Always the villain while he was on track, winning more races than any other driver in NASCAR history, Kyle Busch is set to receive an honor as one of the true heroes of the sport. The Las Vegas-born driver’s name is set to be etched into the city’s racing legacy, pending approval, in tribute to Busch’s contribution to the sport.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Eren Drive, an L-shaped road within the Las Vegas Motor Speedway complex that connects Las Vegas Boulevard and Checkered Flag Lane, is on the agenda of the Clark County Planning Commission meeting. Two names are up for voting currently. One that favors a fitting tribute to Kyle Busch, and another that seems well suited to celebrate the legacy of both brothers, Kyle and Kurt.
The Busch brothers collectively have three Cup Series titles, with Kurt Busch’s title coming in 2004 in his iconic No. 97 Roush Racing Ford. Younger brother Kyle won his first Cup crown in 2015 and the next in 2019 in the No.18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
According to News3LV, the names up for consideration are “Busch Brothers Drive” and “Rowdy Drive,” the second honoring the nickname and driving style that Busch will always be remembered for. The plan is for one name for each of the roads making up the L-shape.
The Busch brothers are two of the most prominent Vegas-born drivers, while the current grid features the likes of Noah Gragson and Riley Herbst. Kurt, seven years older than Kyle, set the standard in go-karts around the Bullring at the Speedway, while Kyle himself got into a kart for the first time as a 13-year-old.
Busch brothers’ legacy at the track
The timing of the tribute seems fitting, as the racing fraternity continues to reel from the tragic loss of Kyle Busch to severe pneumonia that led to sepsis earlier this year, on May 21. Tributes poured in for Busch from every corner of the racing community, both in America and abroad, while several fans laid flowers at the circuit he called home.
Busch always spoke highly of the track and its importance to his personal journey. In one of his last interviews ahead of a visit to the track for its first race of the season in March this year, he spoke about what the circuit meant to him.
“For me, you know, I was a kid growing up racing out there at the Bullring back then called the Las Vegas Speedway Park,” said Busch to KUTV 2 News. “And I remember looking over the grandstands behind me. Seeing that facility, the mile-and-a-half racetrack being built from the ground up. And so it was always kind of that diamond in the desert. And you know, I always dreamed of being able to race there one day.
“And fortunately for me, racing as much as I did at the Bullring, I got my chance at the big time in the NASCAR ranks and have been able to make plenty of starts there in the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, as well as the Truck Series.”
Busch won the Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in 2009 and also has multiple truck wins on his home track. His brother Kurt won there in 2020, after the track was given a second race from 2018 onwards.
Kyle won seven races, two in the second-tier series and four in the Truck Series, with his most recent win coming in 2023. His contribution to the sport goes beyond his 234 NASCAR wins. The platform he provided to younger drivers through Kyle Busch Motorsports is also a testament to his family’s legacy.
That makes it fitting that, alongside the vote to rename Eren Drive after the Busch brothers, Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host the first-ever Kyle Busch Classics in October. The short-track event will feature ARCA Menards, CARS Tour and several other races.
While the Busch brothers are due their honours, it won’t be the first time a road is named after a NASCAR driver. In Indianapolis, there is a boulevard named after Jeff Gordon, while earlier, Sterling Marlin, a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, had a highway in Columbia with his name on it.
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, which NASCAR has considered returning to, features the names of not one but two legendary California natives. Jimmie Johnson Drive and Jeff Gordon Way are the names of two roads in the Speedway’s newly developed industrial complex.
While it isn’t official yet, next week’s Clark County Planning Commission meeting could pave the way for NASCAR’s visit to the Speedway in October for the South Point 400 to feature two more names: Rowdy Road and Busch Brothers Drive.