Button makes history

Sunday, 29 March 2009, was a very important day for the Brawn GP racing team, as it was to be their debut as a Formula One racing team, and the stakes were high. After Honda decided that they no longer wanted to be a part of F1, Ross Brawn, the team principle took the chance to take over the team and see how far they could go. It is obvious that the change is exactly what the team needed, as they exploded on the Melbourne track for the Australian Grand Prix.

In 1950, the Alfa Romeo F1 team won their debut race, followed by the Mercedes team in 1954, who managed to pull of the same feat. And on Sunday, the Brawn GP team became the first team since 1977, to win their debut

It seems that the other teams were constantly running into trouble, with Felipe Massa (Ferarri) losing his steering and an unfortunate Kimi Raikkonen spinning out on the 48th lap. Two crashes also sent drivers out of contention, with Robert Kubica (BMW) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) crashing into each other a mere four laps before the end of the race and the collision between Nick Heidfeld (BMW) and Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) also effecting Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Mark Webber (Red Bull). Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) finished in fourth position, followed by Timo Glock (Toyota), Fernando Alonso (Renault), Nico Rosberg (Williams) and Sebastien Buemi (Red Bull).

But the day undoubtedly belonged to Brawn GP, with Button commenting after the race: “This is where we deserve to be, after the difficult times we have had. Roll on the season, I am so excited about this year.” When asked about the finish, Jenson Button had this to say, “This is a fairytale ending for the first race. Some people may say it’s a pity the race finished under the safety car but I don’t care, I won the race and that’s all I care about.”

Hometown victory for Busch

Born in the city of Las Vegas on 2 May 1985, Kyle Thomas Busch was destined to become a household name in the NASCAR industry, following in the footsteps of his brother Kurt. With supportive parents, Kyle was given the opportunity to explore his passion for driving from the early age of thirteen. Now, aged 23, Kyle Busch took his NASCAR career to a new high, by winning on his home turf in Las Vegas on Sunday.

In his first Cup racing event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Busch has to settle for a very disappointing 41st place finish. But on Sunday, he was ready to change past failures into tough, action packed and breathtaking victory. Before the race Kyle Busch, also referred to as the “Wild Thing”, prepared his fans for the race. He told the crowd that he would fall to the back and fight his way to first position, and he did not let his fans down.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway was packed with spectators as Kyle Busch pulled into pole position with his brother behind him, waiting for the race to begin. It was not an easy 285 lap race, as Busch began to fight his way through the pack, forced to drop back due to changes made to his engine. The excitement built as Busch took the lead and lost it again with 57 laps remaining. Between late pit stops, caution laps and restarts, Busch clawed his way into the lead and held off the rest of the field by widening his gap between them. Passing the checkered flag was one of the proudest moments in his racing career. Not being able to contain his joy he commented to the press: “I didn’t know exactly what it would mean, but coming to the checkered flag, there were knots in my stomach. It’s bigger than winning the Daytona 500. I said it wasn’t going to be, but it is.”

Being able to overcome difficulties, realize dreams and achieve goals at such a young age, makes Kyle Busch a deserving winner and a phenomenal driver. No doubt that his racing career will only grow stronger in the future and that he will return to Las Vegas to try and recapture Sunday’s glory.