Kurt Busch reveals that he ran Indy 500 to 'go beat' Roger Penske

Kurt Busch's racing career is one that most drivers can only dream of. On Friday, the 47-year-old from Las Vegas will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame for a career that yielded 34 NASCAR Cup Series wins, a Cup Series championship and over 800 starts across NASCAR's top-three series. 

But one of the best moments of Busch's career came in a different racing series altogether. 

In 2014, Busch finally got to compete in the Indianapolis 500, driving for Andretti Autosport. He did so in an effort to not only race in one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world, but also to try and complete the infamous Indy-Charlotte "Double" by also running NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 on the same evening. 

But in a video posted to NASCAR's YouTube channel in which Busch recapped iconic moments from his career, he revealed that he had another reason for wanting to race at Indianapolis. 

Why Kurt Busch ran the 2014 Indy 500

In 2014, Busch moved over to Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. But from 2006-11, he had driven for Team Penske in a partnership that ended on a sour note, both in regard to results and several off-track incidents in which Busch verbally abused reporters. 

Busch later apologized for his actions and got back to form in 2014, scoring his first Cup Series win with SHR at Martinsville. That was also the year he decided he wanted to take on Indianapolis. 

"I did it somewhat to prove to Roger Penske - because now I'm not racing for Penske in Cup anymore - I should've been able to race in one of his IndyCars at Indy," Busch said in the video. "He never gave me the opportunity. So I went there to kind of go beat Roger and his group of drivers." 

Busch ended up putting together a phenomenal effort at Indianapolis, earning Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors after he finished sixth. While he did finish behind two of Penske's drivers in Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya - who finished second and fifth, respectively - he managed to beat another Penske driver in Will Power, who finished eighth.