Connect with us

Kyle Busch remains one of the largest supporters of Super Late Model racing following his third-place performance on Saturday night in the Winter Showdown at Kern County Raceway.

The 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion didn’t earn his first Super Late victory since 2014 but really enjoyed his battle with Erik Jones for third in the closing stages of the event. This was the first time the two had raced Late Models against each other since the 2012 Snowball Derby.

That was the race Jones famously defeated Busch to launch his own NASCAR career.

“I know it wasn’t for the win but you couldn’t tell that from watching us,” Busch said after the race over the track PA and on 51TV.

READ MORE: Recap and results for the 2017 Winter Showdown

Now that Busch has fully healed from his 2015 Daytona crash injuries, he hopes to make more SLM starts when his schedule allows. For now, the only race he’s scheduled for is the Kalamazoo Klash on August 9.

He’s able to do so because it’s a rare mid-week event.

“I know for sure I’m going to run Kalamazoo,” Busch said. “I’m going to run the Kalamazoo Klash — both the Super Late and the Outlaw Late races. I’m talking to a couple of series and tracks to see what they can help me do; some mid-week races so I can race beyond that one.

“That’s all I have on the docket right now. I love these SLM cars they’re a lot of fun. I love racing against Bubba Pollard, Donnie Wilson and Erik Jones there at the end.”

Bristol Motor Speedway is also courting Busch as they have several NASCAR provisionals for the upcoming U.S. Short Track Nationals in May. Kyle Busch Motorsports is also set to run the full CARS Tour SLM schedule with driver Cole Rouse.

Lastly, Busch also came away pleased with his first visit to Kern County Raceway Park. This was his first time racing on the west coast in a Late Model since he was a teenager growing up in Las Vegas.

“I had a blast,” Busch said. “This is a really racy track. It came in great with the outside lane being as good as it was. You could still make moves on the bottom and slide people through the corners. Overall the experience here was high.”

Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in Super Late Models