Though this week’s Daytona 500 drivers may be rich and successful now, none of them reached NASCAR’s Super Bowl without some bumps along the way. We asked several drivers to share the story of a difficult moment with us. Up next: Kyle Busch.
Kyle Busch’s Road To The 2011 Daytona 500
To some fans, Kyle Busch is the ultimate silver spoon driver. They believe he never faced adversity or hard times on his way up the NASCAR ladder, simply showing up in good rides all along the way.
Well guess what? Like every other driver, Busch had doubts as to whether he’d make it to Sprint Cup. Yes, even Kyle Busch wasn’t sure.
The most difficult time for Busch was when NASCAR raised the age limit from 16 to 18 while he was already in the sport. Here’s the rest of the story, in his words:
When I was 16 and I was in the Truck Series running for Roush, all the sudden NASCAR decided to make the rule change that you had to be 18. That's the time when I wasn't sure I was going to be able to come back.
Most of the time, when you see people that are in NASCAR that get kicked out or lose their ride, there's really not many opportunities for them to come back.
Me being young and not having the experience, I didn't recognize that you could come back and be just fine. It didn't sit well with me at first.
I got kicked out in November, and everybody in NASCAR told me I'd be fine to race Daytona the following year when I was still 16. Never got to race any NASCAR stuff. I ran the full tour of the ASA – when it was still alive – and from January (of the next year) until my birthday in May when I turned 18, I ran ARCA stuff.
Then after I turned 18, I ran seven Busch races (and got back into NASCAR).
It was always a dream anyway. And as long as you keep clawing toward the dream, you know one of these days it'll become a reality.
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