Kyle Busch hopeful 2024 is the year he finally wins Daytona 500

Kyle Busch has nearly done it all in the NASCAR Cup Series.

A two-time champion. 63-time winner. Two-time Brickyard 400 winner. Coca-Cola 600 winner. One of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. Yeah, Busch has quite the résumé. But it’s missing one thing: A victory in the biggest race of them all, the Daytona 500.

Busch is 0-18 in “The Great American Race,” though he has come close on many occasions. He finished second in 2019, third in 2016 and fourth in 2008. But close doesn’t cut it. Close doesn’t get you a spot at the table next to the immortals of the sport such as Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon among others.

Busch is hopeful that start No. 19 will be the one.

Kyle Busch is hopeful this is the year he wins the Daytona 500, a race he has started 18 times and come up empty. His thoughts: pic.twitter.com/qAsepO2eLI

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 9, 2024

“Man, I would love nothing more than to win the Daytona 500,” Busch told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “It’s been feast or famine it seems and there’s been a lot of years where I finish second, or I finish third — there’s five, six times I can count on. The rest of the time it’s ending up with crash on the hook and going back to the trailer early. It would be nice to get it done this year and be in victory lane celebrating at the end of the night.”

Kyle Busch off to good start in 2024

Busch, 38, is coming off his first season with Richard Childress Racing. He notched three wins, but finished a disappointing 14th in the points standings, his lowest finish since his rookie season in 2005 (20th). His 2024 campaign got off to a good start in this past Saturday’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. Though just an exhibition, Busch finished second, only behind race winner Denny Hamlin. He admitted, however, that he felt his car was better than Hamlin’s.

“It definitely does sting. I felt like the first half we were better. Had a better car. We were better than the 11,” Busch said after the race. “But some of the adjustments we made weren’t as good, some of the adjustments they made were better. All in all, just glad to have a good night. Glad to come out here in one piece, even with all the bumping and banging and everything else that happens.”