Everyone knows of Samantha Busch, the
lovely wife of Kyle, but how well do you really know her? I had the opportunity to interview her very
recently and got to know what makes Samantha "Samantha" and not
Samantha, "the wife of Kyle Busch."
Kyle and Samantha met the summer that
Samantha went into her senior year of college at Purdue University. "We began to get to know each other via
the phone and e-mails and eventually started a long distance relationship
throughout my senior year. Kyle was such
a sweet and easy-going guy that the first few months getting to know each other
were amazing! He was so easy to talk to
and was very considerate. He always
asked me about school and work and the passion he had talking about racing was
amazing. He was (and still is) so
focused and driven and also hearing him talk about his two Westies - Kelly and
Suzie - just melted my heart!"
Samantha hasn’t always been a NASCAR fan
and didn't know much about it before meeting Kyle, simply due to the fact that
she wasn't exposed to it. "As a kid
living so close to Chicago, my family followed the Bears, Cubs, and Sox. Now, however, my entire family is obviously
die-hard NASCAR fans." Samantha's
father was born in Italy and didn't come to America until the age of six. "We still have a lot of family there so
when my Pops and Nonno [grandpa] went back to visit two years ago, they brought
a ton of Kyle stuff; so now there is some little town in Italy all decked out
in Kyle memorabilia!"
"Getting to know the sport inside
and out has been an amazing experience.
Kyle was very patient teaching me the history and all about the
cars. I also always ask the team what different
parts are or what various adjustments do.
Getting to see the behind the scene aspect of building the cars is truly
remarkable! I don't think people
understand how much work goes into it!
The whole sport is fascinating and I feel like I learn more and more
each day."
No doubt that being married to a NASCAR
driver takes a toll on your nerves, so I asked what has been the scariest
moment for her thus far; "The 2012 Daytona Nationwide race was pretty
scary. There was a huge wreck out of
Turn 4 which Kyle got a piece of and he slammed into the wall really hard. He had already taken his earpiece out so he
didn't hear his crew chief asking if he was okay. Not hearing anything coming back from his end
makes your heart stop. After running to
the Infield Care Center and seeing he was okay, I made him promise me after a
wreck to always say something just so I can know he's alright." But, with the bad, comes the good - the
traveling almost every weekend of the year.
"The best part is getting to travel to so many places and
experience all the things each city has to offer! For example, hiking in Phoenix, wine tasting
in Sonoma, trying out new workout classes in LA when we race Fontana…it's a
blessing! I also enjoy meeting the
people that are in each place we visit.
Their stories about why they love NASCAR are awesome!"
SamanthaBusch.com is a great website
that has health tips, fitness tips, fashion advice, and tons of great
information for all the women out there; I know I've been one to visit her website
for some of her great tips! "I
created SamanthaBusch.com because on Twitter and or just when I was out and
about, people were asking me questions about health, beauty, fitness, fashion,
etc; so I thought it would be a great idea to have all my advice and tips in
one place so people have something they can conveniently reference. I love when I hear that the videos and blogs
I've done actually help people and that's why I continue to do it." By giving fashion, beauty, and health tips,
Samantha has influenced many young teenage girls all over the country;
"It's a huge honor and really just leaves me speechless when I meet young
women or see on Twitter that I have had a positive impact on their lives. Whether it's helping them pick out the
perfect prom dress, helping them lose weight, teaching them a new makeup
technique, or helping them deal with a personal issue, I just feel blessed that
people turn to me. I truly love all the
girls I get to interact with, so many of them have become like little sisters
to me and I hope they know that I will always try my best to give them sound
advice, be an ear to listen and a friend when times are hard."
"I have always had a shoe
addiction, I think it's hereditary. I’ll
give you a quick, true story: So my grandmother has dementia and lives with my
parents but, as we were transitioning her years ago to their house, we were
cleaning her place out. I went into the
basement and behind boxes and other stuff, I found piles of shoeboxes!
Seriously there were probably over a 100 boxes all filled with shoes from years
past, she never threw anything away! They were so beautiful but unfortunately
not my size. That’s why I say my shoe
problem is hereditary and I hardly ever get rid of mine either, I still have
shoes from high school! To answer your
question though, I love anywhere that has a good sale so places like DSW, TJ
Maxx, and Marshalls are all great places to find fabulous footwear!"
In addition to SamanthaBusch.com, she is
very involved with the Kyle Busch Foundation, which focuses on providing
essential tools for less fortunate children throughout the country. "We have a number of homes that we
provide with daily essentials; in the past, we have provided them with
everything from food to new computers, and one year, Kyle and I bought a home a
few gaming sets and a bunch of games! We
also want to make these kids feel special so, every Christmas, we ask our homes
for a Christmas wish list from each child.
We buy these kids all sorts of individual presents and the letters we
get back from the kids are just so heart-warming! Some of them ask for the
littlest things and are so appreciative of everyday things we may take for
granted. This past year, we went shopping for over 300 individual kids! On top
of that, Kyle and I like to help other kids not just those in the homes we
support through the Kyle Busch Foundation.
This past Christmas, we saw an angel tree and we were so upset that,
with only two days of the program left, most of the tree still had angels on it
so we took all the names off and bought each child all sorts of goodies! The
main reason we are able to buy so many gifts is because of the fans! This sweet
girl Lexie started Lexie’s Challenge where every time Kyle won, her family
purchased a gift card to places like Dollar General, Target or Wal-Mart. She asked fans to do the same and soon gift
cards were pouring in. With these gift
cards, along with the money we raise throughout the year, we are able to buy
tons of gifts for kids that may otherwise have nothing to open on Christmas.
Here is a link to Lexie’s Challenge if you want to help: click here."
I had to ask about something that Kyle does that
drives her insane; "Oh my, at night, instead of just moving to get into a
more comfortable position, he likes to flail his entire body. Seriously, one day, I am going to go flying
out of bed!" See, now you all
learned something about Kyle as well.
I actually have a little story about the first time
I met Samantha; I was at Dover and walking down Pit Road with Dan from
CollegeComplete.com when he stopped to talk to her. The previous day, I had gotten a horrible
sunburn during the Nationwide race - so bad that it actually hurt to have the
straps of my shirt on my shoulders.
While talking with Samantha, she noticed how terribly sunburned my
shoulders and back were and offered to run back to their motor home and get me
some sun block so I didn’t burn even more during the Cup race, I politely
declined, thinking that I wasn't going to get any more sunburned…however, I
did. Fast forward to October when
Hurricane Sandy hit my hometown; Samantha was one of the many people to send
their condolences, but she checked up on me months after the fact, which was a
great feeling!
Interviewing Samantha has been a great experience
and I just wanted to say thank you again, Samantha, for taking time out of your
schedule to answer these questions for me.
I know all the NASCAR fans loved getting to know you better!
Links:
* All photos are property of Samantha Busch *
