NASCAR Star Kurt Busch Explains the Keys to Winning Daytona 500 (Exclusive)

The Daytona 500 takes place this weekend, and Kurt Busch is looking to win the race for the second time in his career. But with this being NASCAR’s biggest race of the season, winning will be challenging for any of the drivers. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Busch who explained the key to winning the Daytona 500. 

“To win a Daytona 500 is like winning a championship,” Busch exclusively told PopCulture. “And you do it with a program and a process to make sure you’re checking off all the right boxes. So even little things like weather, when you have changes in the weather, change the way you approach some of the pit stop sequences. So, looking ahead, it’s not going to be a super hot day, so that will help with tire wear. That’ll help with the engines and the fuel mileage. So there’s a lot of things to juggle and to switch around, and ultimately we’ve got to learn more about the draft, and that’s done during the race.”

Busch has competed in every Dayton 500 since 2001 (except for 2015) and won the race for the first time in 2017. He finished second in the race three times (2003, 2005, 2008) and has finished in the top five two more times. Busch knows what it takes to win the race at Daytona International Speedway, but this year will be different for one big reason. 

“With all the newness with the Next Gen car, it’s one day at a time type feel with practice sessions, qualifying, even our qualifying races,” Busch said. “There’s so much information to learn and there’s all that unpredictability that’s ahead of us. And as a veteran driver, I’m looking at it from two different directions, one of conservation, making sure that we get to the end of the race with the best piece possible. And number two, I want to lead every lap.”     

Winning the Daytona 500 is a goal for Busch this season. But he’s looking to do a lot more in 2022. “I want to win a road course with this new car. These cars are designed around some sports car DNA. So with COTA, Road America,” Busch said. ” I’ll tell you Watkins Glen, that place, it’s nostalgic, it’s historic, Formula 1 used to race there. I want to win that one.”