Indy 500 practices underway for Kurt Busch:
The runs Kurt Busch had made up to Sunday in the #26 Suretone Honda for Andretti Autosport were solely single-car runs, where he had a chance to acclimate simply to the nature and handling of the lighter, less powerful IndyCar compared to the heavier, more brutal and higher horsepower NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car. Sunday marked Busch’s first chance to run in traffic, in dirty air, in a moment he appreciated. He banked 31 laps on the day, with his fastest on lap 29 of 220.352 mph good for P12 on the time sheets. “It was a nice rookie day to go play in traffic,” said the 2004 Sprint Cup champion. “The Andretti Autosport guys ramped up where we are with the levels, to get in dirty air. Today was a nice shakedown, and the second run was a baseline run. It was nice to have a champion, Ryan Hunter-Reay, take me around, and then with Munoz and E.J. Viso. It’s just neat to move to the next step, which is to go out there in dirty air and draft with teammates.” Busch described the difference of running in traffic in NASCAR versus traffic in IndyCar as “times 10,” in IndyCar, so he could easily catch the car in front of them. With less horsepower, it’s a lot to digest. Busch and the rest of the five-car Andretti Autosport effort resume practice on Monday.(NBC Sports)(5-12-2014)