SPEED Special: Kurt Busch The Outlaw Reveals All Sides Of Enigmatic Champion

SPEED™ SPECIAL KURT BUSCH THE OUTLAW REVEALS ALL SIDES of ENIGMATIC CHAMPION

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES in PRIMETIME on NOV. 15 at 8 P.M. ET

Many things have been said about NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch – champion, competitor, racer… enigma. There might be one more as well – outlaw.

From Zero Point Zero Production, the Emmy Award-winning producers of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, national cable television network, SPEED (Twitter: @speed), presents an hour-long special about one of NASCAR’s most interesting drivers – Kurt Busch The Outlaw. The special premieres Thurs., Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

“I first met Kurt at his girlfriend Patricia (Driscoll)’s Armed Forces Foundation gala,” said Executive Producer Jennifer Williams. “Then I spent some time with him outside the track and I was struck by how truly humble and funny he was. I had a hard time imagining that this was the same guy who was the cause of so much trouble and getting so many headlines. There had to be more to him, and it made me want to dig deeper. When you do, you find a Kurt Busch who is incredibly complex and engaging. It’s all those layers that make for good television.”

"I am a very private person who lives a very public life," said Busch, on the show. "I have done something I have never really done before and opened up the door to my private life for the camera to see. This wasn't an easy thing for me to do, but I thought it was time for people to see me through a different lens."

There’s much to be learned from Busch’s story. He started his Sprint Cup Series journey in 2001, breaking out in 2002 with four victories and more than $6.2 million in total earnings. He scored another four race triumphs the next season, building a mass of energy that pushed him towards the sport’s ultimate prize in 2004 – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship.

In 2006, the Las Vegas native moved over to Penske Racing’s famous No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, becoming the heir apparent to Rusty Wallace’s Hall of Fame legacy. Kurt Busch was at the top of his game and in line to become the next NASCAR luminary - a time of great personal triumph.

Since then however, Busch’s career has taken a different turn. Plagued by well-documented incidents both on and off the track, he’s been forced to re-evaluate his career and rebuild the momentum he once had, recently taking over the driving duties for Colorado-based Furniture Row Racing.

“It’s that old game that I played when I was a kid out in the desert, we’d find a big dirt mound and it was called, ‘King of the Hill,’” said Busch, in Kurt Busch The Outlaw. “And you stood up top and people tried to come up and grab your foot and yank you down. But when you’re there, the view is great.”

Williams feels Busch’s story is an intriguing one.

“And I think ‘we’ - meaning everyone here at Zero Point Zero Production - bring a fresh perspective to not only Kurt's story, but also the sport,” Williams said. “We produce a lot of shows about interesting characters that cross many genres and we look at the whole picture - not just small snapshots. All NASCAR drivers - not just Kurt - are human and that often gets lost. They all screw up. But it’s their ability - or inability - to redeem themselves that makes for an interesting story that everyone can understand - whether you're a lifelong NASCAR fan or brand new to the sport. And whether you love him or hate him, you'll want to watch because he's just that compelling.”