Fulfilling what he called "another personal goal of (his)", Nascar driver Kyle Busch was able to "Do The Double", running in the AAA Texas 500 as well as the New York Marathon on the same day.
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| Kyle pre-race with Tony Stewart |
"When I came into Nascar, I knew I wanted to win in anything I could", said a noticeably winded Busch post-Nascar-race, "and that meant winning in Cup, Nationwide, Trucks, K&N Pro Series, Slim Jim All Pro, Winter Heat, and yes, even marathons. Even though I couldn't finish in first today up in New York, I'm proud of the effort we put in to at least get a decent finish."
Busch deflected criticism that running more than one race a weekend (or day, for that matter) detracted from his focus on the Sprint Cup Series.
"Hey, I'm here to race, and to learn as much about every track as I can", Busch said. "So if in the future, Nascar decides to run a race on the streets of New York City, and I'm the only one who knows how to get the fastest lane for a restart on the Verrazano Bridge, well, you'll know why!"
Busch had driver Parker Kligerman on standby in Texas in case he was not able to fly-in in time for the start of the Cup race. Furthermore, he had runner Steve Clayton, the "Greg Sacks of marathons", on hand to relieve him in New York if he needed to leave early.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's all about competing", Busch stated shortly before leaving Texas Motor Speedway to compete in a unicycle race in Duluth. "Be it at the top level of the sport, to the bottom level, or to another sport completely, I'll be there."
Marathon officials noted that they were unable to interview Busch, as he did not win the race.