Women in NASCAR....Samantha Sarcinella

This is

Samantha Busch


Samantha grew up in St. John, Indiana. Her parents, Steve and Donell Sarcinella raised both Samantha and her younger brother Steven in Indiana; Just 30 minutes outside of Chicago. She comes from a huge Italian family that lived within 30 minutes of one another. She absolutely loves being the part of a big family. Neither she nor her family were involved in Motorsports.

Sam graduated a semester early from Lake Central High School and went on to attend Purdue University in Lafayette, In. “Boiler-Up,”she says. She graduated with a BA in Psychology and currently is working towards her Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology through Austin Peay St. University located in Clarksvillle, Tennessee.

While she was growing up she worked, often more than one job at a time. While in high school she worked at a health club. She also was a waitress at a banquet hall on Saturdays and babysat when it came available.

While in college she was an aerobics instructor, teaching spinning and body sculpting.

Sam said, “I really loved my jobs. It was really rewarding to help people work towards their weight loss goals and also kept me in shape.”

She also did promotional modeling at night for various companies on the weekends traveling to Indianapolis or other areas for different promotional jobs.

Currently she is looking into becoming an E Therapist, and is searching for a reputable company. With the busy schedule her and Kyle keep, working as an online therapist would allow her to provide people counseling from the comfort of their own home.

Samantha was gracious enough to grant me this interview. Below are a series of Questions and Answers. I hope you enjoy getting to know her a little better as I have.


LB(LindiBess)- We’re you active in any sports or activities in School? If yes, what were they?
SS-(Samantha Sarcinella)- “Growing up I did gymnastics, cheerleading, and softball. I was always, I was a part of many organizations and committees such as Honor Society and various Charity events.


LB-When you were growing up, what were your passions or your aspirations for the future?
SS-“Well, when I was young I wanted to be a model. (See photo below. Sam, at 3 yrs, is posing for this shot). My mom said I was always walking around the house posing and for my kindergarten graduation; Taking the opportunity to use the walk to get my diploma as a runway to show off my skills. At one point I contemplated going to med school. In fact, the first year and a half, it was my intent. I enjoyed my biology courses. When I filled my schedule with psychology, as an elective, it peaked my interest. It was then that I felt drawn specifically to Industrial/Organizational Psychology. I also had an interest in counseling also.”

LB-How did you and Kyle meet?
SS-“I met Kyle my first time and even first hour at a racetrack! I was working as a promotional model for Chevy at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I was checking people’s license’s to make sure they were old enough to do ride along. I was offered a ride with him and we hit it off.”


KBM’s New Race Shop in Mooresville, NC


LB- What is your involvement in things associated with Kyle’s career?
SS-“Currently, we are building a brand new state of the art, LEED certified, race shop in Mooresville, NC. My part of this building is to help decorate and furnish it. I found all the furniture I liked and worked with a decorator to get it all ordered and to meet the various building codes. My favorite piece that I found is the 22 person, black conference table,Its just stunning! I also pick out all the colors and tiles for the shop. In addition, we are going to have a museum and retail store in the shop. It was a blast to get to work with the folks at Whirly Pig to design custom trophy cases, a 3D KBM logo and many other surprises that will await fans that will visit the shop. My favorite part of the retail store is the window. I wanted it to be a scene similar to those that you would see in the storefronts of big department stores in the city. So we worked and created a Las Vegas Motor Speedway Victory Lane scene. It’s Awesome!”

Modeling her designs at the KBM Store, Sam does it all. 
Samantha continued, “Additionally, Kyle has a Rowdy Style line of clothing. I wanted to help create a look especially for women that was not your typical race wear. Working with a designer last year, we came up with some really cool Rowdy t-shirts. One of which had a baseball jersey feel and another we did in a black fitted tank with pink rhinestones. Very cute! This year we have focused our attention on KBM apparel and our newest women’s tee. This will be a black v-neck with a fun print running down the left side of the shirt with the KBM logo embedded in the design. We have also come up with two different men’s shirts as well as a KBM fitted hat.”


LB-What part do you assume with Kyle’s charities?
SS-“In regards to the Kyle Busch Foundation, I try to attend all of the events with Kyle in order to meet all the kids. While in Las Vegas we went to the Boys and Girls Town of Nevada home, and got to spend an evening hanging out and eating dinner with all the kids. It was a blast to get to answer all of their questions and learn about their lives.”


LB-Did you ever question getting involved with a racecar driver? Or was Kyle just that irresistible?
SS- “Yes, I questioned it but more so for the fact that I lived in Indiana and traveled the country. We met going into my senior year of college and I had a lot on my plate as I was going to school full time. working, applying to grad school, and working on my senior thesis, etc. We made it work though through talking on the phone, texting, emailing and so on. I would try to fly to a majority of the races and when he had downtime during the week he would fly up to Purdue for a visit. Being long distance I think helped initially because we couldn’t see each other all the time so we spent a lot of time just talking and getting to know each other’s life stories. One day when he was driving me to the airport so that I could go back to Indiana, I began to cry. I realized it was because I was going to miss him a lot and that he really meant the world to me. I knew I wanted him to be in my future and we made it happen.”


LB-What has been your scariest moment being the fiance’ of a autoracer?
SS-“Well the words three or four wide are never something you like hearing over the radio. Last year at Daytona in July, was a pretty scary wreck . To be honest though, racing is something Kyle loves and now something I love too. You always worry about them naturally. Week to week you get wrapped up in the whole race and although, in the back of your mind, you are always a little nervous, you know that this is their passion and you embrace it too.”

LB-The NASCAR Season is a long one. What do you like most about being on the road? Least?
SS-“The great thing about being on the road is getting to see many different places and therefore you get to try lots of different things. For example, in Phoenix there is amazing hiking; In Watkins Glen you get to go wine tasting with your girlfriends while the boys are at practice: In Daytona you can take the dogs to the dog beach and so on. Also some of my very best friends are on the road so it’s like having your friends as neighbors!

Samantha continues, “The hardest thing for me about being on the road is not getting to see my family enough. It is a very demanding schedule and it is hard not to see them as often as I like. Luckily now that we are planning our wedding in Chicago, we get to see them a lot more. I still talk to my mom at least once a day on the phone.”


LB-What do you do to relax? Girlfriend time?
SS-“One of my favorite things that we do is hit the YMCA and then go to dinner. There are usually three couples and the boys play racquetball while the girls go to one of the group exercise classes. When we all finish we go out for Sushi, because we all have earned it!”

LB-When we need time to ourselves, to relax and unwind, our favorite thing to do is?
SS-“We sit on the couch with big bowls of ice cream and watch Dexter or House.”



LB-A race day in our lives goes something like this…
SS-“We get up, and have cereal. I always have Special K with blueberries and he always has Lucky Charms. (Golden Horseshoes?). He gets ready and goes off to appearances. I clean up the motor home and pack whatever we need to take back with us. Sometimes, especially if it is a stop to the Mars family couch, I go with him; The Mars Family is awesome! I love to see Pam and Victoria Mars and I have become very close to their daughters. So its nice to stop over there and hangout before race day. When Kyle goes to the driver’s meeting, I make lunch for us. We eat and take off to the hauler half and hour prior to driver intros so he can change and talk to the guys. We got to intros and hang out with all of our Sponsors by the car. I give him a big kiss and he’s off and I head up to the pit box to cheer on the 18 Team!”

LB-For all of those who are on the fence about Kyle, (like me), what would you like to say to bring them over?
SS-“The Kyle you see on TV is the character that the media has built up. Its fun for people to have a villain in the sport, truly every sport needs a bad boy. That persona is left on the track though. Kyle is a loving caring and all around great guy! He is the person I turn to when something great happens but he is always the only person I need when times are tough.”



LB-Can you share a little story or something that fans wouldn’t know about Kyle
SS-“The first thing that comes to mind is his pet peeve. It absolutely drives him up the wall when I leave extra cook time on the microwave. Like if you put something in the microwave for a minute and take it out with 10 seconds left and don’t clear it. It drives him nuts!”

LB-Can you share with us, how Kyle proposed? Did he get down on one knee?
SS- “Kyle proposed on February 4, 2010. It was our first night in Daytona. Kyle had gone to the Bud Shoot Out drawing and I was hanging out with Scott and Amanda Speed in their motor home, watching TV. When Kyle finished he came over. Scott and him were talking and Amanda was starting to teach me how to use Twitter. I was sent to our bus to get my computer. (Scott and Amanda had helped Kyle and the jeweler to design a custom ring and they had picked it up and brought it with them to Daytona. This is when they gave the ring to Kyle). I spent the evening with Amanda who taught me how to use Twitter . Kyle and I eventually returned to our motor home and I started getting ready for bed. He pulled me into the living room. He began talking about our new motor home. It was our first night on it and we had worked last year designing it. It really felt like our home away from home. He then switched the topic from the motor home to me and us as a couple. I won’t go into all the mushy details but it was very sweet . He kissed me and as he did he dropped down onto one knee and pulled out the box and asked me to marry him! I of course accepted! I later found out he had asked my dad in December when we had gone to my parents house in Indiana for Christmas. I thought that was one of the sweetest things because it was very important to me that he ask my dad.”

Samantha said this regarding her and Kyle's friendship with Amanda and Scott Speed:
SS-"We met each other thru the boys. Scott and Kyle had flown together somewhere and I can't really remember but we must have all went out to dinner together at some point. Amanda and I hit it off! I remember loving how down to earth she was and she was so funny! It actually surprises people how close Amanda and I and Scott and Kyle are because of how opposite we are! It all works though because our personalities compliment each other, actually we joke that Scott is like me and Amanda is like Kyle lol. Us four have the most amazing time together and we really couldn't ask for better friends in the world!"

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Samantha Sarcinella for granting me this interview. I love getting to know the Women in Nascar. I hope I can continue to bring you more of these interviews in the future.


I want to wish Kyle and Samantha the best in their upcoming nuptials. I hope you have a long and happy life together. I hope you fulfill all of your dreams, as a couple, as well as individuals.

Both Kyle and Samantha are on Twitter:


Samantha Sarcinella @SamSarcinella
Kyle Busch @KyleBusch




Update: Kyle and Samantha were Married on December 31st, 2010

The couple were married on New Year's Eve at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ill., surrounded by 300 of their closest friends and family. To read more about the wedding, click here.
Women in NASCAR....Samantha Sarcinella Women in NASCAR....Samantha Sarcinella Reviewed by Lindi Bess on Saturday, April 17, 2010 Rating: 5