DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Remarking years ago that coming to Daytona he just waits to see when he’s going to wreck, Kyle Busch got that out of the way on Thursday night. Now, in the back up car and seemingly more at ease, the Richard Childress Racing Cup Series driver is taking this year’s Daytona 500 in stride.
Fielding questions from the media on Friday afternoon in the Godwin Kelly Deadline Room at the Daytona International Speedway, he was asked what is probably his most frequently asked question. While the Daytona 500 is the elusive brass ring he has yet to clinch, there’s a part of him that is clearly counting his blessings and absorbing the bigger picture.
Good News First
Focusing on the good news of the past year, Busch has adjusted to the professional changes with grace, while still continuing to focus on not only his own racing career but the emerging one of his eight-year-old son Brexton.
“We’re very grateful to SERVPRO for kind of jumping on board the way they did three years ago and now for the next three years going into the future,” said Busch.
“It’s really exciting for us, it’s a great piece to have, the Busch family having sponsorship, having Brexton. It’s not like we couldn’t do it but it’s a brand that could be there with Brexton in his entirety, carrying him all the way to the top of NASCAR if possible. We’ll see how all that goes. We’re eight-years-old right now. We’ve got a long road ahead of us,” he teased.
“We’ve got a lot of great things going with Brex and his program and of course, for me as well too with RCR,” he said. “I think we’re sold out, so great news all around.”
On the Track
Heading out in the back-up car for practice, Busch’s vibe is chill.
“We’ll get out there and just kind of work on the things we know we need in our car which is the drivability of it, I’ll get out there and probably make a single car lap or two, just to kind of make sure the heights are good, nothing’s bobbing out, nothing’s not how we expect it to be and then we’ll get in the back draft with our Chevy partner teams and go out there and make some laps, trade some positions,” said Busch.
There Is No Bad News
As one of the sport’s undeniable champions, Busch offered examples of how to handle the pressure of striving for the win.
“Kyle, you’ve expressed over and over what winning the Daytona 500 would mean and just that’s the one thing on the bucket of missing things. If there’s one thing you’re stiving for, can it get too big or how do you manage it? You get asked it every year,” asked Dustin Long, NBC Sports.
“I would say for me, the biggest thing that helped me through that is 2015 and being in the championship race in Homestead, and letting that race play out, and letting everything kind of happen. We went into that race playing with house money and nobody thought we should be there, all this stuff, whatever,” said Busch. “We were like, ok well, we’re not going to be expected to win a championship so let’s go out and see what we can do. Low and behold we win the race and the championship. That kind of taught me right there where you can’t force things always. Even last year I tried to force situations and I ended up spun out, back in the fence, backing up down the race track to get to my pit box,” he said.
“You just have to kind of play it out as it comes to you and be ready for the unexpected, I guess.”
Does he still get butterflies?
“Probably five years in it was kind of like it’s big moments, butterflies all that sort of stuff, those feelings, especially when you get down toward the end. Since I’d gotten comfortable at JGR it was kind of like it’s just another race, don’t let it get to you, don’t let the meaning of this race counter-react the events of you trying to win.
“I did Vegas, for instance. I went to Las Vegas, my home track, I watched that place be built, all that, I put so much pressure on winning an Xfinity race there that I crashed every year, did stupid stuff, spinning out at the checkered flag, whatever. Finally, we won that thing and it was a relief. It was like, you really didn’t have to do as much. You have to put all the right pieces in the right places. You have to have a good car, you have to have good pit stops, you’ve got to do you job and if we can all do our job and execute as our team this Number 8 Zone Camero on Sunday, then if it’s meant to be and it’s our cards, it’s our day, then by all means we’ll celebrate like crazy.”
