Kyle Busch says his emotional outbursts are caused by genetics

Kyle Busch says genetics are to blame as to why he occasionally has emotional outbursts, like the one he had last weekend where he angrily dropped the mic in a post-race press conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

In a video that instantly went viral, Busch conducted a terse press conference after finishing second in the Coca-Cola 600 to Austin Dillon, who gambled on fuel mileage to score his first Monster Energy Cup Series win. Busch’s decorum in losing has been debated on social media, talk radio, and daily television shows throughout the week.

“Different people show their emotions in different ways,” Busch said Friday after winning the pole for Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway. “Unfortunately for me, mine has never been very gracious — I don’t know that it ever will be.

“I’m kind of learning that as the days go on. My son is 2 years old, I see where it came from. It’s genetics. I’m sorry, it’s just who I am. That’s what I was given. If there is anybody to blame, it’s probably the guy upstairs.”

Busch calmly explained Friday why he was so upset late Sunday night. After passing Martin Truex Jr., he thought he was well-positioned to take the Coca-Cola 600, one of NASCAR’s four majors, and expected Dillon to eventually run out of fuel. But when the Richard Childress Racing driver was able to make it to the checkered flag, Busch was left having to accept defeat in a race he badly wanted to win.

Initially, Busch was able to harness his frustration. He conducted a national television interview with Fox Sports on pit road, giving no indication he was upset with what had transpired. But by the time he reached the media center, his frustration got the best of him. Compounding matters, Busch hasn’t won a Cup race since the Brickyard 400 in July, a 28-race winless drought for the 2015 series champion.

“That’s a marquee event, and a big one to win and I’ve won two of them and that would have been third. And that would have only left me with the Daytona 500,” Busch said. “The other aspect that I looked at was we won the All-Star Race and we were going for the sweep of Charlotte.

“There were a lot of things kind of riding on the line that meant a lot to me and would have been special to me. I guess I should care less about those sort of things and not show that sort of emotion.”

Busch has had numerous transgressions throughout his career, including intentionally crashing Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution in a 2011 Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. That act prompted NASCAR to prohibit Busch from competing in the Xfinity and Cup Series races the remainder of the weekend.

But excluding a post-race pit road altercation with Joey Logano earlier this season, Busch, 32, has largely avoided any controversial incidents.

“I can probably get better and go to training and classes and everything else,” Busch said. “But I don’t know, it is the way it is. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been blessed to be in the opportunity that I’m in. I’ve got great sponsors and partners that are with me, and they’ve stuck with me through a lot worse than what happened this week and that’s through relationships.

“Those people that are close to me, understand me and know me and know who I am outside the race track as a personable person, as a friend. That’s why I’m able to continue to have the relationships and that sponsorships that I do.”