TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Kyle Busch — Notes & Quotes
Bristol Motor Speedway – August 24, 2012
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What do you think of the changes to the race track? “I think it’s terrible. That’s about it.”
Can you go high on the race track? “Not past the light gray, no.”
Are you happy with your race car? “I think our car’s okay. Certainly, we always want to be better, but right now the M&M’s Camry seems fast. It seems like it’s driving well. It’s just a matter of track position and getting yourself up front because you won’t be able to pass.”
Do you think you have a better chance of winning any one of the next three races? “Bristol, Atlanta, Richmond.”
Do you feel your prior performance at those tracks gives you an advantage? “I would say that’s the leading cause to why you would feel that way.”
Is this the best trio of tracks for you to try to make the Chase? “We’re horrible at Atlanta, so there could be a better middle one. Bristol and Richmond are really good for us. We’ll just have to do the best we can this week and see if we can’t win one and get ourselves in that way. Otherwise, try to run strong at Atlanta and if not, then go to Richmond and do what we can do. That’s all we can do.”
What bothered you more — Brad Keselowski bumping you at Watkins Glen or NASCAR not throwing a caution for oil? “All of the above.”
Will you take more risks to win a race? “I don’t think you can take any more risk than what we’ve already done this year. It’s not necessarily like I haven’t been driving hard or have been asleep at the wheel. It’s just a matter of factors haven’t all led together and given us the opportunity to win one.”
Have you talked with Brad Keselowski since Watkins Glen? “No.”
What characteristics make you good at Bristol? “You have to have a really good feel here at Bristol. You have to be on top of your game anywhere, but you’ve really got to have a good feel of the entry and center and exit and just making sure you can get your car as free as you can to withstand the back of the car sliding around a little bit, but yet you still have to have good forward bite off the corners and you’ve got to be able to drive it hard and make up lap time when you lack.”
Did you experiment in moving around the race track to improve your times? “I don’t have to — I watched the Truck race.”
What did you learn from the Truck race? “Nobody passed anybody.”
Do you think you have a good chance to make the Chase? “I would certainly like to think that we can make the Chase and we’d have the opportunity to do so, but that’s all we can do. I can’t sit here and tell you how well or how great we deserve to be in the Chase or anything else. It’s either going to come or it’s not.”
Are you running like you want to right now? “We’ve been really fast — we’ve had fast race cars, which I’ve been excited about. Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and the guys have done a really nice job of putting together some good stuff. It’s just stupid things keep happening. We ran a right-rear shock last week at Michigan that we probably shouldn’t have — I put it on in the first practice and knew it was too loose in. In the race, on the restarts I just would get killed because I couldn’t drive it into the corner until everybody would get away from me. Then I could run my own line.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued) Is this weekend a ‘must win’ for you? “We’ve got three weeks. Chill out.”
How important is seat time regardless of the type of vehicle? “I think seat time is always important. For me, I always enjoy being behind the wheel or running as much as I can. I think what gives me the best feel is obviously being behind the wheel and just getting myself out there on the race track whether the tires a little different or it’s the same or you’re in a completely different vehicle like a truck to a Cup car. It’s just a matter of learning some different things that you can do and some maneuvers you can make that will ultimately get you more comfortable to try those things and to be more daring I guess.”
Are you surprised more drivers don’t run more races? “Some don’t like to. I can see so far this year where in years past maybe I’ve been a little worn out — just tired. This year I feel fine, I feel pretty good.”
Do you think running more Truck or Nationwide races would help you this year? “Not necessarily, I think our Cup program is fine — it’s running good, it’s fast. The only other thing I can do is run more Nationwide and Truck races to get my bad luck out of the way there so it doesn’t move over to Sunday. Besides that, how much better do you want me to run before an engine blows up or before a brake rotor falls off or before you blow a right- front tire. You name it, we’ve had it.”
Are there quality control issues at Joe Gibbs Racing? “The engine thing isn’t a Gibbs related issue. The brake rotor — everybody in the whole field ran the same brake rotor. Shock mount issue — we had to work on that and we had to re-design that based on Kentucky just being so rough. It wouldn’t have happened anywhere but Kentucky and it happened to us and not one of our teammates. I wouldn’t say that it’s a terrible piece of quality control that everybody has to work on.”
Have you discussed your concerns with Joe Gibbs? “My concerns are that we’re running good and we’ve got no luck. I’ve asked him (Joe Gibbs, team owner) what I’ve got to do to get better luck. How much more I’ve got to pray or whatever else, but it just doesn’t seem to work no matter what we’ve done.”
What did you mean when you told Dave Rogers in practice that ‘you wish you had more tricks up your sleeve’? “We felt like our car was balanced pretty well and it’s just a matter of thinking what else we could do to make our car better. Thinking about tricks up our sleeve, no I didn’t mean talking like the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) car — I’m not (Brad) Keselowski. I just meant on behalf of us. Just thinking of some other things that we can try — we’re kind of out of ideas.”
Do you think the SAFER barrier is out farther in turn four? “I don’t think they changed it — it’s always felt like it stays too thick too long. It doesn’t taper off soon enough. That’s always been an issue for me here. I don’t think there’s anything different.”
