KYLE BUSCH, No. 51 Cessna Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 1st
You fell back as far as fourth in the middle of the race. Was the truck giving you trouble or were you just trying to be patient?
“It was a case of being patient. Obviously with trying to go 150 laps to the end of the race on one set of tires is a long way to go, so we just kind of wanted to bide our time and take it easy, make sure we didn’t push too hard. We didn’t need to go up there and get any stage points or anything like that so the opportunity for us to just kind of ride was given to us. We knew the 52 (Stewart Friesen) was going to pit, so I kind of let the 99 (Ben Rhodes) go and was riding in fourth and going to inherit third on a restart. All of the battling ended up ensuing there anyways. Awesome day. These guys gave me a great Cessna Beechcraft Tundra. It was awesome to drive. It wasn’t so awesome yesterday. We worked really really hard on trying to make this thing better and improve this truck and our program and all of the other trucks as well too. The other three teammates that were out here today. It’s cool to be able to put KBM in victory lane, Toyota in victory lane, thank TRD for their support and Rowdy Manufacturing, Incredible Bank, Monster Energy, Adidas, DVX Sunglasses, Black Clover, Gander Outdoors. It’s cool to have Gander folks on this year and being a part of this series and of course the fans. All the fans here at Martinsville, it’s pretty cool to come out here. It’s cool to win at Martinsville and cool to get to take home a clock. Rowdy Nation is out there loud and proud.”
Did you get your Toyota Tundra’s balance where you wanted it?
“Yeah, you had to have a little bit of freeness to it for the long run. Once you got 50 laps on tires, it just started getting tight, so you kind of needed it to be well balanced. It looked like a few of those guys were getting too tight, but then they were getting too loose as well. That’s kind of the thing that starts happening where we were just a little bit free where we could roll with that for the majority of the run and keep ourselves out front.”
How important is it to stay consistent over the long run and how is that going to apply to tomorrow’s Cup Series race?
“It’s challenging to pass. The way the rules are with the gear rule and this engine rule and everything else, it’s hard to pass for all these guys and for some of the young guys. They just drive into one another and knock each other out of the way. I guess that’s fun, but more times than not you can do it in better ways and I felt like we did a good job of that today. We had a good piece though and we did the best with what we had and these guys over here did a great job of working for me and giving me some good pit stops and keeping us out front.”
What made the difference on your Tundra today?
“These guys worked really really hard this weekend. We unloaded and I didn’t like where we were at. We made wholesale changes to this thing all weekend long. I just tried to keep improving this Cessna Beechcraft Tundra and make it faster. Certainly want to give thanks to TRD and Rowdy Manufacturing – all these guys. We just kept trying to make it turn the center better. That’s where it’s at at Martinsville. You’ve got to be able to turn the center without getting too lose in and too loose off. There during the race, a couple of times when I was underneath some guys I’d get loose. I saw other guys getting loose in the same kind of aspect. We were able to get by them and get through them and have enough tire there at the end to hold them off.”
Who decides where your grandfather clock will go? Your crew chief Rudy Fugle seemed pretty excited about winning it.
“I do. This is his (Rudy Fugle, crew chief) first win here at Martinsville. I’ve won here with two other crew chiefs I think so it’s pretty cool to get Rudy his first win at Martinsville.”
Does Rudy Fugle get the clock or no?
“Yes, he can have the clock. Now I just want to give a quick a thanks to Incredible Bank, Monster Energy, Adidas, DVX Sunglasses, Black Clover, Gander Outdoors. I appreciate Gander and all those guys coming this year and being a part of this series and of course the fans. It’s awesome to have Rowdy Nation’s support. We keep digging every week and keep trying to work hard and keep trying to get wins.”
