What Was Joe Gibbs’ Biggest NASCAR Lesson for Kyle Busch?

It goes without saying that being under the leadership and mentorship of someone like Joe Gibbs would definitely impact anyone, no matter how ‘Rowdy’ their personality might be. Such was also the case for Kyle Busch. The Richard Childress Racing driver was a part of Coach Gibbs’ organization for 15 seasons. And in his time at Coach Gibbs’ team, Busch learned many things, a few of which he revealed in an interview earlier this year.

Speaking to Jason Stein of Cars and Culture, Busch revealed that the biggest thing Gibbs taught him was “how to mellow out.” 

He explained, “Racing isn’t the end-all, be-all. When I’m a kid, when I’m young, when you’re young, that’s all you know. You don’t have a family, and then you have a wife, and then you don’t have kids but then you have kids and it kind of changes you a little bit, to kind of re-think things that there’s a greater purpose.”

“It’s hard to understand that at a young age. When you’re young, you know everything. It’s nice to sometimes sit back and listen to some of the older generation and the guys that have been there, done that before you to kind of understand and take that all in and get a real good look at it and a good process of it.”

Has the fire within Kyle Busch diminished over the years?

For most NASCAR fans, Kyle Busch had a certain image, a persona, which in the last couple of seasons has been shifting into, as Busch said, a more mellow version. But does that mean the fire within him is also diminishing?

The answer is both yes and no.

“You’re trying to diminish or tone down a light or a fire, a desire that’s within you that makes you who you are, that makes you want to win,” Busch described.“When you have to tone that down, are you taking fire out of a dragon who wants to go out and burn everything in its way and win competition-wise? But sometimes you are a dragon that’s burning everything in its way. You’re burning relationships. You’re burning bridges. You’re doing that kind of stuff too.”

“I think it goes both ways. You’re trying to find a better understanding of what that is exactly.”

Busch claimed that this understanding has been beneficial for him over the years and that having a son has also helped in having a new perspective on things.

However, he emphasized that his goal on Sundays hasn’t changed, which is still all about winning and doing everything to make that happen.