Save the short tracks
Kyle Busch will be part of Tony Stewart's Prelude to a Dream event at Eldora Speedway in Ohio on June 6. A number of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver will be racing late model stock cars on the dirt track to raise money for the Victory Juntion Gang Camp and Tony Stewart Foundation.
Busch and his brother Kurt owe the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for getting them started in NASCAR. Short tracks were a big part of Kyle Busch's development and he would hate to see it go away in any form.
"I think short track racing obviously needs to stay alive because that is where our future stars are coming from," said Busch, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "NASCAR has made a few changes over the past few years on what they have been doing with their short track programs like they have instituted an 18 and over rule for everybody over the local track for late model, your premier division. This year they have changed that back to 16 but 18 for the Truck, Cup, and Busch."
Busch remembers the days of the Southwest Series as a great way for young drivers to about different tracks and the travel aspect of racing
"The Southwest Tour and the Northwest Tour and all those series, those were great series for people to learn in, you know, it was a regional division, you traveled around to different tracks but you were only traveling around to about eight or 10 different tracks which was perfect, just a little touring series," Busch said. "You know, money gets tough and they didn't have a big payout for guys so guys weren't making any money and it kind of fell through the hoops."