NASCAR NEXTEL CUP Series
Photos and story © 2005 Dwight Drum
Web work by Gary Larsen

Kyle Busch

"I'm ready for next year already."

"I'm busier now than I probably was during the season."

No surprise to Zoomster.com that we would find standout NASCAR driver Kyle Busch at a Hooters Pro Cup race in Lakeland Fla., just after the NEXTEL Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The precocious racer takes his role in life as one that surrounds an oval track somewhere. He grew up with racing as his life's blood and shows with deeds and words that everything about motorsports runs deep within. We can wonder if oil is in his bloodstream, but we all can get to know more about this skilled driver just by listening to what he has to say. We are proud to be there for fans asking questions that bring out Busch's responsive answers.

Time: Preseason 2006
Place: USA International Speedway Lakeland, Fla.
Event: Hooters Pro Cup Series finale

Dwight asked Kyle Busch:

"The season was definitely a pretty good season for us. It exceeded all our expectations pretty much. We wanted to win a pole and a couple top fives and a top ten or so. We were able to get two wins and, of course, exceed all the other ones. The goals we didn't want were DNF'S. We had quite a few of those and that was kind of a shame. We had electrical problems, motor problems, and a couple tire problems, stuff like that. Everything that a rookie season would be - some driver error in there as well too. There was a lot that I learned and the team learned as well too. Allen and myself being rookies in the series - it was definitely tough coming into a season having a rookie driver and a rookie crew chief. I thought that we handled it pretty well. I'm looking forward to next year. I think coming on at the end of this year meant a lot for the team. All the morale around the shop everything like that. So everybody's pumped up ready for next year already. "

"I'm not sure how it's going to be, really. If we were running the same car I'd probably tell you we're going to be good, but we've got a new 2006 Monte Carlo coming out that we've got to get heads up information and stuff like that. We've got to go test. It's going to be a little bit different. We might start off the year a little bit slow, but hopefully not too far behind where we can try to catch back up. This year I think we got so far behind and when we had good races we couldn't gain any ground because we were that far back. Hopefully we can start out Daytona right and go on to California and finish well there. We should be OK. "

"Describe myself to a fan? I'm not really sure what I am I guess. I'm a good laid-back, easy, chilling guy. I enjoy the life of racing. Racing is everything I've ever lived for and ever wanted to do, so it's a blast for me. You know it's the things now days that make everything so busy - the media, sponsor obligations and of course photo shoots and things like that. It's a little bit different, but when people think we go into the off-season and we don't do anything for two months - I'm busier now than I probably was during the season. "

"Exactly."

"Probably getting off an off ramp, I guess, the freeway one that curves around. It's not just one you get off and just go straight. If it's a curve-around off ramp, something like that. If you were to charge it as hard as you can and scare yourself, that's pretty much what we get every lap. There's a wall on the side of us too. Some of these you may just a little cramped fairway you can run off on. We got walls that we're always charging at, so we're pretty stupid! As race car drivers, we enjoy it, that's just the way it is. "

"I'm trying to work for a ride for a buddy of mine in Las Vegas. He'll be turning 16 in January. We're looking to move him up a little bit. He raced some truck races this year, but Vegas isn't what it used to be as far as the short track programs go and the West Coast is kind of dwindling a little bit and struggling. So I'm trying to move him up and trying to find a Hooters Pro Cup ride if at all possible. It's a great series. I love this series - neat to watch it on TV. The exposure for all the sponsors and things like that is definitely neat with that respect, as well as being able to have the good old-fashioned short track feature. It's fun. ASA was a good series that I learned from. It's now defunct. I'm looking forward to this Hooters Series taking off."