By Jerry Jordan, Editor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — With his first stint in the No. 14 Lexus cut short to save him for later in the race, defending NASCAR Champion Kyle Busch went out and ran a triple-stint in the early morning hours and then drove the car to the finish of the Rolex24 endurance race at Daytona International Speedway.
As he sat in the media center reflecting on his performance and the car, Busch said the hardest part was being awakened at 4:30 a.m. and having to quickly get ready and get in the car. He said it took the entire first stint for him to get refocused.
“It’s a jolt, that’s for sure,” Busch said. “When I got in the car, lap times weren’t quite great. I think that was a double or triple – it was a triple stint. My second and third stint times were fine once I got my eyes open and everything. I think I went from running 46.90s to 46.60s, so that was more on pace.”
Busch said he “had fun ” but it was too soon to say whether he will jump back in the seat for another 24-hour run in 2021.
“I think I will digest all of this and figure it all out, he said. “I enjoyed the experience and being able to get out there to do it. You certainly always want to run better, so we would like to get our performance better.”
