Toyota Racing – Kyle Busch
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
CHARLOTTE (May 28, 2022) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was made available to media prior to the Charlotte Motor Speedway race this Saturday:
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Red, White and Blue Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Do you know what you will need at Gateway with your prior experience there?
“I would say that just being able to run there before and knowing the racetrack itself would give you a little more than somebody who has never been there before, but honestly, having a normal practice weekend everything will kind of shake out pretty evenly at the end of the day. I’m looking forward getting back there. It has been a long time.”
Does being a father again affect you as a driver?
“It’s been great. It’s been really exciting and having a chance to welcome a newborn into the world, so it’s been fun. Obviously, she’s a baby, so certain things are expected – crying, getting up in the middle of the night for some feedings, nothing different than what I recall from the time that Brexton was that small. Just taking care of her – thankfully, mom is helping out a lot, especially on race nights, taking care of the duties. I get to help during the week and help with that. So, it’s all good. Brexton is being an awesome big brother. He’s been a part of this journey since the very beginning – wanting a baby sister, praying for a baby sister. Now that she’s here, that seems to be complete and all is healthy, so all is good.”
Do you feel like an All-Star race is necessary or could the Busch Clash suffice for this instead?
“I’m not certain. We do have a long schedule – 38 races, 36 points races. We run a lot. I think the All-Star race, years past, was always an opportunity to try things. If I recall correctly, the double-file restart started in the All-Star race and now we have that. The choose rule, I think started in the All-Star race, now we have that. Stages, obviously – stages of the All-Star race were always there. Now we have stage racing. With everything that we’ve done, the continuation of changes in the All-Star race, I don’t think it is as much as a spectacle as it once was. Yeah, racing for a million bucks is cool, but I think when it became racing for a million dollars, a million dollars was a big deal. It still is to the younger guys – the William Bryons, Ross Chastains, and those guys of the series. I don’t know that it still has its luster, but it’s my opinion, but I agree with the on-track action was a bit difficult.”
Do you expect the aggressive road course racing that we saw at COTA be similar to what we see in Sonoma?
“I would expect it to be just as aggressive. These cars allow us to do that. Everybody knows that all of these cars are the same – they all come from the same place. It’s up to you to make it go, and so you are going to push the cars limits.”
How have you seen growth in racing at Millbridge since Brexton has been involved in the series?
“I don’t know exactly the growth pattern of it. I don’t know what their car counts were before we got out there, but since we’ve gotten out there, it seems like car counts have definitely grown. Cadets, they have 28-30 something cadets on a nightly basis. 30 or something beginners, and 30 box stocks. Right there, that is 90 cars in just those classes and the next night, we don’t have anything to do with, is micros, which is certainly growing, two, three, four-fold here in the East Coast. It seems like almost every NASCAR driver is out there running right now with the micro stuff. They are doing a really good job out there. They do a quick show, which is nice. We’ve been to some of these other places where they draw it out for six, seven, eight hours and there is no need for that. We can get in and out of there in three-and-a-half hours probably. They do a good job. Really critique and police the rules, really well, which I think the competitors really like as well. They feel that competition is fair. Again, versus other places that we’ve been, where it is basically nothing. You just roll across the scales, and you go home. All-in-al, I feel like Millbridge does a good job.”
With this being a 600-mile race, how much of a balancing act is managing the tires?
“Obviously, trying to figure that out a little bit today. You are not going to see anybody run that long on tires, I don’t presume with the short practice. These stages are 100 laps long, so realistically, you would like to split that in half if it goes green so that is 50 laps you would go. Fuel can go 50, so you can go 50, but some guys may double stint it, depending on what falloff is like, so that would be pit at 30, pit at 60 and go to the end. Pit at 35, 70, whatever. It just kind of depends on what all of that looks like lap time wise and fall off wise, but overall, it’s kind of an unknown to me right now.”
#
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
