Ever since his son, Brexton Busch, began racing, Kyle Busch has turned over a new leaf, both on and off the track. He’s now racing cleanly and consistently respecting the boundaries of fellow drivers. Busch’s motive behind this shift is straightforward: He wishes to set a positive example for his son, emphasizing that victories should stem purely from talent, not from knocking rivals off the track.
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That’s why, reflecting upon the recent Xfinity Series race at Darlington — a chaotic affair prompting NASCAR to reprimand the drivers — Busch detailed the lessons he imparts to Brexton on how to handle the competition.
Busch explained, “I think the adage that a lot of dads have is when these kids start racing, it’s wide open: Throttle wide open, do what you gotta do to win, driving the corner, short cut the corner, slam that other kid, knock him out of the way, beat him. And so, that’s just how they grow up learning from five, six, seven years old.”
“Once you get into the classes now that Brex is getting in, which is like 9, 10, 12 years old, that’s when you have to lift off the throttle, use the brake, and try not to run over those guys that you’re around and racing around and have some car control and some respect in your space and others space,” he continued. Hence, Brexton is still getting to grips with the nuances of clean racing among his competitors.
The conversation about how young drivers come up thru the ranks these days leading to the kind of racing we saw in last week’s @NASCAR_Xfinity Series race wove thru driver convos @TooToughToTame Saturday…how do guys like @KyleBusch prepare their sons to race clean? pic.twitter.com/gX1hjjjv5P
— Claire B Lang (@ClaireBLang) April 6, 2025
Interestingly, Kyle Busch himself admitted he doesn’t have to constantly remind his son about clean driving etiquette. Brexton already understands the repercussions of spinning someone out — he realizes such a move could relegate him to the tail end of the field.
Busch even joked that Brexton is now holding himself back more than necessary. Nonetheless, the younger Busch has lately secured far more victories than his father.
Meanwhile, the elder Busch is navigating through a rather prolonged dry spell. His most recent win came at Gateway back in 2023, and despite multiple near misses since then, the #8 RCR driver hasn’t quite managed to win.
Next, Busch will head to Bristol Motor Speedway, a track where historically he has won multiple times – eight wins – and an average finish of 14.5. However, adapting to the Next Gen car has proved challenging for Busch, given his average finish has dropped to 26.0 at the venue in the new car era
