"The track reacts differently": Kyle Busch points to the weather factor behind challenges of racing at Las Vegas

Kyle Busch recently spoke about the challenges of racing at his hometrack in Las Vegas. The RCR driver, who has only one win at his hometrack, is heading into the fifth race of the season searching for his first win since Gateway in June, 2023.

During a media availability session, Kyle Busch was asked about some of the most challenging aspects of managing a win at Las Vegas. The 2x Cup champion claimed racing at Vegas is challenging because of 'the time of the year.' He elaborated:

"We’re coming off of winter time for this race, obviously, so we cold weather, things like that. So the track reacts differently versus the fall race here, where you’re coming off of summertime; all the summer heat, the ground being hotter, the track being different, the bumps being different. So, just kind of getting accustomed to all of those things and getting reacclimated with all of that." [2:00]

Busch added that in spring, the racing speeds are 'very high' and one tends to run a faster lap during that time of the year. He also remarked that 'aero deficiencies' also get exaggerated in spring.

He said that the aspect of track widening happens more in the fall. Having said that, Busch claimed those things can 'always change' depending on the temperature on the race day.

Kyle Busch hoping to continue his 'decent start to the season' at Las Vegas

In the first four races of this season, Kyle Busch has had two finishes inside the top 10 and one inside the top 5. At COTA, although he finished in 5th place, he was in contention of winning before he was passed by Christopher Bell in a late race battle.

Last season, Busch had only one top 5 finish in the first four races of the season.

His finishes so far this season, compared to his record at this stage of the season in 2024 suggest that the #8 team has made some improvements over the winter. This was something Kyle Busch also agreed on ahead of the race at Las Vegas.

"Certainly we’ve had some good races, so far. We’ve had some good speed. We’ve had the cars driving much more to my liking than what we’ve had in past. So I’ve been able to get more from the race car as well, too. So that’s all a net positive," he described.

Busch encouraged everyone at RCR to be 'proud' of their efforts and the work that's being put behind the scenes to get the positive results. With that said, 'Rowdy' claimed there's a lot more to come for the #8 team.

"If we had the gains that we made at Phoenix from last year to this year — if we could have another step of that, you know, then there’s going to be reason for us to race for wins," he mentioned.

The RCR driver said that he remains optimistic about his chances at Las Vegas regarding securing stage points, challenge for a win, and continue his team's 'decent start to the season.'