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MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: POCONO 400

June 2, 2019

Kyle Busch

Long Pond, Pennsylvania

Q. Obviously you've been outspoken all year about this package, but when you win, how do you reconcile the feelings of winning with this package versus how you feel about it?
KYLE BUSCH: I think I passed one car today, and that was on the outside of Turn 3 and I got a good run through Turn 2 and kind of shallowed entry to Turn 3 a little bit, and Bowyer went to block, so I just shot out to his outside, got alongside of him. I mean, that was it.
I don't know if anybody else passed anybody on the racetrack for the lead like that, but if so, then maybe this package is awesome. But that's all I know.

Q. On a scale of 1 to 10, where would you rate the package ‑‑
KYLE BUSCH: Stop asking me package questions. I'm done answering them. Next.

Q. Although you may not answer this one, but do you do anything to either kind of motivate yourself or to try to get you in a positive frame of mind for races?
KYLE BUSCH: Nope. Am I a positive person? (Laughter.) It's rare.

Q. You just go?
KYLE BUSCH: I just go, man. I just do what I'm supposed to do. I try to drive as hard as I can, as fast as I can. If there's a car in front of me, I try to pass him. Whichever way I can do that, I try to do it, and if I can't do it, there's days that I get ultimately frustrated because I don't feel like my true talent can show on the racetrack because I'm too limited by the air of everything that's kind of going on around me that I can't do anything.
As a race car driver when you can't do anything and you can't showcase what your abilities are and how good you should be or you feel like you are, then there's certainly some tense moments and some high frustrations, and today it was going to be that day early on in the race we couldn't really pass. But then there towards the end, I don't know how Bowyer got by me. He got a good run off of Turn 1, I guess, and got in front of me, but then a couple laps later I was able to get back by luckily. So I don't know.

Q. On the restart there, knowing how important the draft was today or at least the pushes were on the restarts, was there any kind of coordination between you and Erik to try to work together on that restart?
KYLE BUSCH: Well, that wasn't the final one. Are you talking about the final one? Well, the final one Erik was on the inside of me so I had to compete against him so it was straight up. I didn't ask and they didn't ask, so I figured we were just racing it out. We were just going to go with whatever went on behind us, what runs we got, what pushes we got from behind, and really when I left the restart zone, Brad touched me twice in second gear, and then after that I never got touched again until right before getting off into the corner, and that kind of seemed to be the way a couple restarts earlier in the day, as well, too, where I'm try to back up to those guys and get pushes, and really all you're doing is slowing down that train, so like the higher horsepower of the other package, you could push all the way down in there and you could fan out I felt like more than what this package alluded to.

Q. As someone who racks up milestones almost every week, what does it mean that now you're in a tie for ninth with Rusty Wallace on the career wins list?
KYLE BUSCH: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty special. We just keep on doing what we're supposed to do. I've won 55 of them, I guess, but man, there's probably just as many that I've lost out on and I know that if I could have them back I'd be well on my way.
But overall, just keep fighting, keep digging. It's pretty cool to continue to get with and eclipse many of these great names that have helped our sport, build our sport to what it is today and have been icons for that matter, as well.

Q. Does this count as a birthday present for Samantha?
KYLE BUSCH: Absolutely. Why not? We had a nice day yesterday. We went into the city and just kind of played around and checked some things out and then today was able to get her an eagle trophy. Not sure where she'll put this one, but she might just give it back.

Q. I can't tell whether you're happy or not right now. Are you happy?
KYLE BUSCH: Why?

Q. You just won.
KYLE BUSCH: Yeah. So?

Q. Does winning make you happy? Are you leveling here like yes, yay, everything is great?
KYLE BUSCH: Yes, yay. Okay.

Q. I'm just wondering, I'm not putting words in your mouth. I'm wondering. I can't tell.
KYLE BUSCH: I mean, am I happy? Sure, yeah. Today was a good day. We did what we were supposed to do. We did our job. We've had fast cars this year and have thrown away too many, so I've left the racetrack way too many times this year frustrated, and I guess I try not to let the highs be so high and the lows be so low, but I could probably roll somewhere in the middle.
You know, when you win, there's a lot of guys that enjoy it a heck of a lot more and get the high from it, but to me that's what I'm supposed to do. That's my job. So I just‑‑ today was a successful day and I look at it like that, and now I'm already looking ahead to next week.

Q. What's really clicked for you at Pocono the past three years?
KYLE BUSCH: I don't know. You know, I felt like when I was here with Dave Rogers the last year or two I started to click on something, get a little bit better. We finished third, we finished fourth. I think we finished better, and then when I got with Adam, it's just kind of clicked. We've been really, really good here with Adam. Adam is obviously a great leader and a great crew chief and does a really good job being able to listen to me and through practice when we talk about what things I need help with and need worked on on the race car to make myself better in Turn 1 or Turn 2 or Turn 3, he's able to give it to me, and that's what makes a great crew chief.
And so I appreciate his leadership and his ability and being able to understand what's in his race car, what springs and shocks and bars and why everything is the way that it is and what it does and how it affects the car in each different corner with different loads and such and that he can go to work and figure out what things I'm talking about and describing and that he knows, okay, well, that's going to be this right here, and if I change this, it's going to make us better here. It's not really going to affect over there, or whatever it is.
He's just pretty good about that.

Q. Is there another track on the schedule that's kind of that way, too?
KYLE BUSCH: Is there another track on the schedule that's kind of that way, too? Indy, I guess, also. We've really been stupid fast at Indy the last few years. Richmond I've always kind of been good there, Bristol, I've always kind of been good there. Charlotte, I've really run a lot better at Charlotte now. I remember with Dave we were always kind of mired fourth to seventh, but since Adam it's kind of been second to fifth, and we've had some first‑place cars, as well, too. I'm sure I could find some more. (Chuckles.)

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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