Kyle Busch shares exclusive thoughts on Sonoma, M&M’s Caramel paint scheme

Kyle Busch is ready to attack the road course in Sonoma with one of his favorite paint schemes on the No. 18.

The turns and elevation changes at Sonoma Raceway can test even the best Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers. Kyle Busch certainly fits that description, as he’s won nearly 50 races at the top level of stock car racing, with two of them coming in previous editions of Sunday’s race, the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

One of those victories was among the most memorable of Busch’s entire Cup Series career. The 2015 Sonoma race was just his fifth time back in the car after the injury at Daytona that forced Busch to miss the first 11 races of the season. Despite finishing dead last at Michigan in the race prior, Busch turned in an outstanding performance, passing Jimmie Johnson with five laps to go and taking the checkered flag ahead of older brother Kurt.

As he prepared to return to the site of that unforgettable moment, Busch shared some thoughts on what that victory meant exclusively with FanSided.com.

“That weekend was certainly a good start to our championship run,” Busch said. “To go out there and win the race after where we were after Michigan the previous week, it all gave us the confidence that we still had a shot to win the championship. We thought getting the win would be the hardest part, but it was really not expected at Sonoma. My feet and legs were still recovering and there was a lot of shifting, and it was hard on them. With 30 laps to go, it was hurting pretty bad but, when you realize you have a chance to win, it doesn’t hurt as bad.”

Rowdy also won at Sonoma in 2008, leading the most laps that year. However, in-between his two triumphs came six straight years without even a top-10 finish among them and two finishes of 30th or worse, which is a testament to how the hilly California circuit can take a toll on man and machine.

Still, Busch has finished seventh and fifth since his 2015 victory, so he’s getting around the track pretty well as of late. He also seems to genuinely relish the challenge and the setting.

“Sonoma is a neat place,” Busch said. “It’s a cool area to go to up into Wine Country. I’ve always enjoyed road-course racing. Even when I was in Legends cars, I would enjoy going up there during the days that I raced there. Now that I’m on the Monster Energy tour, it’s cool to go there every June. It’s a fun racetrack.”

It’s sometimes tricky to pass at Sonoma, and drivers have to pick their spots. Where does Busch see the most opportunities?

“The cars get grouped a lot closer together there than at Watkins Glen, so braking there is a lot tougher getting into turn four, turn seven, and especially turn 11,” Busch said. “There are some opportunities in those corners to pass people. Forward bite seems to have become an issue as you get going there during the run. And you need to make sure you keep the rear tires underneath you because it’s really easy to burn them babies off when you try and pass somebody. You go to pass somebody and hit the gas and all your rear tires want to do is spin and you can’t get alongside that guy. So, from that respect, Sonoma can be frustrating at times, as well.”

Next: A side of Kyle Busch you don't always see

Busch will go for his third victory at Sonoma Raceway sporting the M&M’s Caramel colors on his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It’s a paint scheme that has been popular with fans and successful on the track, adorning the hood for several wins.

That fact certainly isn’t lost on its driver, who is looking forward to putting this particular brand in action on Sunday.

“It all started with our All-Star race win last year,” Busch said. “That was the first time we had M&M’s Caramel on the car, and it was exciting to win our first time out. M&M’s is making caramel fun, and there no better fun than celebrating in Victory Lane. For the past few seasons, we’ve had different paint schemes for different flavor M&M’s, and Caramel is one of my favorites.”

You can watch Kyle Busch and M&M’s Caramel try to add another win together in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at 3:00 p.m. on FS1. We’ll also have highlights and analysis all race long right here at FanSided.com.