Although Kyle Busch found his footing in racing thanks to his father’s early influence, Tom Busch was far from a full-time racer. By trade, he was a tool distributor, logging long hours behind the wheel of a tool truck.
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But under the hood, he was a car guy through and through. His passion led him to build a 1932 Ford coupe and take his sons, Kyle and Kurt, to the track long before the lights of NASCAR ever came calling.
In a revealing conversation with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on GOLF’s Subpar, the now two-time Cup Series champion looked back on those lean early days, sharing a story that spoke volumes about the sacrifices of his father.
“I was just a fan of the sport, a lot, just growing up with my dad. My dad was a car guy. He built old ’32 Fords and things, and had a few old cars that he had, that he collected and stuff. And he had to sell one of his in order to be able to pay for my brother’s start and my start in racing. So, it was unfortunate to see him have to get rid of one of the cool ones that he built,” said the No. 8 Chevrolet driver.
While his father was laying the groundwork for his racing career, Busch was charting his path as a young fan. Despite admiring legends like Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin, and Dale Jarrett, it was the fresh-faced Jeff Gordon who caught his eye.
Busch recalled the moment he picked his favorite driver. “It was 1994, 1995, and he was in the bright colored DuPont rainbow car, and so you know I was like, I’m going to cheer for that guy. He’s new. I’ll stick with the young kid. Me being nine years old at the time, and then of course, though, I always enjoyed watching you know Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, all those guys that were winning races at that time.”
The beginning of Kyle Busch’s racing career
Busch has never shied away from giving credit where it is due. He has often called his father the cornerstone of his racing dreams, even as his mother hoped he’d trade horsepower for headgear as an orthodontist.
The RCR driver revealed that during the week, his dad, Tom Busch, punched the clock like any working man, but once the weekend rolled around, he hit the road with a trailer in tow, chasing trophies at local dirt tracks, surrounded by a close circle of racing-savvy friends.
Kyle looked back at his unlikely start, revealing he was just 13 when he climbed behind the wheel for the first time. A youngster is supposed to be 14, so he may or may not have allegedly forged his birth certificate to make himself 14 at 13 so he could get in a car and race legends cars in Las Vegas.
Born and bred in the heart of Sin City, Kyle first made waves at the Bullring, starting with Legends cars. He quickly climbed the ranks, moving into modifieds and late models, and within just three years, found himself strapped into a NASCAR Truck Series ride. From that point on, Busch’s rise wasn’t just rapid, it was a full-throttle sprint toward the big leagues.
