Kyle Busch comments on Richard Petty’s 200 win count

Kyle Busch now has 199 wins, one short of Richard Petty’s NASCAR record

Richard Petty collected 200 wins in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. That records remains as the most all-time in the sport.

Petty picked up his first win in 1960 at the Southern States Fairgrounds in Charlotte, North Carolina. His last win came in 1984 at Daytona International Speedway.

33-year-old, Kyle Busch wasn’t even born yet. He didn’t get to see Petty in his prime or even as a winning driver.

However, Kyle Busch now sits at 199 wins across all three of the top three divisions in NASCAR. Two were added with the weekend sweep in Phoenix, Arizona last weekend. Soon, he will surpass Richard Petty as the winningest driver in NASCAR.

Kyle Busch wins at ISM Raceway - Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - TicketGuardian 500 - Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - TicketGuardian 500
AVONDALE, AZ – MARCH 10: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Skittles Toyota, celebrates with his wife, Samantha, and son, Brexton, after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway on March 10, 2019 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

Kyle Busch on 200 wins

“It’s a pretty cool accomplishment. There’s so many different ways you can argue it or debate it. It has nothing to do with Richard. It’s just solely a number,” Kyle Busch stated after his latest win.

“Being able to go out there and celebrate 200 wins — I don’t know if it will happen again. But, if it does then that person should cherish that moment.”

“I hate that you get beat up so much about an accomplishment. But, I guess that’s part of life. Haters gonna hate.”

Busch isn’t at 200 wins just yet. He’s only two short. But, he already has plans in place for his next goal, which is 100 total NASCAR Cup Series wins.

“Certainly, as I get older here, it’s going to start slowing down. And with the restrictions that I’m under, it already has. I would have been to 200 a hell of a long time ago if I would have run as many races as I wanted to.

When NASCAR heads to Texas, Kyle Busch will run the triple. At Martinsville, he’ll run Truck and Cup.

“It would certainly mean more if it came in a cup car than if it did in an Xfinity or Truck. But, it is what it is. It’s going to happen eventually. It could happen in a truck at Martinsville. If it does, it does, so be it. We’ll still celebrate win number 200.”

Richard Petty's 5th Daytona 500 winning 1974 Dodge Charger which sold for $490,000 at auction
Richard Petty’s 5th Daytona 500 winning 1974 Dodge Charger which sold for $490,000 at auction

Richard Petty vs Kyle Busch

“The dude one an awful lot of races. But, it was all before my time,” Kyle Busch said of Richard Petty.

“I remember waiting Darrell [Waltrip] later in his career. Those were the days when Gordon was coming up. Bobby was becoming better. Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Dale Jarrett — All those guys in the mid to late 90’s was my time.”

Richard Petty won all 200 races in the NASCAR Cup Series. Currently, 51 of 198 wins for Kyle Busch came in the MENCS. In a lot of ways, it’s comparing apples to oranges.

“It’s not my job to compare or say which one was harder or easier. There’s other people out there that can argue that fact who have seen Richard Petty run races that were 50-lappers back at the Fairgrounds. It was a cup race and there were 16 cars in the field.”

“It’s not for me to argue. I don’t care.”

“What I said from the beginning of all of this… It’s not a comparison to Richard Petty’s 200 wins. It is my own and an accomplishment of itself that should stand alone separate from Richard.”

“Hell, I could say right now that I’m the winningest driver on pavement, ever, in the the top three series. Richard doesn’t have 200 pavement wins. So, booyah.”

Kyle Busch NASCAR Stats

NASCAR totals across all three national series: (Updated March 17, 2019)

Starts: 998
Wins: 200 (20%)
Top 5 Finishes: 496 (49.6%)
Top 10 Finishes: 642 (64.3%)
Laps Led: 42,085 of 224,289 (18.7%)

Richard Petty NASCAR Stats

NASCAR Cup Series totals:

Starts: 1184
Wins: 200 (16%)
Top 5 Finishes: 555 (46.8%)
Top 10 Finishes: 712 (60.1%)
Laps Led: 51,412 of 307,836 (16.7%)

Wins in the NASCAR Convertible Series and K&N Pro Series have been excluded.

More

Kyle Busch has caused new limiting rules since his first year in the NASCAR Truck Series

Kyle Busch is planning a retirement from the NASCAR Xfinity Series

Links

Kyle Busch | Richard Petty | NASCAR

Categories

Tags