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When Kyle Busch makes his acceptance speech at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the televised event is likely to run over its allotted time. Given his proficiency in all three national series, it will take him some time to talk about everything.
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Busch turns 36 in May, and 36 years from now, don’t be surprised if he is still driving something other than the family car. His passion for the sport is undeniable, and he will drive anything with four wheels. To prove that point, after the Camping World Truck Series win on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he flew to Tennessee to race on dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway that night.
Kyle Busch keeps trucking, in Trucks, Xfinity and Cup
The Las Vegas native has never run a full Truck Series schedule, and yet, he notched up 60 victories in just 157 starts. That’s a 38-percent win average. Meanwhile, his top 10 percentage is nearly 80. From 2005 through the ongoing 2021 season, there has been just one year - 2012 - when he failed to win a race. That's not too surprising when you consider that he only ran three races on the schedule.
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But if you thought his Truck Series resume is enough to get him into the Charlotte shrine, Busch is three wins short of the century mark in the Xfinity Series. It’s a milestone he could hit, and it depends on how many events he enters this year. 2012 also proved to be winless. That year, he only found victory lane once, and that was in the premier series.
Busch has a string of 16 consecutive seasons with a win in the NASCAR Cup Series. A win in 2021 will see him tie with David Pearson and be just one behind all-time leader Richard Petty's 18.
Kyle Busch has 57 career victories in Cup, which puts him at 10th on the all-time list and one behind Kevin Harvick. They are the only active drivers that high. Up next is Dale Earnhardt with 76, and don’t put it past Busch to run him down.
If Kyle Busch starts to talk about his two championships (there could be more by the time he stands on that Hall of Fame stage), those in attendance might need an endless supply of coffee. Nothing he has ever done is a fluke. Busch has always been around the front, regardless of the series. In Cup alone, he is 11th in runner-up finishes, with 54, and the only active driver who has more is Harvick, with 58.
Numbers notwithstanding, Kyle Busch may be one of the most competitive drivers ever to have put on a NASCAR helmet. He wears his emotions on his sleeve when he isn’t first across the finish line; a trait that sometimes sees him come off as a whiner. But when he wins, he shares the glory with everyone involved. He is an enigma in a firesuit.
Oh, and don’t get him started on Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Make no mistake; Kyle Busch will be a Hall of Famer. It’s just a matter of when.
