Kyle Busch, the driver of the #18 M&M’s Flavor Vote Toyota, sits in his car during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway on April 20, 2018, in Richmond, Virginia. Photo – Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson had just lost a heartbreaker to Kyle Busch last Monday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch got to the bumper of Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet on lap 495 of 500, pushed Larson up the track and made the winning pass.
Larson, who led a race-high 200 laps, returned to his motor home, prepared to put the close loss behind him. No such luck. His son Owen made sure of that.
“The last thing I wanted to hear but the first thing I heard when I walked in the bus was Owen (saying) ‘Did you get me some Skittles?’ So, I couldn’t help but laugh at that, so that wasn’t what I wanted to hear but it kind of lightened the mood, so it helps to get over it a little bit.”
Busch’s winning Toyota was sponsored by the Skittles brand at Bristol.
Kyle Busch
After the race, Kyle Larson sent Kyle Busch a text, congratulating him on the victory and relating Owen Larson’s request for Skittles.
“It’s cool that many of these drivers’ kids like the candy man,” said Busch, whose cars sport paint schemes that feature a variety of products from candy maker Mars, Inc. “So they certainly know what’s up, and whether it’s the paint scheme or it’s the personality – I’m not sure which – but certainly Cash (Clint Bowyer’s son) is one of those guys, and Owen is one of those guys, so pretty neat that those guys were wondering where the Skittles were.
“I was wondering where the McDonalds (Larson’s sponsor) was there during the rain delay (at Bristol), to be honest with you, so we can certainly work out together on that front and maybe work some B-to-B deals, but it’s cool that these kids are interested in the candy aspect, so they know where to come.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
In the past six years, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has seen three veteran teammates—Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle—leave the Roush Fenway Racing organization. Edwards subsequently stepped away from NASCAR racing in 2016, after two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Stenhouse says he stays in touch with Edwards, who has taken up farming in his native Missouri.
“Carl, I guess he just wanted to go sit on a tractor and hang out, which I don’t blame him,” Stenhouse said. “I like sitting on my tractor and being on my John Deere throughout the week and hanging out and enjoying that. I talk to Carl every now and then, and he’s definitely enjoying that.”
It’s doubtful, however, that either driver could get much of an adrenaline rush from a tractor race.