Goals include: Daytona 500 win; a NASCAR Truck Series championship; 100 NASCAR Cup Series wins
Kyle Busch has wins galore in all divisions of the NASCAR ladder system. He joined the sport in 2004 and has run 462 races in the last 14 years.
183 trips to victory lane later, there’s still some things on the bucket list. After twelve attempts, Kyle Busch has a best Daytona 500 finish of 3rd (2016).
“Mark Martin is probably the most notable and best driver in our sport, for a long long time that doesn’t have many of the high end victories. But, he’s got so many other victories,” Kyle Busch draws a parallel to his own career during Daytona 500 media day.
Mark Martin had twenty-nine attempts at a Daytona 500 victory. He came up just short with a best finish of 2nd. Martin was recently inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
“For me, the Daytona 500 is at the top, no question. Right under that’s gotta be the Coke 600.”
Kyle Busch has already won other crown-jewels of NASCAR; Brickyard 400, The All-Star race, Southern 500 and he swept Bristol weekend (twice).
“None more special than the Daytona 500 trophy. It only comes once a year, so it’s one of the hardest one’s to get.”
Kyle Busch has run 140 NASCAR Truck Series races in his career. Of those, he’s won 49 of them. A win percentage of 35%. But, what Kyle Busch doesn’t have is a NASCAR Truck Series championship.
Due to modern NASCAR rules, full-time MENCS drivers and full-time NXS drivers are not allowed to run for points in the NASCAR Truck Series. In order for Busch to grab that championship, he would have to retire as a full-time cup series driver.
Is a NASCAR Truck Series Championship on the list?
“It’s so far down the road because I’m not allowed to,” Kyle Busch says during Daytona 500 Media Day. “It’s pretty much, lower on the list.”
“That’s obviously one that I’d like to be able to get in the future. I’m focused on the Cup stuff at the moment.”
How many NASCAR Cup Series wins does Kyle Busch want before he retires?
“A few years ago, the number was 100. But, I don’t know if that one’s feasible. Certainly, I’m going to try.”
Kyle Busch has spent the last 15 years of his career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. In that time, he’s collected 43 wins. 14 of them have come in the previous 3 seasons.
“I’d say I have 10-12-15 years ahead of me. 5 races a year, times ten. That will get us close.”
“The five on average, per year, I better get there. But, the racing these days and the competition these days and the drivers you’re racing against these days — It’s getting a lot tougher and I’m not getting any younger.”
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Links
Kyle Busch | NASCAR
