Kyle Busch Explains Why He Always Raced in Xfinity

kyle busch

Getty Kyle Busch arrives at Michigan International Speedway.

The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry has provided even more insight into his NASCAR career, specifically, the portion that created an uproar among racing fans. Kyle Busch has released a YouTube video explaining why he always competed in the Xfinity Series despite being one of the most successful Cup Series drivers.

Busch provided the information during the second part of his YouTube series, “My Xfinity Series Story.” He sat down at Kyle Busch Motorsports with cans of Rowdy Energy and race trophies surrounding him. Busch then explained that he chose to compete in the Xfinity Series throughout his career because “he’s a racer” with a deep-seated love of being behind the wheel.

“I’m a racer. I love to race. If I have anything available that I’m able to race, I want to go race,” Busch explained. “When I’m a Cup Series guy and you’re at the weekend from Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and you’re sitting there in your motorhome watching the Xfinity Series race anyway, you’re like ‘what am I doing sitting here? I might as well be out there doing it.’ Thankfully, I always had sponsors, I had a great team — JGR — I had the opportunities that were always there in front of me to go do it. So I said, ‘yeah, I’ll go do it.'”


Busch Had Another Objective in Mind When He Competed in Xfinity

Kyle Busch

GettyKyle Busch (left) celebrates an Xfinity Series win at Atlanta.

While Busch primarily raced due to his love of competing, he also did so for a second reason. He wanted to help bring along the next generation of stock car racers. He knew that these young drivers would someday be in the Cup Series, so he wanted to provide something for them to measure themselves against.

“It just goes back to the point of working with different people and being able to develop myself for Sunday and also develop the other people — car chiefs, crew chiefs, engineers — for Sunday as well,” the veteran driver said.

To accentuate his point, Busch’s video featured a clip of him talking to Kaulig Racing President Chris Rice. The Xfinity Series executive explained Busch only makes his own team — AJ Allmendinger, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton — better. They have to face off with a championship-winning driver and see how they stack up.

“Last time I checked, when I was a kid, I was racing against the Cup guys and getting beat by them, or beating them,” Busch added. “That just gives you that measuring stick of, ‘hey, if I go race on Sunday, and I going to be able to do it? Am I going to be able to be good on Sundays?’

“Now with no Cup guys doing it, there’s no measuring stick. These guys are out there winning Xfinity Series or whatever, thinking they are Jack the Bear or they’re cool. Then they get their way up to Cup, and they run 30th every weekend. And they’re like, ‘wow, this is not what we expected. This is a whole different world.'”


Busch Addressed His Xfinity Series Retirement Once Again

Busch won all five of his Xfinity starts in 2021, reaching 102 total victories in the series and hitting a career milestone. The driver had previously explained that he would retire from the Xfinity Series after winning 100 races, and he confirmed that this is still the plan during the latest episode of his YouTube series.

The NASCAR driver addressed his racing future and said that he was indeed done with the Xfinity Series. Instead of suiting up on Saturdays and climbing into the No. 54 JGR Toyota Supra, he will put his focus on developing another driver — his son. He will guide 6-year-old Brexton Busch as he pursues a racing career of his own.

Busch will now have more time to spend trackside, providing information to Brexton and helping him fight for more wins. He will also continue to document the process on his YouTube channel, which has previously shown Brexton racking up wins or talking to Clint Bowyer.

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