Keeping up with Kyle--Kurt Busch making strides, too
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES—Eighteen years ago, Kurt Busch was as much a prognosticator as he was a marketer when he promised his younger brother would be a better racer than he is.
Seven years his senior, the elder Busch delivered a hard sell for his then 16-year-old sibling, who aspired to join the NASCAR ranks. In six truck starts with Roush Fenway Racing in 2001, there were flashes of what Kyle Busch might achieve.
But after scoring his 200th victory among NASCAR’s top three tours on Sunday, Kyle continued to prove that Kurt was right all along.
“Look at the numbers, look at the stats,” Kurt Busch said. “That was my best attempt at being a salesman when I was younger. I'm thinking I was spreading out good logic and loyal words and he backed me up with that.”
Kyle Busch celebrated his 53rd Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway—and Kurt was one of the first to Victory Lane to celebrate with the family. Not only has the “Shrub” topped his brother—and every other active driver with the exception of Jimmie Johnson for most wins in Cup—he also holds the series records for most career victories in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series with 53 and the Xfinity Series with 94.
Current NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough didn’t accumulate 100 wins between the top two national tours. And with Busch’s next Cup victory, he will tie Lee Petty for 10th on the All-time win list.
“I’m incredibly proud of him,” Kurt Busch said. “He’s always been my little brother, and I didn’t think he had that work ethic in him. When we were kids, he never did anything. He was always couch-loafing, and I could make fun of him that way being the older brother. But in all honesty, this is something very, very impressive. He continues to be the gold standard in this whole world of NASCAR, whether it’s Trucks, Xfinity, Cup—those wins need to be acknowledged—the way he does it week in and week out.
“He’s positioned himself well with all the teams that he’s racing for and that’s something to be proud of, too. In this day and age, and to only be 33 years old, there’s still a lot more work, a lot more fun and a lot more wins for Kyle Busch.”
While Kurt Busch is still searching for his first win in 2019, he’s been the top Chevy driver in three of the first five races since joining Chip Ganassi Racing. His best result of third came at Atlanta, followed by a fifth at Las Vegas, seventh at Phoenix and sixth on Sunday at Fontana.
“We had a good day,” Busch said. “I was just hoping to get a top five and came home just a bit short. But the growth rate of us at Ganassi and the adjustments we’re making, I couldn’t be happier. I’m smiling as I’m driving the car. It’s so much fun to toss it down in there with all this downforce and the horsepower, you just pitch it sideways and see if it’s going to stick.
“We know we’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s awesome to run up front. I’m smiling. But, we know at our growth rate, we’re not on a plateau yet. I’ve got to keep going.”
Busch remains ninth in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup standings, one position behind his Ganassi teammate Kyle Larson. To advance in the rankings, Busch knows the team must accumulate stage points. That has been a challenge, given the qualifying results of the No. 1 Ganassi Racing team so far. As stout as Busch was in qualifying last year—a career-best average start of 8.8—he’s been frustrated on Fridays.
“The biggest thing is we’re not getting stage points,” Busch said. “At the end of the day, I think we might only get 30 points today. It’s fun to finish well and to have that accolade, but the way you run this series is you’ve got to have stage points.
“So, we’ve got to qualify better. Right now the RCR guys are doing that. As a Chevy group, Hendrick was good at Phoenix last week. We’ve got to cover more bases quicker. We’re doing a good job of getting entrenched with each other, but we also need to start pinpointing where we can gain that time.”
Still, Busch is pleased by the progress he’s made with his new team. He’s proud of his brother’s milestone and quipped, “Not bad for two kids with an attitude from Vegas.”
Busch realizes that attitude helped fuel the sibling’s success in NASCAR. With the roll Kyle and Joe Gibbs Racing is on—as well as the Fords at Team Penske—Busch knows Ganassi can’t afford to become complacent.
“I’ve got to hold up my end of the bargain,” Busch continued. “I’ve gotten too nice and I’m not winning enough; but I’m having fun. I love the Ganassi guys. Matt McCall (crew chief) wants more. I know he does. I want more. I was hoping for a top 5 today but we’ll take it. All in all, we’re running where we need to be running.”
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