Kurt Busch goes from suspension to garage to Sprint Cup practice at Phoenix

Ray Slover

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Kurt Busch goes from suspension to garage to Sprint Cup practice at Phoenix image

"The Outlaw" is dead. Welcome back to Sprint Cup racing, Kurt Busch.

Friday's practice at Phoenix marked the first time Busch was on a NASCAR track since the sports' sanctioning body suspended him two days before the Daytona 500.

So, how did Busch do?

And what was the reception?

Joey Logano was fastest in Friday's practice  with a best lap of  138.771. He was a smidge faster than Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, at 138.750.

"Everything feels good," Busch said after practice. "The seat, the belts and just the love from the crew guys, it's been pretty cool the way the garage feels like a fraternity. It's nice to see good friends."

Busch turned a best lap time of 137.289, sitting 17th among drivers in the two practice sessions.

NASCAR reinstated Busch on Wednesday, believing he had fulfilled requirements to end his suspension. It banned Busch after a Delaware court completed its work on his domestic dispute with former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll last fall ahead of the Dover race weekend.

MORE: Is this Busch's last chance? | Weekend schedule | Driver rankings | Kyle Busch recovering

Busch remains on probation, and in his first talk with media members on Thursday he sounded ready to behave himself. That remains to be seen because Busch had yet to face a mob of media members at the track.

With Friday evening's qualifying for Sunday's Campingworld.com 400, Busch should go face to face with people who bore the brunt of his anger.

Busch's self-embraced nickname is gone from about his driver-door window. Instead, his signature appears.

Busch is well on his way to proving he remains a championship-quality driver. This is the start of testing on whether he can mind his P's and Q's as well as he makes left turns.

Busch's Stewart-Haas Racing teammates told USA Today that they like having him back at the track.

"I think everybody is just excited we're able to put it all behind us," Kevin Harvick said Friday. "I don't really know much about it other than it seems like it's on its way to being over. Having Kurt back in the car is an asset to everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. Everything he does inside that race car is a benefit to us. Definitely looking forward to just worrying about racing the cars."

Here's what Danica Patrick had to say on Thursday:

"For anyone who has been involved in legal and law proceedings of any kind, you know there's no timeline for any of it – things take a long time and then they just happen. I'm really glad to have him back as a teammate. But you can never anticipate when the time will come when you know (about legal situations being resolved)."

Ray Slover