kyle busch
Graham heads to North Carolina to sit down with Kyle Busch at his corporate headquarters for Kyle Busch Motorsports. The two-time NASCAR champ shares how Toyota helped him mature from a “young and dumb” driver, his crew chief quitting on him and an ongoing struggle with infertility. Plus, we tour the 77,000 square-foot KBM HQ and hear from Kyle’s wife Samantha, brother Kurt Busch, team owner Joe Gibbs and others in his inner circle.
kyle busch
EPISODES
Kyle Busch: Coaching son through his first crash
The Busch family – including Kyle, Samantha, Kurt and Tom – come together to help Kyle and Samantha’s young son Brexton step confidently into the racing circuit and instill Busch family values of winning. Kyle and his wife Samantha recall Brexton’s first crash and how Kyle helped his son shake it off and get back behind the wheel.
Kyle Busch on NASCAR’s handling of COVID
Kyle Busch explains how the COVID-19 pandemic increased his family time while also increasing difficulty as a driver at NASCAR races. He says that the omission of practices and qualifying races meant he couldn’t fine tune his car before race day, and as a result his car was only roughly 90 percent of where it needs to be for him to succeed. Plus, we hear from Kyle’s wife Samantha, his brother Kurt Busch, team owner Joe Gi
bbs and former Toyota executive Ed Laukes, who offer their perspectives on the impact of the pandemic.
Kyle Busch: Former crew chief quit on me
NASCAR champ Kyle Busch opens up about a staffing disagreement with his crew chief of the last six years, Adam Stevens, and how it led to Stevens quitting the job late last year. Busch fondly reflects on his former crew chief as a key component of a race team that won two NASCAR championships in six years and the only crew chief he’s had who actually made specific adjustments to his car. Plus, JGR team owner Joe Gibbs adds context to the crew chief rotation, as Stevens shifts over to another JGR team and will lead the crew for newcomer, Christopher Bell.
Kyle Busch: Falsifying my birth certificate
NASCAR champ Kyle Busch and his dad Tom Busch recall their methods for illegally granting Kyle an early introduction into competitive racing, including a forged birth certificate and hiding his extra racing efforts from Kyle’s mom, Gaye Busch. Later, Kyle and his brother Kurt Busch discuss the work ethic instilled by their parents at the race track, a harsh punishment for earning any Cs on their report cards and learning lessons in money management the hard way.
Kyle and Kurt Busch: We didn’t talk for a year after $1M crash
NASCAR Cup champs Kurt Busch (2004) and Kyle Busch (2015, 2019) detail their sibling rivalry that’s progressed from their time as kids wrecking each other in karts to adults in the limelight and racing’s biggest stage. The two share stories of their beefs and brotherly bonds, including a crash at the 2007 All-Star Race that halted conversation for a year and a wink and a pass at Kentucky in 2019.
Kyle Busch: Hate losing more than I enjoy winning
NASCAR champ Kyle Busch addresses early criticism of his short fuse temperament and how he’s eventually learned to care less about losing. Kyle cites a 2011 NASCAR Trucks race where he took out his frustration on top competitor Ron Hornaday Jr. and crashed him into a wall while under caution, and his son Brexton’s “inherited” hatred for losing. Plus, Kurt Busch and Kyle’s wife Samantha join the conversation to discuss Kyle’s upbringing and his intense focus during race days.
Kyle Busch: Rick Hendrick dropped me after outbursts
NASCAR champ Kyle Busch looks back on his forced departure from Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2007 season, including a disruption in communication after the 2004 death of Ricky Hendricks and a long conversation with Jeff Gordon that made its way back to team owner, Rick Hendrick. Later, JGR team owner Joe Gibbs joins the conversation to share his methods for recruiting Busch, and Busch shares why he agreed to sign with Gibbs and JGR, even though it wasn’t the highest paying offer.
Kyle Busch’s 2015 championship and the unthinkable comeback
Kyle’s Busch’s remarkable 2015 comeback is an inspiring story of resilience and a determination to bounce back from disaster. As told here by Kyle Busch and his wife Samantha, along with Kurt Busch and Joe Gibbs, a February 2015 crash left Kyle with a double compound fracture in his right leg and a broken left foot… and fears that he’d never race again. To the contrary, Kyle’s intense recovery had him (painfully) back behind the wheel in May and winning his first NASCAR Cup Championship that November.
Kyle and Samantha Busch: Miscarriage, counseling and IVF
Kyle and Samantha Busch share the highs and lows of their IVF treatments, including the birth of their son Brexton, a 2018 miscarriage and an update on the couple’s ongoing pursuit to grow their family today. Plus, Kyle and Samantha share how their experiences with infertility and IVF have inspired them to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to help cover the costs of IVF treatments for other couples in need.
How Toyota helped Kyle Busch shed “young and dumb” image
NASCAR champ Kyle Busch – the first driver to win a race and a championship while driving a Toyota in the Cup Series – talks of his relationship with the car manufacturer. Busch reflects on going public about his concerns with the car and how that criticism either directly or indirectly led to massive improvements and unprecedented success. Plus, former Toyota marketing head Ed Laukes offers insight into Busch’s maturation over their years together, and his involvement in that process.
A tour of Kyle Busch Motorsports
NASCAR champ Kyle Busch offers Graham a tour of Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) in Mooresville, NC, which is overflowing with trophies and race-winning cars. Busch details an especially memorable memento – a Purple Heart given to him by a military veteran – shows off his line of Rowdy Energy Drinks and accepts Graham’s challenge to a RC race. The KBM HQ also houses the workshop for KBM’s Truck Series and Super Late Model teams.