12 Questions with Kyle Busch

Jeff Gluck | USA TODAY Sports

Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Kyle Busch, who heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend sitting fourth in the point standings with one win on the season. USA TODAY Sports spoke with Busch at Martinsville.

Q: From what you've seen -- and I know you don't have telemetry on every driver -- whose driving style is most similar to yours?

A: From what I remember, (Tony) Stewart's was pretty close to mine. But we've kind of noticed a little bit that (Matt) Kenseth and I have some similar traits. Denny (Hamlin) is pretty close to what Jimmie (Johnson) is. So there are little differences between each driver; we all have our own characteristics.

Q: Do you collect any of your own memorabilia, like diecasts, helmets or firesuits?

A: Yeah. I try to keep at least one or two of my firesuit designs every year. My helmets are my design that I do with (graphic designer) Jason Beam, so I always like to try and keep them if I can. Sometimes I'll try and do a helmet swap with somebody. I have a Stewart helmet and I've got a Marco Andretti helmet.

I haven't done too many swaps with NASCAR drivers yet. I tried to do one with Kasey (Kahne) with his Red Bull helmet – I knew it was only going to be a one-year thing so it would be an obsolete deal, but he wouldn't give it up.

What do you do with the driver helmets once you get them?

A: They're in my office at my shop. Just sitting there, kind of like a little collectible piece. Kind of cool to have. We write little messages to each other sometimes.

Q: What percent of success in NASCAR is car, what percent is driver and what percent is luck?

A: I think it varies. Obviously, you have to have some luck on your side to be successful. I had absolutely none last year and I was not very successful.

This year, you could say we almost fell into our 2012 ways again at California – we were going to give up the race there if not for the front two getting together – but there was a little bit of luck on our side. I dug in and got the most out of my car on the top side the last three laps – we pulled up the lap times today and we were running those guys down - but we won that thing based off of a little bit of luck.

That's the long answer. The short answer is it's 50% car, 35% driver and 15% luck.

Q: What person outside your family has done the most for your career?

A: Is that like before the big time? Because you could say 'Who has done the most?' and I could argue that Joe Gibbs has. You know what I mean?

But as far as getting me here, the guy's name is Jerry Spilsbury. He's out of Las Vegas and was my Late Model car owner. He gave me a chance driving his Late Models for a season in which we were really successful – he raced with me and was my teammate.

My family, we couldn't afford Late Models. Jerry spent all his own money to let me race. I had to work on the cars and I didn't get paid a dime, but he let me drive them, which was great.

Since being in the big time, there have been a lot of people. (Jack) Roush gave me a break (when Busch was 16), but it wasn't a great deal, so I never signed anything. Then (Rick) Hendrick gave me a break. And of course, when I came to Gibbs and being with M&M's and everything else, Joe has been my biggest advocate.

So Spilsbury was the first guy to give you a shot in a car aside from your dad?

Yep. And when Chris Trickle got hurt, that's how Kurt got his ride. Do you know that story?

No, I don't.

That's how we got here. Chris Trickle was a local racer out of Vegas and he probably would have made it to Cup – I don't know if he would have won many Cup races, he was maybe more of a Nationwide guy – but he got shot in Las Vegas just rolling down the road. Somebody pulled out a gun and just shot at a car, and it was Chris Trickle.

It put him in a coma for a year. Then he woke up for like 48 hours, but then went back into a coma and died.

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That's terrible. I've never heard that.

Yeah. Chris was racing Late Models on the Southwest Tour. His dad was Chuck Trickle, who is Dick Trickle's brother. So he was Dick Trickle's nephew.

Well, when he got shot, Chris Trickle's best friend was Sean Monroe. They put him in the Southwest Tour car, and he did OK, but wrecked too much. So then when Chris passed away, Chuck was like, 'I can't own it anymore.' So he got rid of the stuff.

The sponsor of the car, Star Nursery, who is another guy, Craig Keough, he bought the stuff from Chuck and then hired Kurt – because Kurt was the next young, good thing coming through Vegas. So Craig Keough put Kurt in his Southwest Tour Late Model cars – essentially taking over Chris Trickle's place – and that's how Kurt got here. He got recognized by Jack and all that stuff.

So Kurt's biggest influence was probably Craig Keough and mine was Jerry Spilsbury. It was just a little bit different time, because Kurt was five or six years ahead of me.

You come into contact with a lot of people every race weekend – your team, sponsors, media, fans…

Don't forget my wife (Samantha), too!

Q: True, true. So with all of those demands on your time, how do you determine who gets your attention?

A: Well, it's what's going to make you the most successful. You have to spend 90% of your time with the team, sitting here with Dave (Rogers), (talking) a little bit in between practice and qualifying. We'll go over last week or this week or next week – different things that always pop in your head that you need to talk about. That's sort of what makes you successful.

This was a slow weekend (at Martinsville), because I was only running one race. On a triple weekend? Dude, I'm all over the place. So the only time you ever really have for media is when you qualify good and you're in the (post-qualifying) corral or when you go to the media center or whatever.

The fan stuff, it's if they can catch me when I'm going between the garages or through the garage. It's tough; it's really hard. A lot of people take offense to that because you don't stop and give them the time of day, but you can't. You stop for one, then you feel like you've got to stop for them all, then you're 10 minutes late for practice. That's not going to help make you successful.

Q: Fans often say something to drivers along the lines of, 'Hey, remember me from an autograph session three years ago?' So that shows you they want to make an impression. If a fan wants to be remembered by you, what's something they can do?

A: I remember most all of my devoted fans, the ones who have been fans for a long time. I've got this lady in Vegas who was a fan of mine when I was growing up there. I always saw her then, and she still comes to M&M's World each year, gets a wristband and has me sign something of hers.

There are a few kids I can remember – though they grow up, so they change looks and it's a lot harder than it is for a grown person. But one kid comes to me every year at an autograph session and he has this hat I've signed five times. I've already met him five years in a row, so I just keep putting a new stamp on it.

There are plenty of others, too. There are girls that bring cookies to the race team in Vegas, there's this guy in Concord (N.C.) who always has photos of me – big 24"-by-36" photos of me that I sign with a paint pen for him – and a lot of others I recognize and know.

Some of them, I know on a first-name basis and say hi to them all the time. There's this great family who has a little girl named Lexie. I don't even know where they're from, but they always come to the Midwest races – Michigan, Chicago, Indy, places like that. Lexie, her mom and her dad are the sweetest little family. They're really nice and they always come and say hi, but they really don't want to get in your way or bother you and they get what you're doing. You just see them around, and they're always wearing Kyle stuff.

Lexie has a little following on Twitter and she started a thing where people donate $18 for each win to the Kyle Busch Foundation. She started that idea, and people send in gift cards and money and things like that for each win – and some years, I've had 24 wins, so these people send in some money! Last year was a little bit of a struggle, so it wasn't so good for the foundation. But sweet people like that make an impression on you.

Q: The last guy you wrecked, did you do it on purpose?

A: The last guy I wrecked? (Smiles) Hmm…who was that? Oh, Kasey Kahne in Daytona! No, I didn't do that on purpose. I just went back in my mind real quick – I didn't wreck anybody in California, Vegas…and at Phoenix, I wrecked myself.

Kasey, I wrecked him at Daytona. Everybody just checked up on the top row and I ran into the back of him right before we got straight on the trioval. He was still turning, so it spun him out.

I can't remember the last time I wrecked somebody on purpose, because normally when you try, I wreck myself in the process. So it doesn't go well for me. I learned that a long time ago. If it happens where I wreck someone, it's an accident. It just happens.

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Q: Who is someone you used to clash with in the garage, but now you get along fine?

A: Tony, for sure. When I was coming up in '05, my rookie year, we were racing in Vegas and he was all pissed off at me for something. He tried to wreck me off Turn 2 but stuffed himself in the fence. With 15 to go, we were running for third and he ended up finishing (10th) and I was second. So he was still mad at me. Then at Daytona (in 2006), he called me "a bird with no feathers." Remember that?

We sat down, hashed it out. Then I was his teammate, and ever since then, we've been good.

Q: What's the best racing-related movie?

A: I've always loved Days of Thunder. You can't go wrong with Days of Thunder. Actually, Six Pack is good, too.

Your question is the best racing-related movie, so that's really about the one that has the best storyline, and that's Six Pack. Have you seen it?

Honestly, I haven't.

You've got to go see it. It's fun. There's a young kid who is a part of the team, and he's like 10 or 12, but they won't let him in the pit area because he's too young. So they sneak him in the pit area sometimes, and I could relate to that because I was that kid growing up -- I wanted to be in the pits, but they wouldn't let me in.

Days of Thunder, though, it has a cool storyline. There's action, there's wrecking, they're pissed off. There's Joey (Logano) and Denny in the hospital scene, racing each other on wheelchairs!

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Q: What's your song of the moment right now, one you can't get out of your head?

A: Well, I should say Rowdy Busch by (Busch fan/rapper) Raytona 500, because if we get enough sales, then Raytona 500 is going to donate the money to the Kyle Busch Foundation.

But outside of that, I don't really know, to be honest with you. I'm a big Eminem fan, so I like listening to him. My wife doesn't, though. I listen to everything, really.

Q: Define yourself without NASCAR. Outside of the racing, who are you?

A: That's a great question for somebody else. Right? That'd be a good one for my wife, I think.

Q: I've been asking each driver to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was Kasey Kahne, and he wanted to know: 'What's the best part about being a NASCAR team owner?'

A: I think the best part is to see young talent progress and be a part of their future. There's been a lot of young guys who come into the sport and don't make it, and they're shown the door back out. But seeing Joey Coulter and Darrell Wallace and Erik Jones and Parker Kligerman at Kyle Busch Motorsports this year, I think it's exciting to see them progress and go to the next level.

Q: And finally, do you have a question for the next interview?

A: How about, 'What are the biggest things that have made you successful enough to get here?' You know, is it dirt racing? Is it pavement racing? Is it the way you communicate with your team? Is it knowing the setups of the cars? Is it playing video games? What is it?

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KYLE BUSCH'S THREE FAVORITE APPS

-- Safari. I obviously use that a lot.

-- Real Racing 3. It's an EA Sports app. It's actually really neat. You turn the phone to drive and it's a racing game. You start out with a little bit of money and you buy a car, but you've got to win races to progress and work your way up.

-- My e-mail app.