The 'Real' Kyle Busch (cont'd)

Q: Any concerns with jumping into the No. 18 car, a car that has failed to perform in recent years.

Busch: I think you look at the 20 and 11 and then you look at the 18 and say, 'Is it team, is it crew chief, is it driver?' I've got a lot of respect for J.J. Yeley and his talents. As far as the 18 being able to run up front, the 20 and 11 do it. I think we'll be fine and hopefully get the chemistry down right off the bat. Might be a growing period, but hopefully it won't be too long.

Q: What does your brother Kurt [driver of the No. 2 at Penske Racing] think about your decision?

Busch: To be honest with you I don't know. I haven't really discussed it with him. I never brought it up or told him where I was going. I didn't even tell the family. They heard about it through all the rumors, but they knew [the rumor] was true before it was announced it Tuesday.

Q: Did you feel like you ever fit in at Hendrick Motorsports?

Busch: Not necessarily. I felt like I was probably a little bit more rough-edged, the kid who didn't care about what his perception was or anything like that. I wear my hair messed up because I really don't care, I'd rather wear jeans or shorts with flip flops and a raggedy T-shirt and go hang out on the lake, go wakeboard and hang out with some different type of friends. Jeff and Jimmie, they fit the Hendrick mold and I just never fell into that. They seemed to be kind of spit-shined and polished where I'm not as much. I've got some dirt on my hands.

Q: How has this entire experience, joining Hendrick and now leaving there, matured you? Got any gray hairs yet?

Busch: I think they are coming, not too far behind. It's been tough. In beginning I thought it was going to be great. You know, frosting on the cake over there at Hendrick Motorsports and my career, everything was going well. We were fast and competitive and wining races. I guess I never really fit in or fit the part. They decided to make a business decision in a different direction, myself included. We parted ways and here I am at Joe Gibbs Racing. Getting to that decision was hard, but making it has made me happy.

Every scenario I get thrown into every day I learn something, so whether it's becoming more mature or just more experienced or learning, it's all a factor. To me, there is plenty of that to go on more down the road.

Q: What do you hope to glean from the talents and traits of your new teammates Denny and Tony? What do you hope to learn from them?

Busch: The biggest thing is I think I've got a little bit of both of them in me. Denny is a local Late Model racer which is where I grew up, and Tony has more of a dirt-track background where I had some background in. So I think I can fit in right with those guys. They can both learn from me some and I can learn from both of them. I'd love to learn how Tony [battles back]. I've actually learned how to do that these last couple of weeks where we've been far in the back and come up through, only Tony seems to be able to do it a little bit easier than myself.

Q: At Vegas last season, you said Tony Stewart was trying to kill you on the track. How's the relationship now? Did you patch things up?

Busch: I don't remember when we ever made peace, I don't know if we ever did. Tony and I, we've had an odd relationship. I came into this deal looking up toward him, always looked up to him. Vegas was a racing deal on the racetrack. We put it all aside and figured we'd be better off as friends than enemies.

Q: If you had your career to do over again, would you change anything?

Busch: I'd probably change what I've done, maybe not anything that has gone on as far as what teams I've gone to or how I've gone up through ranks, but probably some things I've said and done off the track. Maybe try to work on making my perception a little bit better instead of just letting it be what it is and making it worse. But as far as that goes, to me it's behind me and I'm looking forward to the future with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Q: Outside of the track, in the community, who is Kyle Busch?

Busch: That would be a question for her [pointing to girlfriend Erica Dewey] probably or Jeff [Dickerson, his agent and spotter]. "A big kid," Dewey said. "They don't know him."

Q: You are much farther in your career than most drivers your age and have accomplished a great deal at only 22. Where will you be in 10 years? How will you maintain your momentum and drive into your 30s like Tony and Jeff? It's foreseeable for you to win championships within a couple years, then what?

Busch: More championships! The more the better. You can never accomplish enough, I feel that way. I came into this deal young and setting all the young records, youngest pole winner, youngest race winner. Now I want to be able to win a lot of races and championships. The record books are fun to fill with your name; that would be cool. That's where a lot of my drive comes from, be the best, be the best there ever was. I don't think I'll ever get tired of racing.

Q: At times, you still get a chilly reception by fans at the track. Is racing for Joe Gibbs an opportunity to wipe the slate clean with the fan base? Will you do anything to build your relationship with your fans now that you're at JGR?

Busch: It's nice to have fans out there that want to buy your souvenirs and support your colors. I think joining Joe Gibbs Racing will build on that because of Tony Stewart's fan base that he has. I can probably build with some of those fans and Joe Gibbs Racing fans. I'm sure I lost some Hendrick Motorsports fans, some Jeff and Jimmie fans, but in the long run it will all work out. But people that want to like me will like me for who I am. I do want to thank the fans for their support.

Q: Why Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle?

Busch: It has a lot to do with people and charisma and chemistry and everything like that. J.D. and Joe, their hospitality that they have given me has just been awesome. It was a great decision-making process to go through and learning process. I feel like at JGR they have a great track record, it just felt right. It was a tough decision but in the end I feel like I made the right decision and it was an easy one. It was Dale Earnhardt Inc. and here at the end, but with the support from Joe and J.D., I felt a little more at home.