Kyle Busch won’t be able to win the NASCAR Cup Series this year as he was eliminated from the playoffs this past weekend in Charlotte. The 35-year-old won the championship last year and has done nearly everything one can do in a NASCAR career. PopCulture.com got a chance to speak to Busch about the one thing he’s looking to do before his career ends, and that’s winning the Daytona 500.
“That would be No. 1 on the list,” Busch said. “Not having that accolade wouldn’t make it any less of a career, but it would certainly make it that much better of a career and to go out on top like that and having accomplished everything there was to accomplish on top.” Busch has come close to winning the biggest race of the season. In 2019, Busch finished second with his teammate, Denny Hamlin coming in first. In 2016, Busch came in third place behind Hamlin (1st) and Martin Truex Jr. (2nd). But as Busch mentioned, not winning the Daytona 500 wouldn’t make his career any less because he’s a two-time Cup Series champion and two-time Cup Series regular-season champion and the all-time wins leader in Xfinity Series races as well as the Truck Series races.
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The thought was that Busch was going to be one of the favorites to win the championship again, but he could never find his footing and has yet to win a race. Before the race at Charlotte, Busch talked about winning the event and getting some momentum as the season winds down.
“If we can win this race in Charlotte, that will automatically push our ticket to the next round, and if we can win any of the three races in the next round, that will automatically push us into the championship race in Phoenix,” Busch said. “Phoenix is a really good track for us. We run well out there. It’s a great place to win. I love going out west and being a part of the west coast action. I’m from Las Vegas, so that’s always fun.” Busch may not be in the running to win the championship, but if he can win one of the four remaining races this season, it would be a strong finish to a challenging year.
