data-mm-id=”_ybu6aymka”>The 62nd annual Daytona 500 is right around the corner, and some of NASCAR's most successful drivers are still looking for their first wins in the Great American Race. One of those is defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who has found success at Daytona International Speedway seemingly everywhere except the Great American Race. The younger Busch brother has won the then-Independence Day weekend race in 2008, an Xfinity Series race in 2007, the 2012 Busch Clash (then known as the Budweiser Shootout), and three Daytona qualifying races, but his best finish at the 500 is a second-place finish at last year's event.Busch spoke to The Big Lead about the big event.TBL: How does your team go about preparing for the Daytona 500 every season?KB: They go about preparing for it pretty well. We've got an extensive aero-wind tunnel testing program and some other things that we do behind the scenes and also just preparing the cars to the best of our ability and making sure that they're as sleek as possible, because when we run around this 2.5-mile racetrack, you want to have a really fast car and one that also handles well in the draft. And the setups have always been good thanks to my crew chief Adam Stevens and the work that he puts in and the relationship with the engineers and all those guys. So it's our first weekend out of the gate. We want to be well-prepared, and that's what it boils down to.TBL: Few teams in NASCAR have been as dominant over the past decade as Joe Gibbs Racing. Could you describe your relationship with the team, and with him personally?KB: Yeah, Joe's one of the best. Obviously having the team and the relationship that I've had with Joe for the last 12-15 years has been phenomenal because we've had a great time together. We've won a lot of races together. We've been successful together. Two championships, and…we're not done yet. We've got a lot of work ahead of us, and a lot more success ahead of us as well, hopefully. So Joe is very good at creating a good work environment and pushing his people to getting the most out of them at being the best that they can, knowing how to put those people in the right places. The things that he says to motivate everyone are the things that gets everyone fired up to want to go out there and work harder and dig deeper and to get the most out of our equipment, and people is what it's all about.TBL: You've had success at Daytona in the past, but you've yet to win the 500. Could you describe the hole that it leaves in your career?KB: It's frustrating sometimes, but it also puts a little bit of pressure on you to get the race win done. It makes you work harder to want to go out there and to achieve that win, so something that you don't take lightly. Obviously I look forward to the challenge, and what this Daytona 500 victory would mean to me, to my team, and to Joe Gibbs Racing and everybody. It's been a long time coming. Hopefully we can achieve it this weekend.TBL: This will be Jimmie Johnson's final full-time season in NASCAR. You were briefly a teammate with him at Hendrick Motorsports from 2004-2007. What are your most vivid memories of competing with him on the track?KB: It's been really, really good over the course of our careers together. We've raced each other really, really hard for race wins, for championships. We've also been able to go out there and never really put a mark on each other's cars. We've always had the utmost respect for one another and just continue to race each other as hard as we can. So he's left a stable footprint on this sport in what he's been able to do and accomplish and I always look at that #48 Lowe's car in the same regard as the #3 Goodwrench car or the #43 STP car.TBL: This is gonna be a bit off-topic, but you were recently spotted in a commercial for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie. What was it like on the set shooting that commercial?KB: It was fun, you know? I had a great experience with those guys and it was kinda unique to do a commercial shoot with a cartoon character, if you will, but I remember back in the day when I was a kid growing up playing the Sega and playing the Sonic the Hedgehog games, so I'm well familiar and well-versed in the coins and the rings and the speed and all the stuff that he's got. It really brought me back to my childhood.
Related Posts
Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Dominic Solanke from Premier League rivals Bournemouth, according to . The report in the British tabloid has claimed that Spurs want to sign a new striker in the summer of 2024, and that former Liverpool player Solanke is on their radar.
Solanke struggled to make an impact at Liverpool, but he is now one of the best and most important players for Bournemouth. The 26-year-old striker has scored 11 goals and given one assist in 17 Premier League matches for the Cherries so far this season.
Tottenham are fourth in the Premier League table at the moment with 36 points from 18 matches, four points behind leaders and North London rivals Arsenal. Meanwhile, Bournemouth currently find themselves 12th in the standings with 22 points fr…
Best Odds: 2/3
Bookmaker:
With a spot in the final of this year s EFL Cup up for grabs on Wednesday night, Manchester United will welcome their crosstown rivals to an empty Old Trafford.
Manchester United
Starting with the hosts, managing to pick up what was a controversial 2-1 victory against a high-flying Aston Villa on New Year s Day, Manchester United find themselves enjoying quite the purple patch. Despite a rocky start to the 2020/21 campaign and getting hit with that woeful 6-1 drumming at home against Tottenham back in October, some around Old Trafford have suddenly started to believe that their side could be a genuine title contender this season. Still sat level on points with Liverpool after their slip up against Southampton on Monday night, the forme…
Scottish champions Rangers signed French winger Jerome Rothen on a one-year loan from Paris Saint Germain on Tuesday.
Ibrox boss Walter Smith swooped for Rothen after his prosposed move to German cub Schalke collapsed earlier this week.
Rangers have completed the deadline-day signing of Jerome Rothen on a one year loan deal from French side Paris Saint Germain, a statement on the club s website confirmed.
The 31-year-old former Monaco star passed a medical at Rangers Murray Park training facility and becomes the Glasgow club s first signing for more than a year.
Rangers had off-loaded 10 players during the close-season in a bid to cut costs, but Smith was able to swoop for Rothen since the deal is not a permanent move.
Rothen helped Monaco reach…
Spanish giants Barcelona will on Wednesday launch a bid with a Bolivian entrepreneur to become co-owners of a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami in the United States.
If the deal comes off, they will become the first European club to enjoy direct association with the North American league, Barcelona said in a statement posted on their internet site.
The club will make the bid together with Miami-based Bolivian mogul Marcelo Claure, the co-chairman of Bolivian top-flight team FC Bolivar with whom Barcelona already collaborate.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Joan Oliver, the club s corporate director, will present their plans in Miami.
The Catalan club said it was already in negotiations with Florida International University to use its ground…
Fernando Torres is determined to bring silverware back to the Vicente Calderon after Atletico Madrid surrendered their La Liga title to Barcelona last season.
Torres made his Atletico return midway through last term as Diego Simeone s side finished third in La Liga and exited both the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey at the quarter-finals.
Former Liverpool striker Torres won only the Segunda Division title during his first spell with Atleti, but maintains silverware is high on his priorities.
Torres also dismissed suggestions he was jealous of the players who helped Atleti to Liga glory in 2013-14.
If you have envy it is bad I admire Raul Garcia, Gabi and Koke as I did with Kiko, [Milinko] Pantic and [Jose Luis] Caminero and the doubl…
Middlesbrough are close to completing the loan signing of Calum Chambers, .
The England international played and scored as Arsenal lost to Liverpool in their opening game of the season but has not featured since and has been allowed to leave on a temporary basis.
He will join the North East side subject to a medical, despite also being linked with a move to Hull City.
Chambers moved to the Emirates Stadium from Southampton in the summer of 2014 and has since racked up fifty-nine appearances for the North London club in all competitions, scoring three goals.
He has won three senior caps for his country, with all of his appearances coming in 2014 two in qualification for Euro 2016 and once in a friendly.
Boro have taken five points from their …
Real Madrid are already eyeing a move for Liverpool star Sadio Mane at the end of the season.
Mane has developed into one of the world s best attackers, starring for the Premier League leaders and finishing fourth in the 2019 Ballon d Or.
Now, another one of Europe s biggest clubs are making initial moves for the 27-year-old.
TOP STORY – REAL MADRID MAKE CONTACT OVER MANE MOVE
Real Madrid have spoken to Mane s representatives about a possible move, according to Le 10 Sport.
Mane is contracted at Liverpool until 2023, but appears to be attracting interest from the LaLiga giants.
The Senegal international has scored 14 goals and provided eight assists in 27 games in all competitions this season.
EXCLU Mercato Real Madrid…
Leeds United have announced the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa as their new head coach.
The experienced Argentine takes charge at Elland Road on a two-year deal, with the Championship club holding an option to extend for a further year on top.
Bielsa who has been out of work since the end of last year takes over a club that finished 13th in the English second tier last season, though his arrival is a clear sign of Leeds ambitions under chairman Andrea Radrizzani.
I am delighted to accept the role of head coach at Leeds United, Bielsa said in an official statement.
It has always been my ambition to work in England and I have had several opportunities to do so during my career, however I have always felt it was important to wait for the right project…
Chelsea v Bolton
Eight points clear of the drop zone, Bolton should now be relatively safe. Four points behind the leaders, Chelsea will still fancy their chances of lifting the title.
On paper this looks like a guaranteed home win and whilst nothing can be absolutely 100% certain at this time in the season, it is difficult to see anything other than three points for Chelsea.
The Blues were exceptional at Liverpool but even an ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ performance against Bolton should be enough to win.
SoccerNews prediction: 2-0
Liverpool v Blackburn
There is no doubt that Liverpool will be hurting from their Champions League defeat. It is often said that the worst time to play a good team is when the…
France and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has stated that Real Madrid will take on Barcelona s advert for football in El Classico without any fear.
Come Sunday evening, the two European power-houses renew their long-standing rivalry in a top-of-the-table clash at Camp Nou.
Big-spending Real make the trip hoping to preserve a one-point lead at the league s summit as they bid to respond to Barca s historic Treble-winning 2008/09 campaign and a 6-2 defeat at the Bernabeu in May.
Benzema, a summer arrival from Olympique Lyonnais, is confident that he and his team-mates can compete against Pep Guardiola s side, but is more than aware of the size of the task.
Speaking to skysports.com, the striker said: Barca are a quality team and they have so many good pl…