania 300 in September (above), the first race in the inaugural NASCAR Chase for the Cup, which Busch would go on to win. (Photo: Courtesy of New Hampshire Motor Speedway)

LOUDON, N.H. – Kurt Busch led 155 laps and drove away from Matt Kenseth to win the SYLVANIA 300 on Sept. 19, 2004 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The victory was historic for NASCAR, as it marked the first race in the first-ever Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, a 10-race playoff that remains in place today.

This unforgettable moment is No. 8 on New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s top-10 moments of all-time as it celebrates 25 years of racing at the Magic Mile.

“The car led fantastically,” said Busch, who picked up his second straight win at the Magic Mile, having won the July race that season, too.

The rain that canceled qualifying and Saturday’s practice sessions did not hinder Busch’s Roush Fenway Racing team on that Sunday. Busch was strong en route to his win that July, and knowing they would be coming back for the inaugural Chase race, the team put the winning car in the garage, kept it covered and didn’t remove it from beneath its wrapping until September.

Like July, Busch took over the point halfway to the finish and sprinted ahead of the field. Only a caution on Lap 177 kept Busch from really stretching his lead.

“We put this car aside (for the Chase),” said Busch. “We knew how important this race was.”

Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five.

Great seats are still available for the 2015 Oxford Casino Season of Speed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series New Hampshire 301 right around the corner on Sunday, July 19. To purchase tickets please call the NHMS ticket hotline at (603)783-4931 or visit www.nhms.com.