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SPARTA, Ky. – Last year, Kurt Busch decided where he would drive this season, it was not long.
A short meeting with car owner Chip Ganassi laid the groundwork for an agreement in about three hours, announced in December that paid off last weekend with Busch's first win in the season.
In the 30-minute conversation Busch had last year with Ganassi about driving for the car owner, Busch found what he was looking for.
"I was able to see (Ganassi) 's level of commitment as a rider," said Busch, who had run the previous five seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing. "Yes, Tony Stewart is a runner, but I was more on the side of Gene Haas. When Chip said, "I want you to win for me, I want you to make those guys win, and if you can bring that sponsorship (Monster Energy) with you, I'll pay you this," it was just as the greatest respect I have had for a long time when it came to negotiating a contract. "
Respect was a word used by the former champion of the Cup during multiple interviews on Saturday to talk about his move to Ganassi.
Busch said on the NBCSN post-race broadcast that when a contract extension with Stewart-Haas Racing failed, he called Ganassi and quickly reached an agreement.
"It's just the respect factor I was looking for," Busch told Krista Voda, Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett.
After the race, Busch said about the speed with which an agreement had been reached in the media center: "That meant that I was looking for it. And when you have that, it's that extra desire to push and make this group a winner. "
When announcing the deal in December, Ganassi said, "It's not often that a champion of NASCAR, a winner of the Daytona 500, becomes available. When you have a guy who is a runner like Kurt … you have to look at it seriously. It did not take long for him to be available. "
While Busch, who turns 41 on Aug. 4, is gearing up for the playoffs, he also needs to focus on what he's going to do next season. The agreement with Ganassi is only for this year. So, what's next for Busch?
"For me, it is enough that the dominoes are aligned and that everyone falls together for this to happen," he said. "I guess the easiest way to get things done is to issue RFPs on Monday with the sponsors, the manufacturers, and the owner of the team.
"Yes, a win, which could have happened last week in Daytona, is one of those moments. Tonight is one of those stamps – this 1 team is a powerful team, and it would be stupid not to keep this group together, and that's part of my power, but in the end, we just want to make it work for all celebrations."
After an evening like Saturday, Busch said, "It gives you that energy of, yes, it's fun, and we'll put our sponsors online and do (again)."
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Ryan Newman has a simple rule on blocking, a tactic that has become more common with the race package this year.
"I do not do it personally, it's not my way of running, I run hard," said Newman. "Because that's not how I want to be run. This is not true.
"You do not change the way you enter a corner to smother someone knowing that it will slow you down. As a runner, you're supposed to go and run as hard as you can to catch the guy in front of you, do not let the guy behind you stay behind you. "
Newman also noted a conversation he had with Ryan Blaney earlier this season after being repeatedly blocked by Blaney.
"Ryan Blaney and I came out of the race after the race, not nasty," said Newman. "I just told him, I said," Listen, the next time you do that, it will not be good for you. That's not how I run. You want to block me, it's not going to be good. I do not think so as a threat. I just tell him it's the fact.
"I do not run that way. If I block you, you have the right to return, but if you smother me by going to the corner just to try to keep me behind you, expect to lose yourself. "
Blaney admitted to having launched "some big blocks" on Newman in the Charlotte races in May.
"You make those decisions in a split second," said Blaney. "You do not try to fuck this guy, you just say," I have to help myself. "Between me and Ryan (Newman), I've always loved being able to talk to someone afterwards and have an understanding of it.
"Newman said it was a big block, it was kind of late. I said, "Yes, I knew it was close, sorry." You can tell how close he was, how much he hit you on the bumper. Ryan and I have always been good friends, he is a person I have long admired, he has been a friend of my family for a long time and it was good to talk to him and to understand it.
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At NASCAR, It was a simple call to penalize William Byron for skipping Kentucky Speedway.
Scott Miller, first vice president of the NASCAR competition, explained Monday the penalty of "The Morning Drive" on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
"(Byron) shot first in the restart area, and he was not controlling the restart," said Miller. It's as simple as that.
In the rules video that was aired at the riders meeting in Kentucky, he said, "The vehicle control will be left to the discretion of the witness vehicle to restart in the area between the double marks and the single mark. on the outside wall and on the course.
Clint Bowyer was the leader at the time.
The penalty took place on lap 184 of the 267-lap race. Byron went from second place to a lap after serving time and never recovered. He finished 18th.
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Paul Ménard confirmed this weekend the status of his contract for next season, stating:
"I have a good job, that's for sure. I love the wooden brothers. I like my race team. They are good people. I have a contract for next year. I guess we are starting to be at this time of year when people start talking about things. I have a contract and I love my team. We just have to do better, that's all.
Ménard finished 11th Saturday. He is 20th in the season standings at 54 points in the final playoff game.
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Sponsorship issues almost cost eventual truck champion Brett Moffitt his eligibility for the playoffs last year. Threaten Tyler Ankrum's playoff eligibility this season.
Ankrum won the Gander Outdoors Truck Series race last weekend in Kentucky, but the lack of sponsorship could be a problem for him.
Ankrum had to make a full season for DGR-Crosley after turning 18 in March. In June, he had announced that he would not be playing a full season with the team because of a lack of sponsorship.
He started racing at Iowa and Gateway for NEMCO Motorsports and retired after less than 20 laps in both races, finishing 31st in Iowa and 30th in Gateway. By starting these races, he kept his eligibility for the playoffs. Ankrum received a derogation from NASCAR for missing the first three races of the season because he was not 18 at the time and could not run in Daytona, Atlanta and Las Vegas. He ran the remaining races.
DGR-Crosley is a Toyota team and the issue of Toyota's responsibility to ensure that one of its playoff teams remains eligible for a championship race.
David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development, said the company will help in the most appropriate way to do it.
"Our goal is to provide technical support to our team partners, David Gilliland and his family may not be at (Kyle Busch Motorsports) level, but make no mistake, we have a strong technical partnership with them. "Wilson said NBC Sports after the victory of Ankrum.
Wilson said Toyota was with the team when they took the winning truck to an earlier wind tunnel.
"We are obviously committed and hope that they will be able to raise enough (sponsorship) for Tyler to keep moving forward, and we would like to have it in playoffs," Wilson said.
Wilson admits that for Toyota, the focus is on Kyle Busch Motorsports. Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland are both out of the playoff spots with three regular season races.
At present, Toyota has two playoff teams with Ankrum and Austin Hill, who have won Daytona Hattori Racing Enterprises, championship champion Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
No matter which Toyota team in the playoffs, it will attract Wilson's attention.
"Obviously, we will focus our resources on those who are fighting to win the championship," Wilson said. "There is no question about it. If it is trucks other than KBM, so be it.
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