Kurt earned his big break with tragedy. Chris Trickle was shot in a mysterious way and was killed. The Star Nursery team looked for a new driver to replace Trickle in the #70 team. Kurt drove for the team and won the 1999 AutoZone Elite Division Southwest Series championship.
During a race in 2007, after crashing with Tony Stewart, Kurt pulled up beside Tony's car on a pit road and almost ran over one of Tony's crew members. He was suspended from the next race and fined $100,000.
Kurt: Each driver has their own identity and from one week to another, normally it stays the same. I feel comfortable around every driver out there and each driver is in charge of their own car, but you feel very secure racing the competition out there.