Kyle Busch Has 50 Reasons To Take A Bow

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As he stood atop his Indiana Jones-themed car, surrounded by smoke from his victory burnout, Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) bowed to the fans at Darlington Raceway.

It wasn’t the first time Busch took a bow after a win, but was the first time “The Bow” beckoned a reporter to ask about it during post-race interviews.

The question was simple – “What’s with this bow?”

The answer was simpler – “I don’t know. It’s, thank you very much.”

When prodded for a longer response, Busch answered, “I mean, the good burnout, then I can’t get out of the car fast enough, man. I need to work on that… Then I’m up on top, I appear, then I do a bow, thank you very much, then I go on and have a nice day. I’m trying to get more smoke built up before I get out. I’m working on it.”

Busch wasn’t lying when he said he was working on it.

In 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races since that day, Busch has nine victories. Add in 10 NASCAR Nationwide Series wins (in only 27 starts) and three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins, and Busch has had plenty of opportunities to perfect his now trademark bow.

His bow after Saturday night’s Richmond win came with some added meaning – the win came on his 24th birthday, making Busch the second driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to win on his birthday. It was also his 50th career victory across NASCAR’s three national series, putting Busch one-quarter of the way to his goal of 200 national series wins.

“Hopefully I can achieve the goal,” Busch said Saturday night. “I know it’s not 200 (NASCAR Sprint) Cup victories like Richard Petty has. It will still be a phenomenal mark for me.”

The win also tied Busch with Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) as the only drivers under 25 to reach 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins. A repeat win this weekend at Darlington would be ideal for Busch and especially crew chief Steve Addington, who hails from Spartanburg, S.C.

“Anytime you win in your home state is special,” Addington said. “It’s been a place I always wanted to win. To finally get that win last year in the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup Series was really exciting. It’s just a neat deal to win a race so close to home.”