Kyle Busch makes his raw emotions known after big Chili Bowl surge

Kyle Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion made his Chili Bowl Nationals debut on Friday, January 17. Soon after what was his third career start in a midget, the Las Vegas native expressed his feelings through a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Busch did enough to emerge third among the 83 drivers who took part in the opening heat race. By the third heat, the NASCAR vet was second (scoring a whopping 118 points) after having started seventh. After running the Qualifier 3, Busch posted,

“That one was for the top row Rowdy’s. 7-2 Heat Race got me like…”

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Chevy Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, is currently in his offseason. However, that has not kept him from racing. Busch raced alongside his son Brexton at the recent 2025 Tulsa Shootout, following which he started preparing for the Chili Bowl Nationals. As quoted by NASCAR, Busch said,

“The Cup Season may be over, but the Racing season is still in full swing with the biggest events on dirt taking place over the next couple of months. The Chili Bowl is a legendary event and has always been on my wish-list.”

Nevertheless, Busch’s duties on the NASCAR front will resume soon with the season-opening clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, scheduled for February 2. Notably, 2025 will mark the return of the Cup Series to the historic race track in Winston-Salem for the first time since 1971.

However, the season will begin officially with the 67th running of the annual Daytona 500. Scheduled for February 16, this 500-mile race has never crowned Kyle Busch the winner, despite him holding the record for most wins (in Cup, Xfinity, and Truck) among current drivers.

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“I’m not here to be a Kyle Larson”- Kyle Busch sets clear expectations for his Chili Bowl debut

Kyle Busch has won 231 races across NASCAR’s premier series, but when it came to his debut in the Chili Bowl Nationals, the goal was to just have fun. Winning was not in his mind. While speaking with FloRacing about the same, Busch said,

“Honestly, for me, I’m just coming in here to have fun. No expectations. I’m not here to be a Kyle Larson or an Emerson Axsom or anybody that comes out here and lights the world on fire.” (0:32)

Does that mean Busch will run more dirt races throughout the season? Addressing that possibility, the 39-year-old driver said (via Yahoo Sports),

“It would certainly be fun to go to some of the places and maybe run around. I keep trying to talk Indianapolis Motor Speedway into doing a big micro show while we‘re up there because we‘ve got the micros and everything. I haven‘t gotten very far with that, but I know the BC39 is up there, so maybe I‘ll get to do that.”

However, it all comes down to how flexible Busch’s Cup Series schedule will allow him to be. The weekends are booked and therefore, every additional non-NASCAR race will have to be scheduled for the weekdays.