“Giving a Lion a Piece of Meat”: Kurt Busch Reflects on his Mindset During Las Vegas Win

At the South Point 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch emerged victorious. Speaking after the race, he reflected on the fact that he won on home soil. Busch Sr also weighed in on vying for a playoff spot versus being on the bubble.

The 42-year-old confessed that the overtake was always going to be a tough pass to make. However, he knew that was his opportunity to move forward to win. So he did what he had to do to ensure that he guaranteed his own safety in the playoffs.

Busch said, “I mean, it’s like giving a lion a piece of meat. I had it. I was in position, and nobody was going to take it from me. I had to execute on those restarts and then change the draft around, and the 11 was definitely going to have a hard time passing us because he had more to lose than we do.”

What else did Kurt Busch say?

It was a fairly crazy finish to the race. The hometown hero somehow made it happen and joined his brother as the Vegas native to win his home race.

As it turns out, this is the first time Busch has crossed the start-finish line as a winner at Las Vegas. To make matters even better, the win has guaranteed his entry into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs.

Busch found himself inheriting the lead, in the wake of a debris caution with around 25 laps to go. Around that time, most of the playoff drivers peeled off into the pit lane. Even race leader Denny Hamlin pulled into pit road, but Kurt Busch elected to stay out and continue racing.

Busch then perfected the restart and pulled away from second-placed Matt DiBenedetto. However, John Hunter Nemechek undid all his hard work when he spun and brought out another caution. Not wanting to throw away another opportunity, the likes of Denny Hamlin dived into the pits again to mount a final assault. In the end, Kurt Busch somehow managed to survive the attacks of the #11 car and persevered.