Know Your Driver: Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch

Name: Kyle Thomas Busch

            Nickname: "Rowdy", "Shrub"

Date of Birth: May 2, 1985 (age 30)

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Family: Samantha, wife; Brexton, son; Kurt (driver), brother

First Career Start: March 7, 2004 (Las Vegas)

Car Number and Make: #18 Toyota Camry

Primary Sponsors:

• M&M's Crispy
• Pedigree
• Snickers Extreme
• Skittles
• Interstate Batteries

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

Teammates: Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth

Best Career Points Finish: 4th (2013)

Career Victories: 30

Notable Wins:

• Southern 500 (2008)

Description: There is no disputing Kyle Busch's talent in NASCAR.

Busch grew up racing legends car out in Las Vegas along with his older brother, Kurt, starting from the age of 13 and quickly began dominating weekly series races at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway bullring course. His talent was quickly recognized and he was brought out to begin racing in what is now the Camping World Truck Series at age 16. Busch finished 9th in his first start in the series, but battled sponsorship and age restrictions throughout the year, forcing him to switch series temporarily.

At age 19, Busch began competing full-time in what is now the XFinity Series and scored four wins in his rookie season, tying Greg Biffle's record, and finished 2nd in points to Martin Truex Jr. By the following season, 2005, the 20 year old Busch began racing full-time in the Sprint Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports and scored two wins as a rookie and taking home Rookie of the Year honors.

From that point on until now, Busch has been NASCAR's winningest driver across all three of its top series (Sprint, XFinity, and Camping World), claiming an astounding 143 combined victories. His 30 Sprint Cup wins are nothing to frown about, but it's his 71 XFinity wins and 42 Camping World Truck Series wins that have earned him the title of "King of the Minors" (since those series are lower than Sprint). It should also be noted that Busch won the 2009 XFinity title.

A driver with that much talent would seem to be a shoo-in to be a Sprint Cup champion, and there is still plenty of time with Busch being only 30. It may not happen this year, after Busch suffered a broken leg and broken foot in a violent crash during the Daytona XFinity race at the beginning of the season. He has since returned, but has some ground to make up in the points if he wants to make the Chase.

Busch's biggest detriment to the lack of a Sprint Cup title has honestly been himself. Known for throwing profanity laced tirades at his crew and fellow drivers whenever he's having an average race has made him hard to work with, going through a bevy of crew chiefs over the years. He has also encountered legal troubles, once having his license suspended in 2011 after being pulled over going 128mph in a 45mph zone during a test drive with a Lexus. In 2014, he was also ticketed by an officer after going 60 in a 45, claiming that Busch had a disrespectful attitude. 

If Busch can learn to control his attitude, which has been improving over the years and more than ever since his injury and the birth of his son in 2015, there should be no reason he won't score at least one Sprint Cup title. He should also climb the all-time NASCAR winners list to be one of the winningest drivers of all-time, but again, this is assuming he doesn't get in his own way. In the end, though, you'd be hard pressed to find a more talented driver.

Fun Facts: Kyle's signature victory celebration is to get out of the car at the finish line and bow to the crowd, a move that typically is met with a shower of "boos" from the fans.