Kyle Busch has had a career in NASCAR that many dream of. He is a 2x Cup champion with over 200 wins across the three national series in the sport. But there’s one thing that has evaded even someone as talented and as successful as Busch. And that is the Daytona 500.
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Yes, it’s pretty tough to wrap one’s head around the fact that one of NASCAR’s most successful drivers ever hasn’t won the biggest race in the sport. But this year, Busch wants nothing more than that win. And to get there, he’s wishing for one crucial thing: to not get wrecked.
“Man, I would love nothing more than to win the Daytona 500. It’s been feast or famine it seems and there’s been a lot of years where I finished 2nd or I finished 3rd,” he said in a recent interview. “I mean, there’s five-six times I can count on. But the rest of the time it’s ending up in a crash on a hook and going back to the trailer early.”
“We don’t want to have that happen. It would be nice to get it done this year and get in victory lane celebrating at the end of the night.”
Daytona 500 laps led (active drivers)
1. Denny Hamlin – 480
2. Kyle Busch – 330
3. Brad Keselowski – 177
4. Ryan Blaney – 174
5. Jimmie Johnson – 151
6. Joey Logano – 113
7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr – 77
8. Martin Truex Jr – 74
9. Chase Elliott – 72
10. Christopher Bell – 72 pic.twitter.com/p7Og7MhOw7— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) February 10, 2024
Moreover, just to put how unlucky Kyle Busch has been in the 500 or how cruel and indifferent the Great American Race is, there’s an interesting statistic. And that is the number of laps led in the Daytona 500 among the active drivers.
That list is topped by 3x Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin with 480 laps. But right behind him is his former JGR teammate, Kyle Busch, with 330 laps led to his name.
Kyle Busch believes races like the Daytona 500 treat everyone fairly
The talent of a driver and the prowess of their racecar is a big factor on any given race that decides their fate at the end of the day. But factors such as those get more or less flattened out for plate-tracks and races like the Daytona 500. That’s what Kyle Busch believes.
“Being able to score that win in a restrictor-plate-style race where there’s 30 other guys that are vying for the win and have a legit shot for the win … you go to other places and sometimes the drivers aren’t very good at those tracks or sometimes their cars, their teams or the manufacturers, they don’t really lineup well for those tracks,” Busch said as per Speedsport.
“So I feel like the restrictor-plate stuff though is pretty level for everybody.”
However, despite his comments, going into the race, Busch’s fans and even Kyle Busch to an extent would be hoping that he gets a better deal from the racing Gods this time around. Because the only thing missing in his near-perfect NASCAR career now is a Daytona 500 win.
