Dominating Indy

 

Indianapolis – After a second consecutive win in the Crown Royal Presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400 at the Brickyard and a second consecutive sweep of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway weekend, Kyle Busch has become NASCAR’s King of Indy.

Busch has dominated the Xfinity Series races at the Brickyard, winning three of the last four Lilly Diabetes 250 races and finishing second in the other one.  Scoring the pole in the last four races, Busch hasn’t given the field much of a chance.  Busch led 62 of the 63 laps in this year’s race, only giving up the lead for one lap when he pitted.

The Brickyard 400 took a bit longer to master, but after this weekend’s performance it is evident that Busch has the track figured out now.

Busch led 19 laps in the 2015 run of the Brickyard 400 on his way to his first time kissing the historic bricks.  This year Busch started on the pole and led 149 of the 170 laps, including pulling away from the field in a restart with three laps to go and two green/white/checkered restarts to capture his second Brickyard 400 win.

“Kyle is special,” explained Busch’s crew chief Adam Stevens.  “Every once in a while you will see somebody that their natural tendency to drive a racetrack fits the racetrack.  The way he wants to drive the car is what the car and the tire and the aero package need here at Indy.  The way that Kyle naturally drives this place is the fastest way around.”

Of course the aero package and tires were different in the two races that Busch won.  So, that comes down to Busch and how he drives the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“I want to say that I kind of figured it out [how to race the track] a couple of years before [his first win at Indianapolis],” said Busch.  “I had a couple of second places (2012, 2014) and the guys that beat us were just lights out.  Now, we are lights out and just that fast.  I feel like I have gotten better here over the years.  I feel like it was probably the last four or five.”

Better is what Busch has been.  Including finishing tenth in his first race at Indianapolis in 2005, Busch scored five top in his first seven races at the track.  So, he wasn’t that bad. It’s been the last five and mostly the last two where Busch has been on another level.

So, what is next – three in a row?

“Having the opportunity next year to go for three in a row, that’s cool,” said Busch.  “No one has ever done it, but that is 365 days from now.  I’m going to cherish this one a bit more here first, but then when we come back here next year that’ll certainly be on our minds.”

July 23rd, 2017 – Kyle will be back at it again at the Brickyard.