It’s bad boys for life and two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner Kyle Busch says being hated is all part of the price of winning.
Starting the conversation off, Channing says ‘rowdy” means asshole and asks Kyle if he’s an asshole as the group erupts in laughter while he owns up to the title. Chad loves that Kyle embraces being the villain of NASCAR relating back to his days on the football field. Chad gets Kyle to give details of the few fights he’s had and digs into who his past and present rivals are, starting with Dale Earnhardt Jr and Joey Logano. Opening up about driver feuds and not making friends on the track, Kyle tells the guys about the fights he’s had and the enemies he’s made along his journey to the top.
Winning and being at your best sometimes drives you to uphold a certain persona which is when Brandon busts Kyle on fighting with his own brother for over a year and says no one seems exempt from the competitive on track stigma. Kyle’s success on the track has resulted in his share off the track too. Brandon gets into the balance of work life and family and what it takes to maintain businesses at all levels as well as Kyle’s most important role as a dad to his son Brexton who is into go kart racing at the age of 5.
Fred dives into the intricacies of the sport and who’s more in control of the success, the crew chief or the driver. Kyle explains how it’s a balance between the two and how there are levels to competing and when you have an ‘A driver’ and an ‘A crew chief’ the possibilities are endless. Brandon and Channing don’t shy away from Kyle being one of the sport’s A drivers but also ask the tough question of his recent slump only winning a couple races out of almost 70 which is very uncharacteristic of the two-time Cup Series winner. Kyle quickly responds, “I’m not sucking,” so we are going to figure it out or I will know when it’s time.
Brandon closes the show with May being Mental Health Awareness month and asks Kyle about how he and his wife handle the heartaches of infertility and the emotional rollercoaster it creates. Making light of the situation best he can, Kyle explains the process from his own experience and sheds light to other couples who may be going through similar ups and downs.
I AM NASCAR is a limited series and special edition of the I Am Athlete podcast with episodes slated to air every Monday in May and monthly throughout the race season. Special thanks to NASCAR and KBM for hosting our crew in Mooresville, NC.
