"It kicked my a** for 20 years" - Kurt Busch looks back at emotional win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch shed tears at the sight of his maiden victory at his home track in Las Vegas in a recent throwback video.

Having achieved championship success early in his career, Busch had to wait two decades to taste success on his home soil. A victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway seemed to elude the home hero, who always came up short in front of his home crowd.

However, Kurt Busch set things right in 2020, when he took his #1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet to the victory lane in an important playoff race in the fall. Ahead of this year's playoff race at the 1.5-mile oval, Busch recounted his victory at the track.

"That’s Vegas, right? Yeah, I don’t wanna get emotional with you guys too much on this one. That Vegas race… Vegas," Kurt Busch said holding back his tears reacting to his win.

With two laps left in the overtime finish for the South Point 400, Busch had to fight Matt DiBenedetto in the #21 Wood Brothers Ford for the victory and revealed he was confident about accomplishing the task.

"There was no way that DiBenedetto was gonna outrun me on the race track… There’s just no way buddy. Whether it’s emotion, a push, or a drive to just this is my hometown track I should be able to win here. It kicked my a** for 20 years. Finally, I was able to win Las Vegas."

In his post-race interview, Kurt Busch echoed similar thoughts as he had put an end to 20 years of agony and defeat at his home track.

"This is 20 years of agony and defeat and today triumph… This is what kids dream of when they grow up racing. You dream of winning at your hometown track and for two decades it’s kicked my butt," he said.

His younger brother Kyle Busch also celebrated the emotional victory of his elder brother as he drove beside him and banged doors with him.

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Kurt Busch reveals how he "exaggerated" his career-ending crash at Pocono Raceway

Kurt Busch's two-decade-long Cup Series career was riddled with highs and lows, but he was denied a fairy tale ending. His crash at Pocono Raceway in 2022 put an abrupt end to his racing career.

Having announced his retirement in August 2023, the 45-year-old opened up about his life-changing wreck and how he worsened it. In a recent conversation with Kenny Wallace, the former #45 Toyota driver said:

"I mean I exaggerated my wreck because I leaned forward knowing I was gonna back in. But it’s like primal fear. If something’s coming from behind, you are like oh man don’t hit me."

"So my head was away from the headrest and so when I hit, I exaggerated everything. I don’t even remember the car hitting with the right front. Because I was in outer space," he added.

The hard whack to the rear panels of the rigid next-gen car made Kurt Busch develop concussion-like symptoms and he never returned to racing following this unfortunate event.