KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How did the car feel in practice?
“It felt really good. I was obviously optimistic about coming back and getting some laps in here at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Everything felt good with the No. 18 M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota Camry. I was excited to get back in and see my guys and just kind of get the taste of all of that again. Just trying to get a feel for the seat, the car and being back behind the wheel – it’s been a while. As far as I was concerned, it felt like everything went according to plan and we had some decent speed in race trim. We made some adjustments to it for that qualifying run – that mock qualifying run that we made. It’s a little different qualifying procedure here obviously tomorrow night. Was able to put a fast time up to get top of the sheet, but not sure that everybody made that same effort. Was definitely excited to see that speed and hopefully we can see that again tomorrow night.”
What was the biggest adjustment to getting back in the car today?
“I would say it was just sort of the feel of the race car. These races cars have been changing quite constantly with setups and things like that. Just trying to get a feel for what all was going on there for what I had to drive. Besides that, the seat was an adjustment for me. I’m not used to the carbon seat at all, I’ve never run one at a mile-and-a-half like this so that was a little bit of an adjustment for me. We had to tinker with it just a little bit there through practice and again we’re going to tinker with it now just to kind of see if we can’t make it just a tick better for me, more comfortable for the long haul, especially for next week.”
Did you get to the track any earlier or later today or were you more eager to get to the track?
“I didn’t sleep all that great last night and I was wondering why. I wasn’t sure if my body was just thinking I would miss an alarm, but I really didn’t have to set an alarm – it was late enough to get here. It wasn’t like it was a 9:00 am practice or anything. I got here pretty typical of when I normally do. I always get here and then eat lunch and just spend some time in the motorhome and what not, then get myself to the hauler and changed and onto the car. Nothing really any different actually that I had to do today.”
Was there a time in the last few months that you didn’t think it would be possible to be back at Charlotte?
“Definitely, there was days in Daytona – I was kind of counting the weeks and I was like, ‘Man, I could probably make it back by Talladega, but that would definitely be pushing it.’ I was like, ‘Well, that wouldn’t be very smart of me to come back for Talladega.’ Kansas was the next one and I was like, ‘You know what, I don’t know if I want that one either.’ Charlotte looked really good and it seems to so far – seems to be a good choice to come back for here. I think it was kind of always a goal and whether or not I could meet that goal was just how hard we worked and pushed and tried to get ready for this day.”
What were your thoughts on NASCAR waiving the races you missed and not the top-30 rule?
“I think it’s great. Obviously, it gives us a legitimate chance to try to qualify for the Chase and to be able to race for a championship. That’s all you can ask for. It seems as though the rest of the drivers and what not, they’re happy with the ruling. I think they would accept the same ruling for themselves if they were in that situation, but I’m ready to tackle the challenge. I know it’s not quite going to be easy, but if we do the right things and make some of the right calls and try to win some of these races – we’re going to have to make some gutsy calls maybe to win some and there’s going to be some other guys around us that are going to be making some gutsy calls too because they’ve already won some. It’s going to be a catch 22 sometimes probably, but we’ll see what we can do and get ourselves Chase eligible and go race them in the end.”
Were you able to share a minute with Samantha today before getting on the race track?
“A little bit. Every morning we always get up together – we eat breakfast together and what not so we just kind of shared a little bit of that during breakfast, but then when I left the house I told her to make sure she did everything the best she could to keep her legs crossed today and tomorrow. We keep baby Busch inside for at least 48 more hours. Besides that, it was a nice moment as I was getting ready to walk out to the garage – we hugged for a little while and she said that what we had was all over with having to go through all the trials and tribulations of figuring out how to stand up, how to walk and all that stuff. That’s all over and it seems as though we’re back to our normal schedule although sometimes it takes a little longer for me to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B.’ Hopefully, not too much longer that will be right back to where it was too.”
Do you feel safer with the news of more race tracks adding more SAFER barriers?
“I wouldn’t say you ever feel safe in that regard, but safer yeah. Anytime a race track or a facility is able to elevate their level of safety for us competitor s and the race fans and the crew members, we always are grateful of that. Maybe it gives us a greater sense of not being able to get hurt. I think that aspect is still out there. We run race cars around in circles with SAFER barrier walls upwards of 200 mph so there’s still an element there that anything can happen. NASCAR and the race tracks have done a really nice job over the last little bit to push that safety aspect for all of us competitors and the continuation of that would only be appreciated.”
What weighs more on you this week – getting back in the race car or becoming a first-time father?
“I would say it goes within what you’re doing. You get to the race track and it definitely weighs on you getting back in that car – how is it going to be, am I going to screw up? I felt like I got loose one time today and I was like, ‘Just don’t spin out, just don’t spin out.’ I’m sure when I change and I start heading home, it’s like, ‘Alright, things are soon to change.’ It’s legitimate that he’s here on Monday, no doubt – no ifs, ands or buts. Samantha (Busch, wife) and I kind of chuckled about that last night, we looked at each other and we’re like, ‘What are we going to be doing in 72 hours – at that point? It’s going to be time to be parents, he’s going to be here.’ We’re excited though. We both are and I am. Just hoping that the timing is right.”
Do you have any worries getting back in the race car?
“Certainly, taking another hard hit. That definitely is in the back of your mind. How hard of a hit can you withstand and not get hurt again? That’s obviously there. That’s something that we live with each and every day, even before I got hurt – how hard of a lick can I take and still walk away and I think we found that out finally. Every man is breakable. There’s obviously a risk factor that we take, but you pray to the good Lord that he keeps you safe and you go do your job.”
Have you calculated what you have to do in order to make the Chase?
“It’s going to be, obviously you have to win one, but past that you have to average like a 15.8 or 16.1 average finishes or something. How many points that is, I don’t know. I think it’s 430 or 440-something that you have to be able to get by the time you get to Richmond. Certainly, I’ve seen plenty of people that have done the numbers for me and they all kind of come out relatively the same so that’s what I’ve seen.”
