Financial burden has Kyle Busch wishing he never started team

UPDATE Busch has lined up some companies for single-race sponsorships and other smaller deals, but it hasn't been nearly enough to cover the costs, even as Busch's #18 team sits first in the owner's standings. "Our trucks really run well, we're fast," Busch said. It just hasn't paid the bills. The Charlotte Observer reported nearly a dozen companies involved in the construction of Busch's race headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., have filed liens or intend to file liens because they are collectively owed about $1 million. Earlier this week, Brian Ickler, who was driving the #18 truck when Busch could not due to Sprint Cup conflicts, took a job driving a car for Roush Fenway Racing in the Nationwide Series. Busch will use Johnny Benson, who he had hoped to drive the scrapped third car he had planned, in Ickler's place starting in two weeks at Texas. "I have no reason to hold Brian Ickler back. It's all for his best interest," Busch said. "I feel like I've done what I've needed to do to help him move up, so hopefully he can make a name for himself and a place for himself over there at Roush and do a good job." But the satisfaction of helping Ickler — who has two top-five finishes in Busch's truck — doesn't ease the financial burden Busch is feeling. It's led him to question his decision to become a boss. "Is it painful? Yeah, you work your whole life to make the money you make and do everything you do," Busch said. "I'm not saying I'm throwing it away, but to see it all go away, it's unfortunate. "What it all boils down to is if I get hurt. If I get hurt I can't go forward. There's disability and there's this and that, but I don't need to put my family in that position. I think that's a bad idea. I've just got to stay healthy and keep going." ESPN/AP

05/23/10 More from Busch…Benson in #18 at Texas: For [Kyle] Busch, his pending nuptials and bride to be are the least of his financial worries. The price of owning a truck team is making Busch seriously reconsider if he should've ever become a NASCAR truck team owner. "The wedding, she's got a budget, so she's done a good job with that," Busch said of his fiancée Samantha Sarcinella. "It's all the truck team. They seem to not know what budgets mean." Running a NASCAR truck team is an expensive proposition that many have tried and failed at. Busch knew starting a truck team would take a significant capital investment, but he didn't realize just how expensive it would be. Had he known what he knows now, Busch didn't hesitate to say he wouldn't have done it. "No," Busch said quickly, speaking during a break in a test at Daytona International Speedway. "No, I wouldn't do it. Bad idea. I was kind of misled on some things and didn't understand the financial burden of getting started," Busch said. "The getting started costs have been way over what expectations were, so that set us back." Recently contractors hired to work on a new building for the team filed a lien against KBM, saying they were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars by the company, according to a report in the Charlotte Observer. It's all part of a headache Busch wishes he avoided completely. Orlando Sentinel

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