Kyle Busch knew what was awaiting him after starting on the pole, then not holding that spot during the Clash at the Coliseum exhibition in February. One of his toughest critics would certainly pepper him with questions, asking why he had fallen back when Busch himself had stressed that this was something to avoid.
That critic is Busch’s 7-year-old son, Brexton, himself an aspiring racer. Many times, Kyle had emphasized to Brexton that maintaining track position was key whenever you started a race up front, and here the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was failing to heed his own advice.
“I started on the pole and won the heat race. I started on the pole, and in the main, I faded,” Busch said. “And I was thinking about Brexton in the back of my mind, ‘OK, now I’m losing spots, just like he lost spots.’ And I know he’s going to get mad at me when I get off the track and be like, ‘Dad, why did you lose spots? You know you started on the pole, you should have won.’ So I’m like, ‘Oh, shit, here we go.’”
Working with Brexton has given Kyle a different perspective as they study film or discuss what happened on the track. One aspect dad still struggles with sometimes is patience, especially if he feels Brexton does something he shouldn’t be doing.
The importance of track position is among the numerous lessons Busch has taught Brexton since his son began racing in the summer of 2020. But while the older Busch is often playing the role of teacher when they’re at the track for one of Brexton’s races, working with his son has given Kyle moments when during a NASCAR race, he’ll find himself thinking back on a piece of advice he offered his son.
“I get frustrated at him in certain situations where I know he’s lifting or I know he’s doing something he shouldn’t,” Busch said. And then I get frustrated with myself in the same sense where I’ll ask myself, ‘Why are you lifting? You tell your kid he shouldn’t be lifting, so why are you lifting?’”
Busch is one of several active or recently retired Cup drivers who has a child that’s beginning to race themselves. Among this group are the sons of Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray. Kids following in their dads’ footsteps has long been commonplace throughout NASCAR’s history. This generation of children getting into racing is not much different than how Dale Earnhardt Jr., Davey Allison, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett and Chase Elliott did before them.
The frequent gathering spot for these families is Millbridge Speedway, a small dirt track located in Salisbury, N.C., just north of NASCAR’s Charlotte hub. Brexton, Keelan Harvick, Owen Larson, Carter McMurray and Cash Bowyer often race here — often with their dads in tow.
“It’s a great little thing they have over there and it’s cool to see,” Kyle Larson said. “For me, it just makes me kind of reminisce on the memories I had at Cycleland Speedway growing up, just playing with my buddies, that kind of stuff. Building memories is the cool thing that I take away from us going to Millbridge. Whether they all grow up to be racecar drivers or not, they’re all just making memories right now, which is great at their age.”
Sitting in a popup chair between two motorhomes parked inside Daytona International Speedway, Kevin Harvick admits that he pretty much lives nowadays at go-kart tracks, with 10-year-old Keelan frequently competing in karting events around the country.
When asked about the difficulty focusing on his own career, consisting of 38 NASCAR race weekends, while having a young son whose own schedule touts nearly 70 races in various classes, Harvick smiles, shakes his head and puffs out his cheeks. It’s a balance, he admits, one he’s gained familiarity with since Keelan took up racing in 2020.
Make no mistake, though, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion isn’t…
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