NASCAR: Is Kyle Busch really just going to leave?
By Asher Fair
Kyle Busch could secure his 100th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory this Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway. But is he really going to “retire”?
He has probably said it more than 100 times by now: when he hits 100 career NASCAR Xfinity Series victories, Kyle Busch is set to retire from NASCAR’s second highest level of competition.
Due to NASCAR’s restrictions on full-time Cup Series drivers with at least five years of experience, Busch is limited to competing in five Xfinity Series races per season. So far this season, he has competed in two, and he is set to make start number three behind the wheel of the #54 Toyota this Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway.
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He entered the year with 97 career victories in the series, by far an all-time record, and earned win number 98 at Circuit of the Americas last month before adding number 99 at another track in the Lone Star State, Texas Motor Speedway, last weekend.
He could very well reach triple digits in this Saturday afternoon’s Tennessee Lottery 250.
Here is what he has said about the matter — indeed, over and over again.
"“Yeah, I’ve said it over and over again. I would be there by now and I would have been out of it by now but apparently NASCAR and the fans love me there so much they keep make limitations on keeping me there.“I’ve also said that I’ll get to 100 and then I don’t need to be there. That’s just kind of a number I would like to get to.”"
But does this mean that Busch is just going to get up and leave the series for good when he secures win number 100?
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Definitely not. Fans love him so much in those series, remember? First of all, even if he does get to 100 wins this weekend, he isn’t going to bail on his two remaining scheduled starts this season at Road America and Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 3 and Saturday, July 10. Not happening.
But even beyond 2021, a “retired” Busch won’t be done competing in the Xfinity Series; he simply won’t enter a season with a goal of competing in the maximum number of races he is allowed.
“I’ve said before, if they need me to come back and run a race here or there then I would do it to help Joe (Gibbs) out if he needed to evaluate his equipment or help the team in any way,” Busch told Beyond the Flag after discussing the new Pedigree paint scheme that he is set to run on his #18 Toyota in Sunday’s Cup Series race, the Ally 400.
In fact, he is already looking at returning to the series in 2022, even if he is already at 100 (potentially as many as 102) wins by the time the 2021 season ends.
“Joe has some things sold for me already for 2022, so we’ll talk about that and see what happens,” he said.
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Will Busch secure his 100th career Xfinity Series victory this weekend? Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the Tennessee Lottery 250 from Nashville Superspeedway.