Q&A with Vegas Sprint Cup winner Kyle Busch

The JGR M&M's Toyota crew gives Kyle Busch quick service in Las Vegas

How great is this win in your hometown?
"This is pretty cool. I didn't know exactly what it would mean. Coming to the checkered flag there were knots in my stomach. This is probably as big as the Daytona 500 — I said it wasn't going to be but it is. I want to thank M&M's, Interstate Batteries, the fans, Marquee Jets, Toyota, TRD, NOS Energy Drink, Pedigree, Combos — everybody on this team. They're phenomenal, what can I tell you. Should have got one yesterday but missed out on it. I apologize to the Nationwide guys, but this is sort of a little bit of redemption here today."

What was it like winning after starting in the rear?
"We just had to battle back. We didn't have the best car out there today but we had a car we kept working on – just kept making better. I don't know where I get credited for winning this thing, whether it's from the back or from the pole. Either way we conquered both of them, that's for sure. Steve Addington (crew chief), I have to thank that guy. He's the leader in this team, everybody believes in him — I believe in him. As long as you have that everything seems to run smooth."

What does it feel like to win in your hometown?
"It's awesome man, this is just the feeling of a lifetime. This team does a phenomenal job for me — they're so great. They believe in me, they believe in Steve Addington (crew chief) and that's the mixture that we need. We're able to win races. We didn't have the best car today but I feel like I drove a smart race anyway and did what we needed to do. We worked on it all day and kept making it better. Fortunately that caution that caught everybody on pit road was a savior in our day. It got the guys that were faster than us behind us and we were able to run our own pace there and then Bobby (Labonte) chasing me — I thought we were going to come to the checkered battling him. We had a couple more cautions at the end and that really made me nervous."

What was it like on those last restarts?
"I didn't know for sure how good those guys were going to be out there with no tires. I knew they were going to be able to go and be fast right out of the gate because they knew what their cars were. They had just been on their tires and had been running it at race pace. We just got tires so we weren't sure how great it was going to be. The two tires on this thing and the little bit of gas that we took was really the magic and this thing made it hum."

Will you be getting any sleep tonight?
"I doubt it — we're partying it up big. The plane can't go home tonight so it's going to be one heck of a party in Las Vegas."

Were you more nervous coming down the stretch today because it was Las Vegas?
"I think it was just the hometown, just the nerves of winning here, not being able to relax any. The last time I had that was I think the first COT win at Bristol. I was a little nervous on that one. My first win was crazy. I mean, that thing, I was just not knowing what was going on. I didn't really know what was happening on the first win. I wasn't able to really cherish it a whole lot because I was so nervous on that whole thing. Here today, it's pretty cool. Probably what it would feel like to win the Daytona 500, come off of turn four, leading the race, knowing you're having a shot at taking the checkered first."

Can you talk about the pass for the win?
"Clint Bowyer slipped off the bottom just a little bit. So I had my left sides right on the white line there, got a good drive through the center of the corner because it gripped good. I got right up to him. He started coming back down a little bit. I'm like, 'Oh, don't do that.' He got loose and I got by him. Fortunately it was a clean move for us. We were able to get by him. He was able to rebound with a second-place finish. I think he got by (Jeff) Burton there at the end. He had a good strategy there to stay out on his old tires. He knew what to expect with his car. He wasn't the fastest car because of those tires, not having any. We were able to have just a little bit better grip than he did and pass him."