Kyle Busch-Indy 500 possibility gaining traction – Nascar

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The potential of a Kyle-Busch-to-Indy-500 bid has gained traction in recent weeks, with Busch himself fueling some of the speculation in the midst of his current NASCAR hot streak.

The reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ says he’s intrigued at the notion of running the IndyCar crown jewel race in a one-day double with the Coca-Cola 600, but that competing in the 100th running this May is not a possibility. Several logistical and personal hurdles — including sign-off from his wife, Samantha, and car owner Joe Gibbs — remain, but Busch indicated Friday that sponsorship might be open to the idea.

“Joe’s going to be the hardest one for sure,” Busch said Friday morning before opening Sprint Cup practice at Bristol Motor Speedway. “Samantha is not necessarily a fan of it and I’ve talked to her about it a little bit and she’s just like, ‘I’ll be there when the time comes, but don’t tell me.’

“Then the sponsor aspect, they’ve actually shown some interest in it and that was kind of fun for me to hear that there might actually be an opportunity there if I continue my relationship with them from the Cup side to the IndyCar side. We have to work out all those details and it’s certainly not going to happen for this year, but maybe in some future years we’ll see what we can put together.”

Busch has carried primary sponsorship from M&M’s/Mars since he joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008, and the two sides renewed their agreement last November to extend through 2019. Busch also has a partial schedule of primary sponsorship this year through Interstate Batteries, a longtime backer of JGR.

Busch has won the last four races across all three NASCAR national series. After notching his most recent Sprint Cup victory last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Busch was pressed again about the Memorial Day double-duty.

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“I’d give it a whirl, but I’ve got to get it approved here first,” Busch said. “You know, it would be pretty funny if I can get my Cup sponsors to pay for it. Then it would be pretty easy to convince Joe, so that may be my best strategy, so I’ll work on that. We’ll see.”

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