Busch picks up elusive Indy win
INDIANAPOLIS — There was no celebratory burnout — Kyle Busch has done plenty of those the last few weeks — just another big, fat kiss at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Busch’s triumphant return following a horrible crash the day before the season-opening Daytona 500 continued Sunday with one of the biggest wins of his career. He grabbed an elusive victory at Indy, where Busch won the Brickyard 400 for a weekend sweep at the historic track.
Busch missed the first 11 races of the season with a broken right leg and broken left foot. He returned in late May and has won three consecutive Sprint Cup Series races and four of the last five.
His latest win was celebrated with the traditional kissing of the Yard of Bricks, where he was accompanied by his wife and son, who was born in May.
“Being away for 11 weeks, it was tough. It was pretty hard times,” Busch said. “It was tough to fight through all those things that I had to go through, Samantha had to go through while she was pregnant. She was helping me. All the steps that we went through to get back into the race car were quite challenging.
“But once we’ve been back, I felt like I just continued right on my stride. This has been a phenomenal return. I won’t say phenomenal year because it was a dismal year to start, but I guess I’ll take that 11-week vacation any year if it’s going to look like this.”
Now he has a prestigious Brickyard victory to give him one of NASCAR’s elusive crown jewels. His Indianapolis victory ranks alongside his Southern 500 win at Darlington Raceway as the biggest of his career.
“Maybe I found my happy place,” Busch said.
