Las Vegas Motor Speedway wasn’t always kind to Kyle Busch. But that didn’t preclude the Las Vegas native from giving his hometown fans some moments to cherish while racing at home.
Young gun unholstered (2001)
A few months before he would take NASCAR by storm, a fuzzy-cheeked Kyle Busch showed the weekend warriors at the LVMS Bullring the fast way around the track by winning 10 of 12 races in the featured sportsman division.
Driving a car owned by Jerry Spilsbury, the precocious youngster finished second (with an asterisk) in the season championship. He was forced to miss the first four races that occurred before his 16th birthday — the minimum age to compete back in those days.
It would be the last time anybody asked to see Kyle Busch’s driver’s license. He made his NASCAR Truck Series debut later that year, finishing an impressive ninth at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Runner-up to remember (2007)
There’s an expression in auto racing that nobody remembers the guy who finished second.
That wasn’t the case during the Sam’s Town 300 Busch Series race in 2007. Jeff Burton bumped past Busch as they approached the checkered flag, securing a thrilling victory as the Las Vegan slid across the finish line backwards.
After climbing out of his battered car, Busch walked to Burton’s and gave the winning driver a congratulatory fist bump.
There’s no place like home (2009)
After qualifying on the pole only to be sent to the rear of the field after blowing an engine in practice, Busch drove from 39th place at the start to first at the finish en route to a popular victory.
While Busch’s record at LVMS — 12 top- 5 and 16 top-10 finishes and 322 laps led – is nothing at which to sneeze, the victory would be his only one on his hometown track in 30 Cup Series starts. It also gave him temporary family bragging rights over his older brother.
Kurt Busch’s only victory in 25 LVMS starts would not come for another 11 years.
Blood on the track (2017)
After tangling with Joey Logano in a late-race incident at the Kobalt 400, a furious Busch made a beeline to Logano’s car and threw a punch at his longtime nemesis.
A pit road brawl featuring both crews ensued. When cooler heads finally prevailed, Busch emerged from the dogpile with a gash on his forehead that looked worse than it really was.
As they say in the NASCAR boardroom whenever TV ratings are discussed, “Boys, have at it.”
Rowdy goes Beast Mode (2019)
A couple of hours before the South Point 400, Busch and Super Bowl-winning running back Marshawn Lynch traded helmets.
This turned out to be a bad omen for reporters who later would ask an agitated Busch about his awful race in which he hit the wall early and another car late en route to finishing in 19th place.
Q: What happened with the No. 53 late (an erroneous reference to the car driven by Garrett Smithley, with whom Busch collided)?
A: “52, get it right. Don’t know.”
How’d that impact your car?
“Killed it.”
Were you happy that you were able to come back from the early damage?
“Nope.”
What happened at the beginning of the race?
“I’m just here so I don’t get fined.”
What about the heat?
“Felt great.”
Any thoughts about going to a place where you won last time, at Richmond?
“Nope. Can’t pass there.”
Feel OK about your chances overall?
“Don’t care.”
Did it help that you had (playoff) bonus points coming in here?
“I’m just here so I don’t get fined.”
(Did) you feel that if you were able to get a top 10 …
At that point, the indignant driver sought out a NASCAR official.
“I’m answering the dumbest (expletive) questions over and over again — am I good (to go)?”
Kyle Busch didn’t wait around for the answer.
Ron Kantowski For the Review-Journal
