“There Was No Money”- Kyle Busch Reveals Mechanic Father’s $32K Sacrifice to Boost Kurt Busch’s Career

Kyle Busch is a tough name to beat in NASCAR circles. Holding 230 victories across all three NASCAR tiers, the driver is also the 2015 and 2019 Cup champion. His brother, Kurt Busch, retired in 2023, but not before clinching 34 Cup wins. Where did this powerful brother duo emerge from, you would ask. The story begins way back in the 1980s in Las Vegas.

Tom Busch started out as a mechanic with overflowing potential for racing. Even though his ambitions were unrealized, Busch paved the path for his two sons to fire their engines to success.

Kyle Busch narrates a heartwarming story of struggle

The younger Busch is a father now, as he tends to both his children with care. His son Brexton is 9, and already with a treasure trove of wins. Beginning his racing journey at 5 in 2020, Brexton fetched his first trophy only a month into his career. As for Kyle Busch’s 2-year-old daughter Lennix, the little girl is pampered adorably by her dad.

Busch inherits these parental duties from a special man in his life. Talking to Kenny Wallace, he recollected snippets from his dad’s life. “My dad was a huge influence, support, and teacher in the race car world…He went to Vegas, made a life out there.” 

Tom Busch worked as a mechanic at a Ford dealership, when a colleague sparked his interest in short-track racing in a worn-out car. “They won like three of the five races that year in the car. Then he tuned it up, fixed it up for the next year, went out, and won the championship…He loved racing, cars, and stuff like that.”

Tom Busch’s racing ambitions were cut short by a monetary crunch. “I asked him one time, why didn’t you move out south or east, and try to make a career in racing? He said, ‘Oh we didn’t have any money.’”

Yet the older Busch did all in investing in his children’s future. “I was at the garage at five years old, standing on the body of a 1932 Ford that my dad was building. When we finally finished that car, it was immaculate, a magazine car…When my brother wanted to start racing, we didn’t have the money for my brother to buy a car. So my dad sold that ’32 Ford for $32,000 and was able to take that money and invest in some race cars for Kurt to get started. So he was making sacrifices left and right.” 

Tom Busch stood as a guardian as Kyle Busch and his brother grew up and honed their talents in racing.

Busch senior enjoyed watching his sons compete with each other

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Every successful driver has a dynamic story of growth behind them. The same goes for Kurt and Kyle Busch, who learned the intricacies of racing under the support of their father. They carved names for themselves on the Bullring, a three-eighths-mile asphalt track located at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. All the way, Tom Busch watched them grow into talented drivers.

Busch senior recollected in 2015: “They raced each other so hard. Basically, Kyle had my old car, and Kurt had Kurt’s car. There were no spare parts. We didn’t have enough parts to race two cars. They were both out there on my dime racing each other. They raced each other hard but clean, but if there was one slip — well, let’s just say we used to have a lot of fun racing.”

It did not take long before Kurt graduated to Cup in 2000, and Kyle Busch followed suit in 2004. And then the Busch family was stamped in the racing history.

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