Kyle Busch, the NASCAR driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, is one of those drivers that find their way into trouble, both on and off the track regardless of what they do. But despite that, Busch had a relatively clean race at the Coliseum last week.

Yes, he lost to Joey Logano and came second. But in the Clash full of incidents, part failures, and wrecks, Kyle Busch steered clear of trouble.

And this is what the JGR driver hopes to repeat next Sunday when the Next Gen cars take to the Daytona Superspeedway, with one change – he wants to win the Daytona 500.

In a recent interview with Speedway Digest, Busch described his thoughts heading into the race which will ‘really start’ the season, a race that he hasn’t won yet in his career. He emphasized the importance of starting with a “solid foundation”, something he has always focused on.

“Ideally, you would like to have a good Daytona and a good West Coast swing and kind of see where you’re at and what kind of season you are having and where your team is. That’s always been my goal, but it hasn’t always worked out that way,” Busch said.

“I’ve blown up or crashed or had other issues at Daytona that set you back, and then you are continually trying to climb yourself back up the ladder. It would be nice to have a solid and painless Speedweek.” 

Kyle Busch points out why the Daytona 500 is so difficult to win

In the same interview, Kyle Busch had a simple but apt explanation for why it’s so difficult to take the checkered flag at the Great American Race.

“Because everybody else wants to win it and it’s all on their bucket lists,” Busch said. “And of course, it’s a race that 40 people have a chance to go out there and win.”

But that’s the same reason why the walls at Daytona are painted with wrecks. When all 40 drivers go for the win on a track as fast as this one, with stakes as high as they are, the idea of a ‘clean race’ takes a backseat.

So it will be interesting to see whether Kyle Busch not only drives clear of incidents this Sunday, but goes all the way and finally ticks the one box left in his illustrious career.

Also Read: The Statistic That Must Make NASCAR Teams Worry Ahead of the Daytona 500