Fast Times at Durango High for NASCAR’s Kurt Busch

When he pulled into the student lot Thursday, NASCAR star Kurt Busch said the memories washed over him like dirty air over a spoiler. So he parked in the same space he did while attending Durango High School during the 1990s.

“Last row, tucked into the corner. I didn’t want any door dings on my Volkswagen bug,” the 2017 Daytona 500 winner said after his alma mater “retired” his number — or at least a replica of the hood from the Sharpie Ford he drove to the 2004 Cup Series championship — during an assembly in the Trailblazers’ gym.

The stands were packed and the Durango fight song was played and Busch came running onto the court as if he were a member of the basketball team that won back-to-back state championships in 1995 and 1996, the year he graduated.

He answered racing questions from students and even drove in a Big Wheel race against some of them. Busch finished last. He did celebratory doughnuts anyway. He seemed to be enjoying the show of admiration.

These were Fast Times at Durango High.

“Wow — it was an amazing experience to see all the kids pile in and the support. It really brought me back to the days of being here at Durango High School,” said Busch, who was wearing a T-shirt under his blazer and athletic socks emblazoned with the Trailblazers’ Zorro-style Z.

“You feel that school spirit. It seems like it’s much stronger now, but maybe I’m just older and I appreciate it more.”

Busch, who will be among 39 drivers attempting Pole Day qualifying runs Friday for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, presented a Victory Lane-sized check of $5,000 to Nate Miller, the Durango High principal.

Miller was the point guard on those state champion Durango basketball teams. “Judging from his gray hair, it looks like it’s a lot harder to be a school principal than a racecar driver,” Busch said, nearly earning another detention.

In-N-Out Burger, Verrazano Pizza on the corner of Flamingo and Rainbow, Chicago Joe’s on 4th Street in old downtown … Busch said he was checking off all the usual stops, but nothing compared to coming back to his old school and seeing all those students in the gym.

“I was trying out for the baseball team when I was a freshman and wasn’t developing as quickly as the other players … that was when my dad (Tom, who was sitting in the bleachers along with Kurt’s mom, Gaye; his new bride, Ashley; and some teachers who gave him B-pluses) sent me on a road trip to pick up a racing chassis. I think he saw the transition happening for me as a young man.”

Kurt Busch mentioned attending high school with Ryan Ludwick, and the success Ludwick attained as an All-Star outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals — and how Durango was now feting him in much the same way it honored Ludwick.

“Racing is different,” he said. “It’s not your normal ball-and-stick sport. I was running those races every Friday and Saturday night, and it took away a little bit of the normal high school life, because we were racing so much.

“There were a few times when some of the guys and some of the girls would come out and support me at the racetrack, and I felt that extra pressure — like maybe I can make the morning announcements if I win.”

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.