Kyle Busch
- Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
- Website: http://www.kylebusch.com
Most NASCAR observers agree that Busch is one of the most talented drivers in the garage and is a threat to win every time he enters a race. He has scored at least one victory per season in each of NASCAR's top three divisions every year since 2005, and has won three or more races in each division each of the past two seasons.
His rise to one of the top drivers in the sport unofficially began at age six, when Busch cruised around the cul-de-sac of his family's Las Vegas residence in a makeshift go-kart. That Busch was too small to reach the throttle didn't stop him from picking up the basics. His father, Tom, held down the gas pedal while he steered the kart around the block. Once Busch was tall enough to reach the gas pedal on his own, an accelerated pace was set for his future career in motorsports.
Throughout his childhood, Busch spent countless hours as an apprentice in the family garage to his father, and his older brother Kurt, learning to build and repair racecars. By age 10, Busch was a full-fledged mechanic and served as crew chief on his older brother's Dwarf car team. In 1998, shortly after his 13th birthday, Busch's driving career officially began.
Given his young age, schoolwork was always first priority. He was an honor student, but his extracurricular activities always included a race car. Busch's parents taught him accountability, meaning if he wanted to race, he was responsible to work on, repair and pay for his own cars. Busch learned early on that carelessness on the track proved costly, resulting in wrecked race cars and not being prepared for the next event. He took pride in his equipment and raced competitors with respect.
From 1999 to 2001, Busch earned more than 65 wins in Legends cars as he racked up two track championships at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway "Bullring" before moving up to Late Model stock cars. Winning seemed to come naturally, no matter what Busch drove, as he captured 10 victories in Late Model competition at the Bullring in 2001.
His winning reputation and potential for success began to pique the interest of car owners in NASCAR, and on Aug. 3, 2001, at age 16, Busch made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut driving for Roush Fenway Racing at O'Reilly Raceway Park near Indianapolis, where he started 23rd and finished ninth. Shortly thereafter, an unexpected ruling by NASCAR that enacted a minimum age requirement for competitors in NASCAR's top-three series sidelined Busch until his 18th birthday.
