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NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES: QUAKER STATE 400 PRESENTED BY ADVANCED AUTO PARTSJuly 11, 2015Kyle BuschSPARTA, KENTUCKY MODERATOR: Kyle Busch, our race winner, his second win here at Kentucky Speedway. And his second win of the 2015 season. He's the driver of the number 18 M&M's, M&M's Crispy Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kyle, congratulations on the win here tonight at Kentucky. Maybe just talk about your perseverance tonight. Certainly you came through the field and showed your strength and a lot of give and take back and forth through four or five different cars tonight and how you thought The 18 car performed. KYLE BUSCH: Where is my crew chief and car owner? MODERATOR: They were already in here. KYLE BUSCH: Oh, good. I appreciate that. What did you want to know? I'm just joking. MODERATOR: Wanted to know how The 18 car performed and how you thought the night went for you. Obviously well. KYLE BUSCH: Obviously the night went real well for us but in general, man, it was really, really good to get out there and race like that tonight and to run up front and put on a good show I hope for the fans that were here in Kentucky Speedway and on TV but most importantly I can't say enough about Adam Stevens, my team, everyone that did such a great job for me and gave me a great race car to go out there and perform like I did and just to be able to put it all together throughout 400 miles like that's was really good and to come back from a couple late restarts there where everybody was battling so hard and cars were every where and not knowing where to go, what to do to get myself moving in the right direction and then to finally get up towards the front and get that win, that feels really, really good. So, it was to pass Joey like we did at the end of the race there it certainly means a lot more to come up through there and pass the guy late in the going to take the win and again I can't think M&M's, M&M's Crispy Monster Energy, Interstate Batteries, Toyota, all of our supporters that have been there for us all through the year and continue to be there for us and we appreciate that. Q. It was a great race. A lot of the drivers talked about it being a fun race I think you talked how you enjoyed that kind of racing. Do you feel that emotion during the race or are you concentrating so hard on what you're doing that you just don't allow yourself to feel that or were you in the car going like man, this is fun? KYLE BUSCH: No, there was certainly a few times during the night where it was like, oh, this is aggravating, I don't like this and then there were a couple times where it was, well, this is really good, if you think about it. So there were some moments there early in the race where I kind of got hung up behind The 78 and I think The 11 and The 22 maybe and I was like man I just can't, I just can't get a run on them I can't get where I need to be to get by these guys. I know I'm faster than them. But then the caution came out so it wasn't really a long enough run for me to have that opportunity to move around and move up to the top lane and all that stuff. So, I was really impressed though how wide this racetrack got the Kentucky Speedway was really, really cool to see from the bottom all the way four lawns up and might even have been wider if it were are a day race, just slipping and sliding a little bit more but fun race, the track lended itself to options for us drivers. I think the aero package lended itself to options for us drivers to be able to move around and try different things. When I got to Logano there late in the going I knew he was going to come up and block my lane and take my air. But when he did, it wasn't as bad as it has been with I think the other aero package where you just stall out and that guy can basically manipulate whatever you're going to do. And I could move down, I could turn down and I could get underneath him and we kind of swapped the lead a couple times for a couple laps and then finally I was able to get by him and move on away. But overall, hopefully all the dryers enjoyed it. I guess I did the most because I won. But it feels good to win. Q. I talked to Adam about how this package one of the main ideas was to put the control back in the hands of the drivers and the crew chief. Throughout the night did it change the way that you communicated with your team what was going on with your car and what you were doing behind the wheel? KYLE BUSCH: Yeah, that's a good question. I think that there's certainly opportunities where there's different times you try to say as little as you can so you're not giving away everything to the other crew chiefs that are scanning you and then there was other times tonight where I was like, man, I'm just not going to be able to explain myself without going on and telling him exactly what I'm doing and what's going on. I think once I did that, he really got a sense of what I was doing and he was really able to kind of dial in the race car for more of what I needed. Right then and there I felt like our race car changed for the better and that it was going to be a good car for the end of the race, but couple of those late restarts I got really tight off the start of the restart when Carl was racing me and then when Denny was racing me I was really tight for a few laps and then I could start to get away when those guys got lose, I kind of got back to neutral. And then there at the end when Logano got away from me and I was kind of tight and kind of loose, I was both. And I just knew that in the long run our car was really good and I just was able to kind of move around and find some grooves that helped me. Q. Last question for you, plenty of drivers were talking about after the race that as the runs would go on, you guys were able to adjust the track bar from inside the car. But they said that as that run goes on and the drivers do that, everybody's kind of running the same speed so they suggested that maybe moving forward that NASCAR try and remove that from the vehicle. Your thoughts? KYLE BUSCH: Either way. I'm good with it either way. I think there are certain times where the track bar adjust terrible does help competition and it does help passing. And then I think there's other times where it hurts it. And you don't see guys that do fall off. They're not able to adjust their car to what's going on with the circumstances that they're in. So, I can see it going either way. I personally like it. I think that I was able to use it to my advantage tonight a few times and that it really helped me. Not only to make passes, I think it helped me pass The 22 car at the end of the race, I was able to adjust it and obviously Logano was probably adjusting his but it didn't help him. So there's times when you do need that and that it does help you. So, if I didn't have it, would I have won the race? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. Q. Coach was talking about at the end of the race while he was watching you, that he did not believe that you were going to accept second place. And when you won at Sonoma you talked about being in the position of kind of preaching a little bit of patience or you didn't have to take chances in order to make the points up for the Top‑30. Is it really within Kyle Busch not to when you seize the opportunity, to go for the win. I mean it, or was this just an opportunity that you saw that was clearly you were in position to take? KYLE BUSCH: I knew this was definitely another opportunity for us to take a chance on winning a race and there when Logano was kind of getting away from me at the beginning of the run I was getting disappointed. I'm trying I'm driving everything I'm hitting all my marks and I'm just not keeping up. I said I'm just going to have to move. And I'm going to give this a few more laps and see if I get anything and if I'm not gaining then I'm going to move like no matter what I'm just going to move around, I got room behind me if I lose ground then it is what it is, I'll finish second. But I moved around and I found something and it really worked for me. So I just kept doing it. And I kind of thought The 22 would get up there a lot quicker than did he when he saw me coming but he didn't, fortunately and I was still able to have some room there on the outside a couple times and I would have to go to the I understand side and it was a good race. But no, I did not want to settle for second for sure. That was not in my mind to do that. I just knew to continue to work and to continue to put my focus forward out the windshield on what was ahead of me and that one car that I needed to get to win. Q. I know there's been times in the past when you're running out there and something happens and you're like we're done. I'm wondering if you have ever thought that about your points situation. At Daytona last week at one point it wasn't looking very good. Do you say to your self, I mean there goes The Chase. Obviously it's much better now, but was there any time where you were like, maybe it's not going to happen after all? KYLE BUSCH: I haven't thought that yet, no. I haven't thought about the chase a whole lot. I knew Daytona when I got in the wall that my first, my first thoughts were well this isn't going to be easy. To just continue to fight hard and to salvage the best finish that we possible could. I think I even could have finished about 8th. Kurt, I wanted to follow Kurt, he kind of maneuvered his way to the middle and I wanted to maneuver my way to the middle behind him, but I couldn't quite get there that last restart. And where I would have been would have been the 31 car and he finished 8th. So that's where I wanted to be. But I didn't quite work out I finished 17th. I didn't makeup all the points I wanted to last week but certainly finishes like this, runs like this, they sure do help. And thankfully we're going to a lot of races here now that are more driver induced than our circumstances induced and so it's going to be on my hands and Adam Stevens and this whole race team's hands. Q. Kyle, if you keep winning I'm sure the Top‑30 equation is going to take care of it self but I also think that with two wins now even though you're out side the Top‑30 a lot of people and fans will probably be asking isn't that deserved of its own to make The Chase, to have two victories. What's your take on that? Do you feel like you're kind of putting pressure on NASCAR here or kind of like positioning yourself in an interesting way even if you're not in the Top‑30 to make a chase for being a championship chase contender? KYLE BUSCH: Well certainly I think the more wins that we do achieve that it's going to put them in a tougher spot. But also I think now that if there were 16 different winners obviously that will put us in. The two wins will put us up over a guy that has one win. So that's the biggest positive that I see of the two wins. Again, it's just a continuation now that we have got to continue to get to that Top‑30. And hopefully it's not just us racing for a car Owners Championship but for driver championship too. Q. Kyle, in the past you've said that you don't really pay attention to what the team is doing as far as the chassis of the car, you get in it and you go race. Were you more involved in preparation for today's race or did you just take the same attitude and then to follow‑up, you got a great trophy tonight, what's the one song you hope is on it? KYLE BUSCH: So, to this weekend, actually to this year I've spent a lot of time with Adam Stevens and we have really gone over notes especially for the night time races, we have the opportunity to be able to go and discuss those things in depth through the morning time before the garage opens. So after the XFINITY race last night I learned some things there, felt some things there that I really wanted to describe and tell him and he understood what I was talking about and he knew what kind of a what kind of thugs I was looking for in my Cup car and he helped me a lot today. Him, the engineers, everybody, they did a really good job of giving me a better feel than what I had in practice. So, I was thankful for all of that and that will obviously continue.  There's no better thing than to talk and get communication, have good communication with a driver/crew chief. So, the other part of the question was about the juke box. What song? I don't know. Obviously the juke box thing is kind of like a more like an I would say early probably through the '50s type thing so maybe some cool '50s music being on there. That would be cool. Maybe some Beach Boys or something like that. Little Deuce Coupe would kind of be cool. Of course, my dad he loves them deuce coupes, so besides that I don't know, maybe there's some fresh stuff on there too that we can have some fun with. Q. Wanted to pick your brain on how this win tonight compares to five years ago here in 2011. KYLE BUSCH: Well, both are big in their own reasons. And I think all my wins are. Fans ask me they go, well what's your most memorable win or favorite win or something like that. And to be honest with you, they all have their own memories for particular reasons and they're all cool in their own right. 2011 here being the inaugural winner, that's a special one. You're the first guy to be able to conquer a racetrack that everybody has gone to so you figured it out first but this one here this was a little more satisfying tonight I think too just because of everything we have gone through this year with myself, my injuries, my family, Samantha, having my son here, he was in Victory Lane here with us, my son. So again it's a fun opportunity and I'm blessed to be in the opportunity that I'm in with Joe Gibbs Racing and everybody that's surrounding me and things are looking good so far, so we'll just continue to keep fighting. Q. Now that you've got the gap between you and 30th under a hundred points I guess it's 80 or 81 somewhere in there. MODERATOR: 87. Q. 87. I'm sorry. KYLE BUSCH: Why do you have to be a downer? He said 81. Q. I thought he said 88. KYLE BUSCH: Your math is really good. Q. He did say 88 didn't he? So I was helping you there. How important was it to get it like under three digits. You've taken big chunks at Sonoma obviously another big chunk here. How important is it to break through that century mark and give your self a shot with eight to go. KYLE BUSCH: I'm not thinking about it exactly. Obviously it's on our mind, but I'm not thinking about the points gained when we win. When we win, I know we did all we can do. That's awesome. And it is what it is. They lie wherever they lie. It's more of the 17th place finish at Daytona and you know that those other guys can have decent finishes at those places as well, too, so because it's just such an unknown that you kind of look at the points and you're like okay how many did I gain I think I only gained six or seven or something last week on 30. But this week was a good week. So that's what matters most is for us to go out there and perform and perform at our best at the level that we know how to do and that's what I've said since I came back. If we do everything right and do it how we know we can there's no reason we shouldn't be able to average a 14th place finish or what whatever it's going to I can at that to be in The Chase to be in the Top‑30. And now with two wins, man, I never would have imagined we would have gotten two wins this fast. But I got a great team and they have done a really good job. NBC asked me earlier, they go, well, when you won at Sonoma, Sonoma was like of the racetracks that were coming up I think there was 13 or 14 I think Sonoma was 11. It was way down at the bottom and Kentucky was probably one of the top three. So we have won at the top and the bottom of the list so far, so, not too shabby, hopefully we can keep going. MODERATOR: Kyle, congratulations on this win here tonight and continued best of luck the rest of the year. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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