KYLE BUSCH
‘Double or Nothing’
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Las Vegas native Kyle Busch plays a game of “Double or Nothing” every time he straps himself into a racecar.
While double or nothing in this case doesn’t necessarily have to do with gambling, the driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) will get to show everyone what he means by double or nothing as the series head into the second non-points event of the season – Saturday night’s $1 million-to-win Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Busch first showed what he means by double or nothing in the 2009 edition of the Sprint All-Star Race. At the time, NASCAR instituted short-track-style double-file restarts for just the All-Star Race. After Busch pulled off several bold moves that injected plenty of excitement into the race that year, it prompted NASCAR to go ahead and institute the rule permanently for NASCAR’s top three series starting at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway a few weeks later.
The talented 26-year-old is widely known as one of the best at restarts in NASCAR, and he’s provided plenty of excitement for the fans ever since. An example of that came just last weekend, when Busch used the final double-file restart of the Sprint Cup race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway to pick off five cars on the first lap alone, and went all the way from 12th to finish a solid fourth.
Busch didn’t earn his spot in the year’s All-Star Race on double-file restarts, alone. He locked in his spot in this year’s All-Star event – comprised primarily of 2010 and 2011 Sprint Cup race winners, plus past All-Star Race winners and past series champions – via his three series wins in 2010 and his two wins in NASCAR’s top series thus far in 2011, tying Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick for the most Sprint Cup wins to date this season.
The Las Vegas native not only has earned the title of All-Star, he’s quickly become one of the dominant forces in the elite Sprint Cup Series. With his 21st career Sprint Cup win last month at Richmond (Va.) International Speedway, Busch now has 96 career wins in NASCAR’s top three divisions – Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck. With the aforementioned win at Richmond, Busch is now tied for 29th on the all-time Sprint Cup wins list, where he joined Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, Benny Parsons and Jack Smith.
Busch was regarded as a potential star when he entered the Sprint Cup ranks full-time in 2005 as a raw 18-year-old, but he’s quickly transformed that star potential into bonafide All-Star status since joining JGR at the beginning of 2008.
A competitor who has tried to focus on racing smart during points-paying events week in and week out, Busch views Saturday’s non-points-paying All-Star Race as his annual, one-time opportunity to throw patience out the window at his own discretion.
Besides, there might not be another driver who exemplifies double or nothing quite like Busch.