NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The weight of an unfulfilling season, deciding where he would race in 2023 and the impact on his Truck Series team rests with Kyle Busch.
It’s back to racing for the two-time Cup Champion, who is looking to revitalize his career this season with Richard Childress Racing.
Busch completed his final assignment as a representative for Joe Gibbs Racing at Thursday’s NASCAR Awards (show airs Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET on Peacock) and now it’s all about helping RCR win its first Cup Championship since 1994 to win.
MORE: NASCAR Awards red carpet scene
Busch will be at the Circuit of the Americas with Richard Childress Racing this weekend for World Racing League endurance events. Busch said the team transformed an old Cup car into an endurance car for the event. Last year, RCR won an eight-hour endurance race there with Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Kaz Grala.
Busch is aiming for a better fate at RCR than what he recently had at Joe Gibbs Racing.
He has clinched a cup win in his last 53 starts – 14 riders have won more races in that span than Busch has since racing at Road America in July 2021.
His 17 top 10 finishes last season were the fewest since he had 16 top 10 finishes in 2015.
He finished in 29 of 36 points races – the first time since 2015 that he finished in fewer than 30 races. Two busted engines in the opening round of the playoffs meant he didn’t advance to the second round for the first time in his career.
“It’s obviously been a challenge, not just this year, but for the last little while,” Busch said Thursday at the Music City Center. “So, it’s honestly maybe a blessing in disguise where maybe it’s time for a fresh start, time for something new, time for something different.”
He draws inspiration from future NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Brady previously won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots moved to Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl in his first season with the Buccaneers.
Manning won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts before joining the Denver Broncos and winning a Super Bowl there in his final season in the NFL.
“I kind of look at it as an aspect of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, where they left great teams, great foundations, where they won championships and could win a championship somewhere else,” Busch said. “I would like to believe that I still have the opportunity to do that at RCR.
“I see the opportunity with the new next generation race car as an easier step to take with it now compared to years past with previous generation cars.”
He says because with the previous generation of cars there was more separation between teams because NASCAR didn’t regulate as much of the car. With the next generation car, the teams have the same parts. Two-time Cup Champion Joey Logano said his team still has a lot to learn about the car and optimizing setups.
Even with his struggles at the end of his tenure at Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch says he’s not going to RCR with a chip on his shoulder.
“I don’t think I have to prove anything or have a chip on my shoulder,” Busch said. “I just want to get out there and run well again. … I felt like we had a lot of strong runs this year. I can count there were about six races that we could have won, should have won and we didn’t, it’s very frustrating.
“We were so good at giving them away that I have to get back to the fact that I’m so good at stealing and earning them.”
2. Special Shipping
The perks of winning a cup title include the Champion’s Journal. Jimmie Johnson started the tradition after his 2010 championship. The diary’s existence remained a secret until 2017, when Johnson posted a picture on social media of himself presenting the diary to Martin Truex Jr.
The journal is passed from champion to champion, with the current champion keeping it for a year and adding an entry for the next champion before giving it to them. Logano receives the diary from Kyle Larson.
“I can’t wait to read it again,” Logano said ahead of Thursday’s NASCAR Awards. “I’m telling you, it’s probably one of the coolest things. All credit goes to Jimmie for coming up with the idea.
“I wish it started sooner. It’s so interesting. Some drivers are very detailed in what they write to the next champion, and some are kind of quick and easy. It is very interesting to read. It’s cool. It’s a real secret. It’s kind of an unwritten rule, you can’t photograph it and post it. It’s a thing that only the championship riders know and have read and seen.
“Every time I get it, I’m so nervous. I’m like, don’t spill on this thing, don’t lose it. It would suck to be the guy to lose that. That would be bad. I’ll put it straight in the safe.”
Logano won his first cup title in 2018. He then gave the diary to Kyle Busch, the 2019 series champion.
“It’s something you’ve given a lot of thought to, at least I have,” Logano said of what he wrote. “I wrote Kyle a letter. You have thought a lot. It’s something that will be there as long as our sport is around. At least I hope so. It’s a really great tradition.”
3. fun factor
On the day of last year’s NASCAR Awards, William Byron said he plans to compete in more non-NASCAR races in 2022.
Byron, who is set to compete in Sunday’s prestigious Snowball Derby Super Late Model race, achieved his goal of winning, gaining confidence but also having fun.
“What I got from that was an immediate sense of fun, a kind of relief,” Byron said of competing in various Super Late Model races that year. “It wasn’t a race with the Cup car. It was different. It wasn’t that stressful working with the team and stuff because there’s not that much at stake. There’s still prize money and stuff, and honestly you’re there to have fun. I enjoyed that.
“Once I started doing it, I realized how productive it was for me to do it, how much I was learning. As I’ve done it more times throughout the season, I’ve learned little nuances that have helped me get back into the Cup car with better skills.”
That element of fun stood out for Byron. Cup races are pressure-packed with multi-million dollar sponsors, expectations of victory and all the people in the shop who rely on the car’s performance. That’s a lot of pressure, on top of what every driver puts on himself.
“There’s a lot of people that you try to take care of and do a good job of,” Byron said of cup racing. “It carries weight. You want to perform for the guys who work non-stop at the store. There’s just a much wider net you’re casting as a driver. Whenever you go to the short track level, you have six to ten people working on the car. … There’s a natural pressure with what we’re trying to do at the cup level because it’s the #1 motorsport in the US.”
4. Looking for a ride
Ross Chastain says he’s been trying unsuccessfully to race the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway “for years” but that hasn’t put him off.
“I met with the President of IMSA,” said Chastain, who finished second to Joey Logano for the Cup title this season. “I met with team owners. I spoke to drivers. I just can’t get my head around it yet. I still haven’t found the right person to either tell me how or give me the opportunity. I could show up and ride with a sponsorship, but how do I get in as a racer? I haven’t found that spot yet.”
Chastain said he’s approached a few this offseason with no luck.
He said the prestige of the IMSA inaugural event (January 28-29, 2023) is what attracts him, but he also wants to gain more road racing experience – even with his win at the Circuit of the Americas last season. And Chastain isn’t picky about the type of ride he wants for this race.
“I don’t aspire to be in the top class. I want to find a mid-range Rolex Xfinity team and go run there and experience it and then just be with these street racers who do it all year round. I know I could learn something. … I just want to race.”
5. Indy 500-Cola 600 double
It has been eight years since Kurt Busch competed in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, the last time that feat was accomplished.
Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson are among those who have expressed interest in driving both races on the same day but appear unable to do so in 2023 due to the limited IndyCar rides available.
Roger Penske, owner of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said he can see Jimmie Johnson trying this year and others next year.
“It’s about having the car and the manufacturers, whether it’s Chevy or Honda,” Penske said, referring to the IndyCar manufacturers. “Everyone would be interested in seeing someone run the double. Maybe Jimmie will, which would be great.
“He has the experience. He did very well on the ovals. … As I understand it, he will possibly race the 600 as one of his races (with Petty GMS). We will see.”
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