Q+A: Daytona 500 champion Kurt Busch — ‘I want to deliver for my hometown (Las Vegas) crowd’

Although he finished seventh in his second race of the season, Folds of Honor QuikTrip 400 in Atlanta on Sunday, he is still atop the Top 10 Power Rankings. “I haven’t won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway yet, so there’s a little bit of an anxiety,” Kurt told me.

It was officially announced Wednesday that NASCAR has given a second race to our city starting in September 2018. I tweeted the news Sunday, and it became official Wednesday.

“It’s a good anxious, though,” continued Kurt.

“It’s a unique feeling of coming back home — a place where I grew up at the little bowling track next door, and there’s the extra fans and friends and a little bit of pressure — just because I want to deliver for my hometown crowd.”

I think of The Daytona 500 as the ultimate mecca of NASCAR. You were one lap away from not winning and finishing second. What was it like crossing the line as the winner?

It’s like a childhood dream flashing through your mind, and literally it felt like there were cold chills and spikes going through my body of emotion and triumph. It’s so difficult to achieve, and, when you’re crossing the line and there’s the commotion and the radio chatter and the flashbulbs going off in the grand stands, there’s a quick pause of this sheer joy that encompasses you. It’s really a unique feeling to win that great American race.

Was it an added thrill this year because, if I’m correct, it didn’t look as if you were going to win until the last lap?

Yeah, it’s part of the strategic positioning in that race where you deal with the different pit sequences, and to be able to avoid some of the crashes that were happening, luck was on our side. At the end, my strategy was to make a move on the last lap, so it’s like I got jumped up and see the moment according to the plan that I drew out on paper.

I’m not going to phrase this question very smartly, but teach me, help me understand why if you win at the pinnacle one week don’t you win the next race? If a boxer goes into a ring, for example, and he scores two knockouts in a row, chances are that he’s going to score a third knockout. Why doesn’t that happen in NASCAR?

It’s because of the competition value on how many competitive teams there are and how many sets of circumstances have to lead toward a victory and have a Super Bowl type of win. And that’s just Daytona!

There just can’t be the emotions that carry over to the next week … where you’re still in celebration mode from such a big win on such a big stage. It’s a competition value every week. You’re racing against the best of the best, and certain tracks and combinations really shine through on specific racetracks.

How does The Las Vegas Kobalt 400 stack up against The Daytona 500 in skill and things that could go wrong or hopefully right?

The race in Las Vegas is a mile-and-a-half-size racetrack, and we have full downforce and horsepower. It’s different than the restricted-plate race in Daytona where they restrict our speed due to safety, so the draught isn’t as important at Las Vegas.

What’s most important at Las Vegas is the handling characteristics of the car, especially through turns three and four where the sun angle bakes down onto that corner of the track and makes it really slick. That’s the key I think to victory in Las Vegas. If your car’s good through turns three and four, then I think you have a shot at victory.

What’s the right word to describe your frustration at never winning on your home track?

It feels like a little thorn in my side when you can’t win at your hometown track. I didn’t race on that track a lot as a kid because the track was too big for small racing. So, yeah, a small thorn in my side. Little brother Kyle, he’s won at Las Vegas before, so he’s got that one up on me. That digs into you a little bit further, too!

So still friendly competition between two brothers?

Yes, definitely a friendly sibling rivalry, and we both love to go to the Thanksgiving dinner table boasting what each accomplished each year.

Las Vegas gets a second NASCAR race as of next year even thought it might mean the annual awards here will move to Charlotte. Thoughts?

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has very powerful people. They’re smart, and they know what it takes to draw people to The Entertainment Capital of the World, so I’m excited about it. It’s a great thing for our city, and I’m looking forward to what it all means for Las Vegas. And now I get two opportunities to win at home!

Do hometown fans tend to be less forgiving when you’re racing at home than they would if they were making the trek to Atlanta or Daytona? Do you get a sense that you’re given a harder time here because you’re a Las Vegas boy?

No. Actually, the community embraces the Busch brothers very well. What’s unique, though, about Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the tourism, so you have a ton of out-of-state fans. They crowd in from California, Utah and Arizona, and some of the ticket sales now go to a strong group of Canadian fans coming down looking for fair weather.

The forecast is great for this weekend: warm and sunny.

Yes, perfect racing weather. Hopefully everybody comes on out and enjoys the race Sunday.

How long have you been racing, and at 38 how long do you keep doing this?

This is my 17th year, and if there’s a contract that carries me into my mid-40s, I would love to do that, which is another five to six years. I enjoy it, I love the competition, and there are top trophies still out there to obtain. It makes sense to keep going because I’m with such a competitive team, as well.

As you get into the racecar to start The Kobalt 400, what goes through your mind?

The No. 1 focus is the day’s game plan as far as the way that our crew chief has laid out the pit strategy. I review driver tendencies in my mind from the videotapes that I watch in preparation for the race.

You jump into race mode right after driver introductions, which you’ve so elegantly graced our intros over the years; it’s always a fun moment in Las Vegas. Once the national anthem hits, that’s really game time, that is full-on game mode, and it’s a matter of executing the day’s plan for the race.

What do you think, in terms of percentages, comes into play? Fifty percent the brain, 50 percent the body?

I would say that all of it adds up as far as the percentages, and you don’t want to have a weak area. So, yes, nutrition, fitness, mental preparation, teamwork and all of the research that the engineers do and the amount of time and effort that it takes to build a competitive car.

You know, the car is 33 percent of it, the crew is 33 percent, and the driver is 33 percent. Then you’ve got to have lady luck on your side. If you have only 1 percent lady luck, you’re not having enough luck!

Legendary British driver Sterling Moss once told me in England that he refrained from all shenanigans the day or two days before a race. Do you have any similar rules?

I try to get a good night’s sleep. Yes, shenanigans are kept to a minimum. The race weekend’s all shaped up. From Thursdays on, it’s full focus all the way through race weekend, then Sunday night we might end up grabbing a pint with a friend.

This time while you’re home, your brother, Kyle, will be at Ethel M Chocolate Factory in Henderson, and you are going back to school?

I am at my high school Thursday. Durango High School is inducting me into their sports Hall of Fame. It’s truly an honor, and it’s really neat to be a Durango High School grad and to be a Trailblazer like I was in the ’90s.

It’s really neat to come back and to have my hood hoisted up into the rafters in the gymnasium and to come back and speak to the students, to give them a motivational pep rally on how school is first and education is important. I want all of them to know that they can achieve their dreams if they work hard like I did.

Is there a metaphor from racing at high speed around a track in how you deal with life?

I suppose it’s a little bit sarcastic, but it’s the rush from winning at racing and to keep the shiny side up. Always setting out a winning goal. Every year, the team, myself, everybody has an agenda. This year, there’s a strong push from Ford Motor Co. to be the manufacturer as champion, to get the overall championship.

I want to do my part in helping Ford achieve those goals and along the way picking up great race wins like The Daytona or The Kobalt 400 in my hometown of Las Vegas. Those are the two top goals that I have here early in the season.

Right now, we’re 1 for 1. We won The Daytona 500 in grand style, as you would say, and we’re living the good life right now.

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Be sure to check out our Royal Robin Rundown of NASCAR Weekend later today.