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CONCORD, N.C. — “To tell you the truth, I thought he had won here.”
It’s understandable that Coach Joe Gibbs would say so about Kyle Busch, the driver of his No. 18 Toyota, and Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of Saturday night’s Monster Energy All-Star Race.
Busch has won virtually everywhere else in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car, with only Charlotte and Pocono Raceway left on his career to-do list. And Busch has been a frequent visitor to Charlotte’s Victory Lane in other national tours — eight times in the XFINITY Series and seven in the Camping World Truck Series.
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That’s why Saturday night’s All-Star win — exhibition or not — meant plenty to Busch, who pounced on the final restart to lead the last 10 laps of the annual invitational.
“The Cup car just never is put together the whole way it needs to be,” Busch said, referencing that his 0-for-26 mark in the sport’s top Series was “very, very frustrating” in light of his Charlotte success in other series. “You just never get to Victory Lane.
“Finally we’re able to kind of close the chapter on that one. Now it’s time to go get a points win here.”
Busch will get his nearest opportunity for a points-paying triumph at the 1.5-mile track in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. Prevailing in both the All-Star and 600 weekends happens relatively infrequently, with only seven drivers accomplishing the sweep — the most recent being his older brother, Kurt, in 2010.
A 600 victory would not only represent a breakthrough for the younger Busch, but also for his Joe Gibbs Racing team. JGR cars won 12 times last season, but are 0-for-11 in points events so far this year. Instead of offering a detailed, technical explanation about the team’s shortcomings this season, Gibbs was optimistic but also matter-of-fact — stock-car racing isn’t easy.
“I’m telling you, we feel like Kyle can win anywhere,” Gibbs said. “Certainly this year he’s really been in position a bunch, the top five at the end of the races, not been able to win one. I think it tells you how hard this sport is. I think a lot of people improved in the offseason, we were off a little bit, and it makes it hard. It tells you how hard pro sports is. The best people in the world are doing this.”
Busch has remained among the premier series’ best, even though certain tracks have proven to be more challenging than others. Busch had 16 fruitless trips to Kansas Speedway before finally scratching the win column there last year. He was also winless in his first 21 Martinsville Speedway starts before closing the deal there last spring.
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So there’s hope yet for Charlotte, Busch’s crew chief Adam Stevens says. An All-Star victory that shows what’s possible certainly can’t hurt.
“I think it’s just a matter of time of him figuring it out,” Stevens said. “No different than Kansas, some of these other places he’s struggled at in the past. Wouldn’t say here has been a struggle, but it’s just been hard to finish it off.
“Hopefully this is a little bit of momentum, a little bit of wind in our sails, something we can build on for next week.”