Toledo Speedway

TOLEDO, Ohio (August 14, 2009)--Kyle Busch took a break from testing his CRA Late Model on Thursday to speak with members of the local media on everything from short track racing to points racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Selected quotes from his interview are posted here. Busch will return to Toledo Speedway's half-mile paved oval for Friday night's CRA 100 lap Late Model Feature. Tickets are available at Toledo Speedway beginning at 3 p.m. and cost $20.

On the difficult schedule of balancing short track racing and a fulltime NASCAR career:
"It's real tough to do sometimes but when you have the CRA Series and guys that work with you around your schedule it seems to really help us out and for this particular event being so close to Michigan (International Speedway) really helped us out. It really helped me and I wanted to be here at Toledo Speedway because I haven't been here since 2002 and I felt like I wanted to come back and put another race on in the CRA Super Series."

On the differences between a speedway like Michigan and Toledo Speedway:
"Toledo Speedway is a tough place because when I was here [in 2002] it was brand new asphalt so it really stuck on the bottom but I haven't been here in a while to see how the racing is so I don't know if it's two-wide or three-wide or single-file or what. I think we'll have a pretty good show and there should be a good field of cars here and it will be a fun time for me. I'm going to miss qualifying so I'll have to start in the back and make it more exciting for the fans. For sure it can be done. It's a tighter short track so it's hard to pass sometimes. With the short straight-a-ways here and the longness of the corners you're in the corners for a long time so you don't have much time to get a run on a guy and get along side of him getting down the straightaway before you get into the corners so it's a tricky facility but that's what makes it fun. The harder it is the better."

On heading into Michigan with the current points situation:
"We just got to do what we did last week at Watkins Glen. We just need to get a good solid race. Something that will keep us in contention for the race win at the end of the race if possible and get a good, solid top-10 or  top-5 finish and that's all we can ask for right now. The wins will come later when we are able to race for wins but right now we need to be smart."

On whether or not it is tough not to race for wins and focus on points instead:
"When you've got a car capable of winning you're going to try to win the race, that's how any racer is. But when you've got a 3^rd or 4^th place car there is no point in pushing it and getting yourself caught up in the fence or spinning out or something like that. Last week we had a car probably good enough for third and I overdrove it a little bit there at the end of the race trying to get a little more out of it, trying to catch the guys in front of me and it just fell into place and I ran fourth there. I was catching Carl at the last couple of laps. We just have to do the same thing."

Do you like MIS?
"It's a fun track. It's similar to California and I really like California. I'm a lot better out there for some reason. Michigan's a tough place. I don't know if it's because everyone else runs better there or if I run worse there or what. California seems to suite me a little bit better but here at Michigan it's a fun, wide racetrack that you can really race all over the place."

On how winning in the ARCA RE/MAX Series was beneficial to his career:
"Anything that your able to accomplish as far as wins go or solid finishes goes in any series is instrumental in your success rate or your career path that your trying to take or lead. For myself it was really good to race in the ARCA Series, the races that I ran, and what I was able to learn there. And take that to the Nationwide level in 2004 and then on to the Cup level in 2005 and since. I look forward to racing anywhere. You can always try to learn something, whether it's learning about the car or learning about the track."

On the motivation to come to Toledo and run in the CRA Series:
"I just haven't been to Toledo in a while and thought that since we're so close at Michigan-I thought the schedule was going to work out better than what it did-unfortunately we'll get here a little bit later than what we originally planned so we'll get the laps that we can today hopefully. I've got Brian Ickler here as my test pilot for tomorrow so he'll drive it then and maybe make it a little bit better then I'll be here for the race."

Do you enjoy this type of racing?
"Yes. It's great. I love the short track racing. This is my favorite type of vehicle-the late models-and bias ply tires. When you're able to come out here in your own equipment and you trust the guys that work on it and you know it's safe and you got the best seat that you can get in it then you come out and have some fun and try to enjoy what you can about racing and that's a good way to just kind of relax sometimes and give back to the local short tracks."

Do fellow short track drivers enjoy racing you because if they beat you they have something to go back to their friends and brag about?
"Ya--a lot of people have beaten me lately. I finished second quite a bit this year so hopefully we can come out here and just have a good run, a fun run. We won at Anderson a couple of weeks ago in the CRA Super Series. Earlier this year we ran fifth at Berlin so we're looking forward to coming out here and hopefully having another strong run."

Is this a side of Kyle Busch that most race fans don't pay attention to?
"It is what it is. I've got a lot of fans who like me for who I am. I got a lot of people who don't like me for who I am. So it is what it is. You battle that. It's a double edged sword. My whole life has been a double edged sword so it doesn't make it any different to come out here but this is definitely enjoyable for me, hopefully enjoyable for the fans that come out and get a chance to see me and see the rest of the racers out there and hopefully we put on a good show."

Is it good that the fans are so close to you here at Toledo (As opposed to MIS):
"No. Not really. Hopefully we can pack the house and it will be a good show for everybody. But whether the fans are on you or away from you, when there are people yelling and screaming you can hear them from a mile away. We're going to have an autograph session here so we'll be able to get really up close and personal with them for about a half hour to 45 minutes and then we'll get back to racing."

Why are bias ply tire late models your favorite cars?
"It's just because you can do a lot with them. You can really change the setup a lot with them or you can change your driving style a lot to suite yourself in order to get around the corners a bit better or outdrive somebody. You can slide them around and it's not quite like dirt track racing but with these cars the driver can make up a lot for the car."

Is David Stremme keeping an evil eye on you or helping you out?
"I don't think he wants to race. I don't think it's Stremme coming here to keep an eye on me or anything. These are actually two of his old cars that he sold to these guys I think so he's out here helping them out and just making sure that they stay on course with what they are supposed to do and not get too far out of the box."

Marcos Ambrose said he would pull that move again on you that he pulled in the nationwide race at Watkins Glen if it ever came to that. Would you pull that move on him if it ever came to that?
"I said it before and I'll say it again. I wouldn't have been able to. If one of the cars didn't give it would have been a wreck. I didn't feel like it was a fair move because it was putting into jeopardy another guy's car. I would have had to gone through the grass or he would have knocked me into the grass-one of the two-we would have made contact so that's why I didn't think it was a clean move. Nobody knows what I went through in that situation to make it a clean outcome so I wouldn't be able to do the same move because it wouldn't be clean."