THROWBACK: Kyle Busch Makes his NASCAR Debut at the Age of 16

Back in 2001, a young teenager from Las Vegas burst onto the NASCAR scene. The Roush Racing team handed a 16-year-old Kyle Busch his NASCAR Truck Series debut and he delivered handsomely. At the Lucas Oil Raceway, Busch managed to finish in 9th place in a dream debut for Roush Racing.

Since then, he went on the compete in five more races, only finishing in the Top 10 on one more occasion. After that, there has been no stopping him from allowing his star to rise. The first Truck Series win came in 2005 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and he went on to rack up 60 more wins.

On this day 20 years ago, @KyleBusch made his NASCAR debut at age 16, finishing 9th at IRP for Roush Racing. (via u/Fyrien) https://t.co/wTVpS6yYI6 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/CbXr4c0eFc

— r/NASCAR on Reddit (@NASCARonReddit) August 3, 2021

It is also worth mentioning that Busch is also responsible for NASCAR raising the minimum age limit to 18 years. On a different note, Busch joined the Xfinity arena in 2003 and the Cup Series in 2004. In the Xfinity Series, he once again made an impression when he bagged 2nd at the Charlotte Motor Speedway again.

Kyle Busch has come a long way since then

Ever since his debut, Busch has been going from strength to strength. In the Truck Series, he has had a best finish of 14th in the championship, but won the 2009 Xfinity title. Admittedly, he had to wait a little before that elusive Cup Series title finally made its way towards him in 2015 and in 2019.

Jun 20, 2021; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) races during the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

It is note-worthy that the 36-year-old has amassed 102 Xfinity wins and 59 Cup Series wins. In addition to that, he also has a streak of 17 consecutive years with at least one Cup Series win. If he manages to continue this in 2022 and 2023, he will break Richard Petty’s record of 18.

Obviously, one has to consider that he will be 38 in 2023, but he is still proving that he is competitive. It also helps that the Joe Gibbs Racing team is one of the top NASCAR teams, alongside Penske and Hendrick Motorsports. For now, Kyle Busch will focus on the 2021 season and the upcoming playoffs.

READ MORE: Kyle Busch Looks Back on his Xfinity Series Career After Retirement

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