Kyle Busch on hot streak, but still looking for win in marquee event
INDIANAPOLIS – With all due respect to Jeff Gordon and his final Indianapolis Motor Speedway ride in Sunday’s Jeff Kyle 400, Kyle Busch is the man of the moment in NASCAR circles.
Busch, who suffered major leg and foot injuries in an Xfinity Series crash at Daytona International Speedway in February, has staged a marvelous recovery both on and off the track. He has won three of the past four races as he targets a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Busch also is looking to fill one of the holes on what otherwise is a sparkling NASCAR resume. He has won 32 Cup races but has not scored in what is arguably the Big Three – the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the annual race at the Brickyard.
“As far as missing out on winning some of the big races in the series, of course I’d like to have those checked off on the list,” Busch said Saturday. “I think Jeff is looking for (six) here at the Brickyard. That’s pretty remarkable. For me to just be looking for one, it’s a little disappointing that I’ve been around this long and haven’t won those races.
“But things haven’t all quite worked out and we haven’t put ourselves in the exact perfect position in order to win those races. We just need to continue to be able to do that and continue to race and act like we have here the last three or four weeks.”
Busch said, however, that he can’t obsess over failure in milepost events.
“It’s bothersome, but, at the same time, you go to that race at that particular weekend and you’re like, ‘OK, if we get it, we get it; if we don’t, we don’t,’ ” he said. “The last three or four weeks (shows) sometimes luck has got to be on your side a little bit, but you’ve also got to be good enough to put yourself in that position when the luck does come your way.
“I’m just not sure I’ve seen that kind of luck work for me yet in some of these marquee events. Whether it’s coming off pit road first or having the right amount of tires when you come off pit road first and being able to hold the field off behind you, it all kind of depends.
“But I’d love nothing more than to be able to win some of these big races. You look at the top four, and I’ve got the Southern 500, which is probably fourth on the list. To get those top three – the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Coke 600, those would certainly be nice accolades to add to my resume.”
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PHOTOS: In the driver's seat with Kyle Busch