KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Do you have any predictions for the championship? “No, no predictions. It’s a close one and it’s going to come down to three points probably and right down to the last lap, which is great. I think that’s really what NASCAR was looking for and it’s cool that there’s two guys doing it, but, certainly, we wish that there was more involved in it. But, we’re also glad that it’s not over.”
Does it feel strange to not be running the Nationwide and Truck Series races? “It’s not strange considering we’ve done some of that throughout the final ten races with the Chase and everything and trying to concentrate on one car. We’re doing the same thing here. I was originally scheduled to run the truck, but just decided that I’d rather concentrate on one. And with putting the TRD (Toyota Racing Development) engine in the car this weekend it’s another opportunity for us to get some more feedback to those guys and get ready for what’s going to happen next year. That’s the direction we’re going.”
Do you know if you will race in the Nationwide or Truck Series in 2012? “No, not yet. We’re working through all of the schedules. The schedules hadn’t been put together prior to Texas and still haven’t been put together yet either.”
How did you put together the German Quiroga deal? “The German (Quiroga) deal, we’ve been talking to him for a while — I think since May. We recognized him through his name when he called us by the NASCAR Mexico Series and him being now the three-time champion of that series the last three years in a row. It’s something that us at Kyle Busch Motorsports have always tried to strive on and make possible for drivers is the ability to win championships somewhere else but yet to come to us and feel like it’s a young guy who has the talent that can move up through the ranks. That’s how we foresee growing NASCAR for one and Kyle Busch Motorsports for two. Would love to see him run well here this weekend and get a good opportunity to get in front of some sponsors and of course try to finalize plans and put him in the truck full time next year.”
What do you foresee for German Quiroga’s future? “Right now it’s anything. It’s limitless, you know. The problem of course, as we all know, is funding and being able to put somebody’s name on the side of the truck.”
Will fuel mileage or fuel injection be the bigger storyline in 2012? “I don’t know. I think going to the EFI is going to change it a little bit. Maybe not as much as we all expected it to be. It’s just the engineers are certainly getting better with it. And it might not change right away because we don’t know everything we need to know about it, but I figure over time it’s just like anything else. We’ll learn from it, develop with it and get better at it.”
Is there someone that you would recommend others should follow on Twitter? “No. There’s nobody on Twitter that you need to follow.”
Have things gotten back to normal for you after the last few weeks? “Yeah, certainly. As time goes on people tend to have less of a feeling about certain things and you kind of move on and go through the processes of what’s going to happen next and so we’re continuing to do that day-by-day.”
Do you have any offseason plans? “To get away and to have nobody be able to get a hold of me. That would be nice. We’ll see how it goes, you know. The offseason is typically not very off — you’re still working. I’ve got a photo shoot next week and then a commercial shoot two weeks later. And, then it’s Christmas and all kinds of other stuff. So, it will be busy — I’m sure.”
How much work has to be done to get your Nationwide and Truck teams ready for next year? “We have the equipment — with pit boxes and haulers and stuff like that. We do need cars — Nationwide cars. We’ll be building those and getting all that stuff put together and ready. Of course, we’ll have to hire on people, certainly, and see where all that puts us. The good thing about all that is that’s (Rick) Ren’s (KBM general manager) job.”
