Kyle Busch responds to drivers chasing $100k Truck Series bounty on him: ‘Bring it on’

Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are going after the $100,000 bounty on Kyle Busch.

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Kyle Busch had an excellent, quintessential Kyle Busch response to the bounty put on him in NASCAR’s Truck Series: “Bring it on.”

Last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick put a bounty on Busch, who’s on a seven-race win streak in NASCAR’s third-tier series dating back to the 2018 season.

NASCAR rules only allow Busch to run four more truck races this season, so Harvick put up $50,000 to any full-time Cup Series driver who beats Busch in one of those events. And then Marcus Lemonis — the CEO of Gander Outdoors, which is the Truck Series title sponsor — matched it.

So far, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson have secured rides for truck races in which Busch is also competing. Elliott will race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 14, and Larson will compete at Homestead-Miami Speedway the following weekend.

But Busch, the reigning Cup Series champion, obviously doesn’t think he can be beat. And if he wins, the $100,000 goes to the Bundle of Joy Fund, which he and his wife, Samantha, established to help people with costs associated with infertility.

Busch previously said on Twitter he considers the bounty a “huge compliment,” and Friday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, he shared his thoughts on the extra competition:

“It’s going to be interesting, exciting, whatever you want to term it. I guess Cup drivers in Truck Series do sell tickets, so take that for what it’s worth. I think it’s a unique opportunity for more attention on the series, which is good. Maybe if more drivers had more teams than had rides, then there would be something else there than just myself. I don’t remember who I told, but once Harvick kind of put the idea out there, I thought the guy that really has a shot is Larson at Homestead. Bring it on. …

“I think it’s going to be good for the series. It’s brought a whole new chatter to it, whether that’s excitement or just chatter, I’m not sure which. I think we’ll see when we get to Atlanta what the grandstands look like and how the race goes.”

In Larson’s three Truck Series starts at Homestead’s 1.5-mile track, he has one pole and two top-5 finishes. Elliott only has one start at his Atlanta home track, but he finished fifth in 2017.

Although the rules laid out by Harvick are a little vague, he did specify that drivers can’t wreck Busch to beat him and win the $100,000. And if Elliott beats Busch at Atlanta before Larson gets a shot at it the next weekend, Larson would still relish a chance to top Busch even if the money is off the table.

Larson said Friday at Auto Club Speedway:

“I’d like to beat him and think that I could have $100,000 in my pocket. But yeah, it’s really not about the money to me. I think it’s a cool fun kind of challenge, and I look forward to trying to beat him. And if the money is still out there when I do get that chance, it’ll be a lot of fun.

“But Kyle Busch is the best. It doesn’t matter what type of car he’s in. It’s not going to be easy. It never is — no matter what car or truck you’re in. But it’ll be fun, and I feel like Homestead is my best track and my best opportunity to do it.”

Busch’s remaining truck races are at Texas Motor Speedway on March 27 and Kansas Speedway on May 30.

His Cup Series teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin, and Austin Dillon are among the eligible drivers who have shown an interest in chasing the bounty, but have not announced rides.

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