President Barack Obama honored 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch Wednesday afternoon while joking, “there were some people who thought we were going to see a Bush back here in the White House this year, but they didn’t know it was going to be Kyle.”
The joke comes after Jeb Bush, son of President George H.W. Bush and brother of President George W. Bush, made a run for President this year. But it was Kyle Busch and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team who were in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the championship they won last November. After spending time seeing parts of the White House, President Obama gave remarks to the press and members of Congress on Busch’s 2015 accomplishment.
Busch made a remarkable comeback from injuries to his right leg and left foot suffered at Daytona International Speedway in February, sidelining him for the first 11 races, to win his first title. He did so with five wins, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
But while President Obama routinely hosts many different sports teams following their championship seasons, Busch and company provided a first.
“They all call themselves National Champions or World Champions, but I’ve got to hand it to the No. 18 team who have given themselves the title of galaxy champs,” President Obama said. “That’s a first, and I’ve put in a call to NASA to check to see whether this is in fact accurate.”
Following the President’s remarks, Busch presented him with an M&M’s helmet.
“One of the few that I have during the season that I raced with in order to bring to you and give a gift on behalf of all of us at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said. “So, that’s a real one there.”
As he admired it, President Obama and Busch began a back and forth, with the President saying, “I really like that helmet, there.”
Replied Busch, “See when you go on your adventure you can use that.”
Before gathering the team for a picture, President Obama had one last question for Busch as he noticed the helmet’s air vent.
“Tell me the truth, what are you pumping in through here, though?” he asked.
“Some really good stuff,” Busch joked.
The No. 18 team will also join President Obama in front of the White House to view Busch’s championship-winning Toyota Camry.
Thank you @POTUS for having the @mmschocolate team visit the @WhiteHouse today. pic.twitter.com/2Np9tGTSF1
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) September 28, 2016