The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kyle Busch’s thermostat
2015 Cup champ has no wins, says he could have five.
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch’s well-known temper has been tested as he has come close but failed to win at just about every race this year. But the tension dissipates a little quicker these days once Busch gets to spend time with his wife and coddle his bouncing boy.
The near-misses that have plagued Kyle Busch this season would have eaten away at him earlier in his career, when he was less secure in his driving ability and in himself.
But a lot has happened in a few years: He sustained serious injuries during a 2015 crash at Daytona, returned that season to win his first NASCAR Cup championship and along the way watched his wife give birth to a boy after they spent years struggling to conceive.
“You put things into a different perspective,” Samantha Busch said, “so a bad day at the track might have stuck with you till Tuesday, but now you go back to the bus and you have Brexton and you’re so blissfully unaware of everything going on . ... And it makes things easier for Kyle when things don’t go the right way.”
Samantha paused, then added: “But on the track he’s still Kyle. He’s always going for the win.”
Busch led a race-high 48 laps Sunday at Talladega and thought he was positioned for his first win this season, but his race unraveled in overtime. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. roared past him on the last lap to win, and Jamie McMurray got by and relegated Busch to third.
“We just weren’t in the right place at the right time, I guess. I thought we were,” Busch said Thursday afternoon at Kansas Speedway, site of Saturday night’s race.
“We legitimately had a shot to win five races this year, in my mind,” said Busch, who’s the defending champion of the spring race at the Kansas City track. “We just haven’t been able to close the deal. That’s the most frustrating thing for us.”
Busch lamented his misfortune while he stood in victory lane, where he helped other Toyota drivers pack boxes to distribute to women’s shelters on Mother’s Day.
The run of misfortune began at the Daytona 500, where Busch led 18 laps before a tire went down and he crashed. An on-track dustup turned into an offtrack scrap with Joey Logano’s crew at Las Vegas, then Logano’s crash at Phoenix spoiled Busch’s late lead.
At Martinsville, Busch led 274 laps before a bad set of tires cost him a chance. And at Richmond, Busch was running second to Logano when he tried to follow the leader onto pit road during a late caution, but committed too late and was forced to serve a penalty.
The tension dissipated once Busch spent time with his family. Brexton turns 2 next week.
“I caught him and Kyle yesterday practicing how to say, ‘Happy Mama’s Day,’” Samantha Busch said, “and I almost started crying.”
Formula One: Two-time series champion Fernando Alonso, who has not finished any of this season’s four races, said Thursday he is giving McLaren until September or October to give him a competitive car or he will look for another team or even abandon F1 altogether. The next race is Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.