Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was made available to media prior to the Texas Motor Speedway race this Saturday:
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Crunchy Cookie Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
How important is it for you to win the All-Star race from a financial standpoint? With all of Brexton’s racing, we’re worried about your finances.
“Are you insinuating I’m broke? You should be considering the best thing I got going right now for next year is a test driver. Sim driver. I did hear though that that pays over 100 grand so I’m excited about that. Truth be told, yeah, coming in Texas, All-Star race, I mean, you it’s kind of that old adage of bring home the steering wheel or bring home the checkered flag right, so hoping we can bring home the checkered flag that would certainly be nice. I’ve only done that once in the All-Star race but you know, looking forward to this year’s format and the different things that it has going for us this weekend and obviously bringing back some pit crew element into that excited about showcasing my guys and how fast they’ve been this year. So they deserve to get some love.”
How is your momentum going into the 600 with the good runs on mile-and-a-half tracks?
“I mean, the mile and a half stuff has kind of been our bread and butter a little bit this year, I guess you’d say. You know, California we were okay. I thought we were quick, but we got behind early, but then Vegas and Kansas was really good. We were fast there. So being another mile and a half here, hopefully that means well.”
How has it been being a ‘girl dad’ for a week or so now?
“It’s good. Last night was a little rough, didn’t get much sleep last night, but she’s been great otherwise. So it’s been a lot of fun. Brexton has been pitching in and helping out and stuff like that. So it’s been nice to just be home the last couple of weeks. Haven’t had a whole lot to do, which it was planned that way. But Charlotte week next week is going to be a disaster. So lots of help needed next week.”
Is running in the Indy 500 still on your radar?
“Yeah, I mean, you know, it’s certainly on my radar. The year that I had it sold and committed and sponsorship was there and everything like that, I got told no. And then I haven’t necessarily tried to sell sponsorship since, but there was an easy verbal yes, commitment. And things have changed obviously, so don’t have that these days, but overall, excited to be able to watch and cheering for old pal, Jimmie Johnson to go out there and run well and do good. He’s always been fast in stock cars and everything else so it’s no surprise to see him being up on the charts this time around. And looking forward to seeing him go next Sunday.”
What are you expecting at Texas with this new race car?
“I don’t know, there was a test here earlier this year, a tire test and such. I think (Ryan) Blaney was here and he was really fast. Unfortunately, our Toyota bunch, we crashed out early so we didn’t get a whole lot of data. So we may be a little behind the eight ball, but the past mile and a half this year would argue otherwise. So we’d like to think we come out here and we’re fast and we have good strong race cars to go out here and try to win a million bucks.”
Did your Truck Series drivers tell you anything about the resin on the race track?
“I mean, to me, just watching the truck race, it looked to be about normal. You know, you can get in it, dabble in it a little longer the outside way around, but it does seem to have grip and you can make some runs off the top the corners and try to make some moves down the straightaway in such. Same old Texas it looked to me so not much different.”
TRD PR
- Ag-Pro 300 starting lineup at Talladega Superspeedway - April 19, 2024
- Rick Ware Racing: Justin Haley/Cody Ware Talladega Race Advance - April 19, 2024
- Young’s Motorsports Talladega Superspeedway Xfinity Spring Team Preview - April 19, 2024