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[/media-credit]TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Kyle Busch — Notes & Quotes Darlington Raceway – May 11, 2012
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Wrigley’s Doublemint Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What do you think of the billboard of you that’s on display this weekend? “I haven’t seen it. I’m not sure what it looks like.”
What are the challenges of racing at Charlotte? “I think the biggest challenge about Charlotte is how much the track changes from practice. You practice all during the day and then you go into night racing. You’ve got to know what kind of adjustments to make to your car and how well you can race at night. Typically you go back to your night notes. For us, we’ve run well there in the past and like going there — it’s a fun place to race and adds to the excitement of spending some time at home.”
Is there any relief having a non-points race at this point in the season? “It is and it isn’t, I guess. If you have momentum on your side, you’re kind of clicking some good finishes off, you’d rather not. I think it’s always fun to go to Charlotte any time and to sort of have an off weekend, if you will, to go out there and run an All-Star race like that. The format is fun. It makes for an exciting run for us drivers.”
Do you remember what you thought the first time you raced at Darlington? “I was here when the track was still the old bumpy, worn out surface in 2003 — my first time. I ran for Joe Nemechek’s Nationwide team with Brian Pattie and we had a blast here. We qualified up front — I think we qualified seventh and ran up front most of the day and finished second in the race. We had a fun time. I was chasing my teammate of Brian Vickers who was driving the No. 5 car that I was going to take over the following year. We were rolling completely different lines around here, but it was fun to race.”
Do you think it’s okay for the track to promote your history with Kevin Harvick? “I don’t care. They can do whatever they want — it’s their jurisdiction. They can advertise how they want to, it’s just frustrating for the rest of us. Our sponsors don’t want to see that — they certainly don’t pick up a smile on their face when they see that stuff.”
Do you have any hard feelings left over from last year? “I tend to be able to let things go and forget about things while others tend to keep dwelling and keep bringing them back up.”
What would it meant to see your team win the Pit Crew Challenge? “It would be really cool. They’re the best in the business and they’ve deserved to win for a few years. I know my rear changer and our front changer have both had some record times in the singles competition. I think my jack man as well, too. Those guys are pretty quick — they know what to do. It just seems like we can’t get the pushing part figured out. We never get the car to go down the track. That’s all right. I know when I come down pit road what I’m looking forward to and that’s stopping in the 18 box.”
Can you talk about the loss of Carroll Shelby? “It’s totally devastating to the (Las) Vegas community. He is actually one of the main guys that started Legends racing in Las Vegas, him and a few other guys. That’s where we bought our first Legend car from was Shelby America was selling them. They were the dealer for them. Carroll’s passing, obviously he’s been a statement there in Las Vegas for a long time and out there since that race track opened. He was one of the first tenants to put his place of business out there. It’s a shame to see him go, but obviously he is well respected, great car builder and kind of a visionary.”
