NASCAR Texas 2016 recap: Kyle Busch continues to showcase talent, maturation

The comment was said in jest, coming during Kyle Busch’s jovial press conference following Saturday night’s victory at Texas Motor Speedway. And yet, there was a modicum of truth in the words of the reigning Sprint Cup champion, who had won for the second week in a row.

“I think the magic is Kyle Busch, but that’s just me,” Busch said.

While quick to credit his No. 18 team led by crew chief Adam Stevens and Joe Gibbs Racing, which has emerged as NASCAR’s dominant organization, Busch deserves a bulk of the credit for amassing a stretch that’s seen him register seven wins over the past 32 races.

Since suffering, then overcoming serious leg injuries and becoming a first-time father last May, Busch has talked often about his newfound perspective. How he has a better focus and resolve when encountering challenges and things that once caused him to become unhinged rarely do.

That maturation that has come to forefront many times over the past 14 months. Missing just 11 races, he returned far sooner than expected and still qualified for NASCAR’s playoffs. He then put aside previous failures in the Chase for the Sprint Cup to win a first-ever championship.

Further evidence of Busch’s evolution came Saturday night.

In the initial going the chassis setup on the No. 18 car wasn’t to Busch’s liking. A situation compounded when Jimmie Johnson accidentally rear-ended Busch on pit road necessitating some quick repairs that cost Busch additional positions on the track.

This sequence of events -- a car that was expected to be fast but wasn’t and being innocently swept up into someone else’s mistake -- are things that previously would have triggered an outburst.

Yet, there was no venting and none of Busch virtually throws up his hands resigning himself to a poor finish.

Getting hit by Jimmie on pit road, that was no big deal,” Busch said. “I’m just glad (it) didn’t cause any serious damage to either of our cars. ... I don’t even think we blinked an eye and fixed it, but kept digging.”

That perseverance paid off, as slowly Stevens dialed in the No. 18 Toyota while Busch made steady progress up the leaderboard. Fortuitously circumstances also began working in Busch’s favor. First in the form of teammate Carl Edwards, who had the second-best car at Texas, having to make an unscheduled stop for a loose wheel. Then, by Martin Truex Jr., who led a race-high 141 laps, committing a tactical error that opened the door for a different winner to emerge.

“Early in the race we weren’t all that great,” Busch said. “I felt like we were just off a little bit. We just didn’t have it. But there was a change in the track that I felt like changed the handling of a lot of the guys around us, and you could kind of see that happening, and that was kind of when we started making our way to the front.”

Seizing on Truex’s gaffe not to pit for fresh tires, Busch used his four fresh tires to pass Truex for the lead with 32 laps remaining. From there, he drove away for his second consecutive Cup win and fourth NASCAR national series win in a row. (Busch also won the Xfinity Series race Friday at Texas and the Truck Series and Cup events last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.)

“Things are clicking,” Busch said. “Things are gelling. ... It’s all worked real well and it’s been exciting to have the success that we’ve had as of late.”

Although he’s won an inordinate amount of races, victories that occurred when Busch didn’t have the best car used to be a rarity. But that was pre-injury and before Busch developed greater self-awareness.

The Busch of now, the one that stormed to a championship last year and looks capable of doing the same this season, is a better and more complete driver. One that can win when his car isn’t superior or when circumstances conspire against him.

“It’s pretty darn good (to be me), I’ll tell you that,” Busch said. “I’ve got a great wife, a great son and I’m having a blast, living the dream with Adam Stevens and (the No. 18 team) and Joe.”