Catchfence

In Victory Lane following the WinStar World Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 51 Miccosukee Resort / Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota Tundra, celebrates his fifth straight in as many starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Busch has been undefeated in his past five starts for the independent team owner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series since the race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.

“That’s cool man,” Busch said. “What a Tundra tonight, man. This Miccosukee/Graceway Pharmaceuticals Tundra was awesome and Richie (Wauters, crew chief) and these guys have really done their homework lately. It’s an accomplishment to beat the 33 (Ron Hornaday, Jr.) bunch here, that’s for sure. We got it done today. You know, it was a lot of fun. The 88 (Matt Crafton) — man, I hate seeing the 88 finish second. I really wish he could get a win. I thank the fans for coming out tonight. It was a great race. Thank NOS Energy Drink and all these guys on this pit crew — Billy Ballew Motorsports. I’m pretty proud accomplishment to be here — five in a row. That’s pretty sweet. Undefeated back with Richie (Wauters, crew chief) — that’s what’s even more fun.”

Busch placed the No. 51 Miccosukee Resort / Graceway Pharmaceuticals truck in the 12th-place position on the starting grid for the 147-lap race on the 1.5-mile Ft. Worth, Texas track.

Busch picked up the point position on lap 47 and held it for three laps and regained the lead on lap 98 holding it until the checkered flag fell on lap 147.

This is Busch’s seventh 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in 13-starts for Billy Ballew Motorsports.

“You know, I really look forward to working with these guys and Richie (Wauters, crew chief) and everybody that works so hard on this truck. We’ve got a lot of guys that probably don’t make a whole lot of money, but they dig in real deep and they don’t quit. They don’t go home at five – they stay late. That’s what it takes in this sport. The dedication and the people to make it happen. These guys here, they’ve been dedicated. They really work their butts off — it’s starting to prevail for them. We’ve got five in a row now with myself and it’s a total of seven wins for Billy (Ballew, team owner).

“We made some good changes on this Miccosukee Tundra today and really brought the thing to life. I’m really proud of Richie (Wauters, crew chief) and all these guys. This is an awesome race truck. This is the same one (truck) we won with at Chicago. We’ve got a match to number 11 (chassis). This is (number) 32 here, 11 was always our chassis that kicked butt, so now we found another one. All these guys, they do a great job.”

With the win, the team edges closer to the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Owners Points Championship just 75-points out of the lead.

“I was trying to stay away from the 88 (Matt Crafton) catching me — I was trying to stay away from him. He was running me down. He had a great truck. I hate seeing Matt (Crafton) finish second. He needs a win in this deal and especially to me. We’re pretty good friends. I wish I could pull over and give it to him, but that wouldn’t be racing. Again, I had to run hard and I ended up pushing the right front tire off for a little bit too much, probably. It lasted just enough, man. Those lapped trucks that I had to get by in the last 10, 12, 15 laps, whatever it was – really hurt our performance of the truck and so we were fairly able to hold off the 88 (Matt Crafton) – which is cool.”

Crew chief, Richie Wauters commented after the race, “When we started out tonight, we weren’t the best truck out there. We had problems; we were a little bit tight and a little bit free at the same time. We made a few adjustments and it helped it. The last stop we made another adjustment and it was the best the truck was all night. Of course, with Kyle (Busch) driving, he’s worth something there, too. We’ve been working hard and the Toyota Tundra was the best it was all night long at the end.”

The Series heads next to Phoenix International Raceway for the running of the Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Friday, November 13, 2009.

- Billy Ballew Motorsports Press Release