Kurt Busch is not the first NASCAR champion to become a professional drag racer. When Busch opens Pro Stock qualifying today in the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla., he will join the ranks of Richard Petty and David Pearson as NASCAR stars who ventured into quarter-mile racing. Petty and Pearson competed in drag racing in 1965 to protest NASCAR's decision that year to ban their powerful Plymouth 426 Hemi engines. NASCAR still won't allow the hemi in its series, but one will be under the hood of Busch's Dodge Avenger as he gets four chances over two days to qualify for one of 16 spots in Sunday's championship elimination rounds in the NHRA's most competitive division. Read more: http://www.lvrj.com/sports/kurt-busch-ready-for-his-nhra-debut-117789123.html
