Kyle Busch wants recent comparisons to Dale Earnhardt Sr. to continue. The NASCAR Cup Series driver needs a significant Daytona 500 similarity to become a reality.
A future Hall of Famer with a significant void on his resume, Busch enters Sunday 0-for-19 in his attempts to capture the coveted Harley J. Earl Trophy. In a prolonged slump, Busch remains winless in 57 consecutive starts.
Just like “The Intimidator” in 1998.
NASCAR Cup Series’ Kyle Busch Wants to Be Like Dale Earnhardt Sr.
A generation ago, Earnhardt accumulated seven Cup championships but failed to win the Daytona 500 during his opening 19 attempts. At the time, it was the lone black mark on Earnhardt’s career (besides his over-aggressive, late-race driving style, that is.)
Entering the 40th “Great American Race,” Earnhardt also endured an extended skid, failing to visit Victory Lane during his 59 previous outings. The dramatic Daytona triumph, after several near misses, remains one of the series’ most-remembered moments.
Second place no more.
Dale Earnhardt finally found Victory Lane in the 1998 #DAYTONA500. pic.twitter.com/72TWoRvqGX
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 6, 2019
Can Busch, who also drives for Richard Childress Racing, channel his inner-Intimidator? He spoke of the parallels during Media Day at Daytona International Speedway. William Byron won last season in a backup machine.
“Twenty years of trying,” Busch said, as reported by NASCAR.com. “There was another storied racer of the past that won on his 20th try and that was a pretty big deal.
“He (Earnhardt) was a former RCR driver as well, so it’d certainly be nice to win that race and do it with RCR in the No. 8 Chevrolet. So that would be pretty cool.”
Like Earnhardt, Busch endured classic collapses at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Busch Starts Daytona 500 In Middle of Pack
Two years ago, Busch thought, for a few moments, he earned his Daytona 500 title, but a late caution flag forced overtime, a scenario Earnhardt did not face.
Busch radioed his frustration to his team: “Back in 1998 that would be the win, boys.”
Earnhardt and Busch, who has compiled 342 laps led at Daytona, the most of any pilot without a win, are not alone in top-tier drivers who needed at least 15 tries before breaking through at the beach.
- Buddy Baker won during his 18th attempt.
- Darrell Waltrip, 17.
- David Pearson, 16.
- Bobby Allison and Michael Waltrip, 15.
Even Busch’s older brother, Kurt, finally won on his 17th start in 2017.
Kyle Busch, who placed P10 during Thursday’s Duel 1, will start P21 Sunday.
“We’ve got really good speed,” Busch said. “I just told someone that it’s an 80 percent luck/20 percent skill race. Others would disagree, but I feel like you have to have a lot of things go your way, and you have to have the stars align.”
In 2012, Kyle Busch put on one of the best performances ever at Daytona
Hopefully, he can find this magic again this weekend— The Daily Downforce (@dailydownforce) February 10, 2025
And get in touch with his inner-Intimidator.