It took 34 races, but Kyle Busch won in 2020. Until Wednesday night at Texas Motor Speedway, the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series champion hadn’t won a race this season, and he was bounced from the playoffs a couple weeks ago.
But without a win and only a few races left, Busch was on the verge of snapping a 15-year streak of winning at least one race in each of his full-time Cup Series seasons. Well, after taking the Texas checkered flag, Busch extended that streak to 16 seasons.
Maintaining that record was more important to Busch than defending his championship because of what it says about a driver’s consistency and success, he explained earlier this season.
“The opportunity of being able to continue the win streak is huge,” Busch said after his win Wednesday. “And I say that because there’s a lot of people that put the pressure on me, on us as the 18 team that we’re known — we need to win, we should win, we have to win.”
.@KyleBusch originally forgot to do the bow…
"It's been a long time." #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/VSsJbpfDNj
— #NASCARPlayoffs on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 29, 2020
And Busch plans on winning and extending his career-long win streak for another decade or so. He continued:
“All of that stuff kind of weighs on you a little bit. But to be honest with you, it just — they’re right. I’m not self-touting. I have been told by many a folk that I’m one of the best here, that’s been here, and to have that opportunity with myself and my team and the people that are around me, to go out there and win races, it makes sense. Like, you should be able to win a race — races — every year that you’re out there for a long time to come.
“Obviously, every great thing, I guess, must come to an end eventually. But man, I’m only 35. I feel like I’ve got at least 10 more years left in me. So there should be a great opportunity for this streak to go for a long, long time, and that’s why it’s been so stressful and has not felt very good to have this dry spell.”
Aside from possibly adding another decade to his career-long win streak, 10 more years could mean a third or fourth or fifth championship and moving up from No. 10 on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. Of course, that assumes Busch and the No. 18 team’s 2020 struggles are an anomaly.
Busch has two more chances to win again in 2020, starting with Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway, where he’s won twice in his career. The season finale is the following weekend at Phoenix Raceway, where Busch has won three times.
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