DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch peered at a handful of Powerball tickets left behind as part of a giveaway and was told he could have them.
“Better chances of winning that than the Daytona 500,” Busch cracked.
It’s easy to understand why Busch would feel that way. The two-time Cup Series champion is winless in 17 starts in NASCAR’s most prestigious race, a skid that’s more of a head-scratcher than a heartbreaker considering Busch has won at just about every track on the circuit.
He’s even partied in victory lane at Daytona International Speedway, only in the summer race. But the ultimate prize on NASCAR’s ultimate stage has eluded him, maybe even gnawed at him, throughout his professional career.
“It’s just not happened yet for me,” said Busch, who wrecked while leading a qualifying race Thursday night. “Some guys, this is the only race they ever win. Other guys, they win it two or three times. It’s the Super Bowl of our sport, and it’s hard to accomplish this one.”
Now driving for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 8 Chevrolet, Busch will try to change his Daytona 500 fortunes in the 65th running of “The Great American Race” on Sunday. And he has plenty of company in the 0-for-500 club, with four other drivers also having double-digit droughts in NASCAR’s season opener.
Kyle Larson, the 2021 series champ, could join the club soon. He’s current 0 for 9 in the 500.
“It’s just a difficult style of racing that I just haven’t had the best of time in my career,” Larson said. ‘I used to always say it’s bad luck, but I don’t necessarily feel that way anymore.”
Others share that sentiment:
MARTIN TRUEX JR. (0 for 18)
Truex owns NASCAR’s longest active losing streak in the 500. The 2017 series champ won each of the first two stages last year before getting caught up in a five-car crash with 50 laps to go. He also was the runner-up in the 2016 Daytona 500, edged at the finish line by 0.011 seconds by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.
Truex doesn’t have a top-10 finish in the 500 since, but he’s feeling good after winning the exhibition Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum two weeks ago.
“It was just good for confidence, good for momentum,” Truex said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team so fired up to get to the racetrack as my guys have been. I think that’s a good thing and hopefully we can just keep that momentum going.”
BRAD KESELOWSKI (0 for 13)
Keselowski has won six times at Talladega, making him one of NASCAR’s top superspeedway racers, but he’s had mostly bad luck in the Daytona 500.
The 2012 series champ had a legit shot in 2021 before then-Team Penske teammate Joey Logano blocked him on the final lap and caused a multi-car melee that allowed Michael McDowell to drive by and end up in victory lane for one of the more shocking finishes in race history.
