Getty Kyle Busch has set his hopes for the new USA documentary series.
“Race for the Championship” debuts on Thursday, September 1. This new NASCAR documentary series focuses on some of the biggest names in the sport, and Kyle Busch hopes it “humanizes the villain.”
Busch made the comments during a media availability at Daytona International Speedway. He provided some insight into the filming process and how the storyline focused on his family life. As Busch explained, it is important that the cameras show off a different part of his daily routine other than what is shown on broadcast television.
“Yeah, I mean, to me, I guess the humanizing the villain, let’s say,” Busch explained. “Okay, so I’d like to be known by a heck of a lot more than just what is on broadcast television each weekend or not on broadcast television. But to me, you know, I’m a husband, I’m a father, I’m a racer. And that’s all I’ve really known. I’ve grown up doing that.
“I’ve come from a blue-collar family from Las Vegas where my dad was a Mac Tool man and didn’t come up from a lot. But obviously trying to instill those same traits into my kids and how we go about what we do each and every week to go to the race track. So, for me, I would like to think that just, you know, again, showing the human side, humanizing myself and what is important to me, not just at the race track, but away from the race track.”
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The Filming Process Was Unique for Multiple Drivers
GettyJoey Logano (bottom) & Kyle Busch (top) were both featured in the documentary series.
Being in the spotlight is nothing new for the NASCAR Cup Series drivers, especially those that have been competing for many years. However, having camera crews follow them around at home is a fairly unique experience.
For Joey Logano, he had the crews following him and his family around at multiple points. There were glimpses of his home life, as well as how he prepared for the inaugural Busch Light Clash at the LA Memorial Coliseum. The Team Penske driver put a significant portion of his life on display but only after the crews agreed to keep some things under wraps.
“The only thing I don’t want them to see is I don’t want people to know where I live,” Logano said during an availability at Daytona International Speedway. “That’s a security piece. I don’t want that and they were respectful about that. I said, ‘Here are the things that I’m willing to show,’ and we lived our life and they filmed it. I can’t say we did anything differently than what we typically would do. It was good. We did that.
“They put some go-pros in the pickup truck on our way up to Bristol and had a truck full of kids screaming. It was life and they filmed it. It’s gonna be fun to watch that and how everybody does things differently and how lives are different away from the racetrack. Everyone has different amount of kids or married or not or whatever. Everyone has a different life. It’s kind of fun to see.”
The Balance Between Racing & Normal Life
GettyKyle Busch (right) will put his family on display.
“Race for the Championship” is a series that could potentially be NASCAR’s answer to “Drive to Survive,” the Netflix series focusing on Formula 1. In order to achieve this goal, the series will have to provide an intriguing balance between the racing and the personal lives of the drivers.
For diehard NASCAR fans, the series will potentially showcase the different personalities of the top drivers. Busch, Logano, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and others will take center stage while showing how they balance family time with their preparation for the biggest races on the schedule.
For casual fans, this series could serve as a gateway into NASCAR. They could learn about some of the drivers in the sport while learning how stock car racing is more than just “making left turns.” This is where the focus on the racing will be key. These new viewers may not know about Busch’s two championship-winning seasons or Larson’s return from a suspension in 2020.