Catchfence

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 23, 2011) – If Victory Lane at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway was registered as a Foursquare location, Kyle Busch undoubtedly would be “The Mayor.” Busch has checked into Victory Lane after each of the last five races held in NASCAR’s top three series at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” and will be looking to make it six straight Wednesday night driving the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) O’Reilly Auto Parts 200.

Last August, the Las Vegas native made NASCAR history when he became the first driver to sweep an entire race weekend, winning the NCWTS, NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol. This March, the 26-year introduced fans to the abbreviated version of the Bristol Sweep, winning the NNS race on Saturday and the Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday. Not only has Busch won the last five races at Bristol, he has led over half of the total laps (936 of 1,756) during those races.

Kyle Busch, Driver of the No. 18 Dollar General NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra:

What was it like to sweep all three races in the same weekend last year at Bristol?

“It was pretty cool because, when you come so close and then don’t get it, it’s pretty frustrating. In 2009, we won the Truck race and we were leading the Nationwide race and we got crashed out, and then we ended up winning the Cup race. So, it was probably a year delayed. There have been some other times we’ve come close to getting it done at other places, too. It was pretty special. It was cool to be able to put it all together in a complete weekend, with the truck, with the Nationwide car and with the Cup car.”

What makes racing at Bristol so exciting?

“Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the best racetracks on the circuit. All the fans love it because of the excitement, the run-ins, and the close-quarter action with all the cars being packed on top of one another at a half-mile racetrack with us 43 lunatics running around in a tight circle – or in this case, with the trucks thirty-something lunatics. With the fans, the atmosphere there always makes for a good time. It’s a fun place that you go to that you like going to. You enjoy the race around there. We grew up at the (Las Vegas Motor Speedway) Bullring and stuff like that. Maybe not as banked as Bristol is, but I love going and racing at Winchester (Ind.), Slinger (Wisc.), and Salem (Ind.), where I’ve raced before. Those are all really high-banked racetracks that are a half-mile in distance, or a quarter. They’re really fun to race around and you kind of get a great feel for racing in a bowl. You go down the straightaway and you slam it into the corners and you mash the gas and you kind of sling right back out of the corners. It’s a lot of fun to do that. It’s kind of an art. Some guys are really good at it, and some find a knack that makes them really good at it and make it seem easy.”

Eric Phillips, Crew Chief of the No. 18 Dollar General NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra:

Has the new surface at Bristol changed how you setup your truck for the race?

“As far as the setup on the truck, you still battle some of the same issues as you did with the old surface. You fight being free into the corners, tight in the center and loose off. To have a fast truck, you need to try and put together a package that is stable into the corners but still allows your driver to turn in the center and put down the power off of the corners.”

Does the new points system add a level of excitement to the battle for the owners’ championship over the last 10 races?

“The new points system definitely adds a level of excitement to the battle for the championship. This system is a lot simpler, so you understand exactly how far ahead – or behind – you are in the standings. It seems to be really hard to gain any points. You can have some really good weeks and you might only gain three or four points, but when you have a bad week – like we did in Michigan- you lose 20 or 25 points. It’s hard to make up points with the new system, so we’re going to have to be really good over these last 10 races.”

Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra

KBM Chassis No. 128: This chassis has two previous starts, both at Dover International Speedway. The last time No. 128 was on the track, Busch led 128 laps en route to victory in the Lucas Oil 200 at “The Monster Mile” in May. Last year at Dover, Busch led 172 of the 204 laps, but did not finish the race due to an issue with the fuel pump during a green-white-checkered finish.

Notes of Interest:

Kyle Busch @ Bristol:

- Ranks first in career NCWTS wins (3) and is tied with four other drivers for most top-fives (4)

- Has won the last three NCWTS O’Reilly Auto Parts 200′s, leading 343 of the 609 total laps (56%) during those races

- Ranks first over the last six NCWTS races at Bristol in laps led (343), fastest laps run (200), laps in the top 15 (1,105), speed in traffic (114.935 mph) and fastest speed late in a run (115.194 mph)

- Captured the pole for the 2010 NCWTS O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 and has started in the top 10 in each of his six career starts

- Has won four of the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and the last two NNS races

Kyle Busch 2011 Camping World Truck Series:

- In 10 starts this season, has won a series-leading five races (Phoenix, Nashville, Dover, Charlotte, Kentucky) and registered a series-leading eight top-five finishes

- Ranks first among NCWTS drivers in driver rating (124.5), average finish (4.5), laps led (514), miles led (571.2), fastest laps run (234), fastest early in a run (3.67 rank), fastest late in a run (3.33 rank) and green flag speed (2.67 rank)

Kyle Busch Camping World Truck Series Career:

- Has won 30.5% of the NCWTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 49.5%

- 101 All-Time Combined NASCAR National Series wins rank third all-time (Petty 200, Pearson 106)

- Ranks second in NCWTS history with 29 wins (Hornaday Jr. 48)

- Ranks fourth in NCWTS history in laps led (4,021), tied for sixth in poles (11) and 10th in top-fives (56)

- One of 10 drivers in NASCAR history to lead over 20,000 laps among the top three series

- Reached 25th win in NCWTS faster than any driver in the history of NASCAR’s top three series, attaining the milestone in just his 87th career start

- Youngest driver (20 years, 18 days) in NCWTS history to win a race (Quaker Steak & Lube 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on 5/20/05)

- Has at least one NCWTS victory in each of the last seven seasons and multiple victories in each of the last five

- 119.6 career driver rating entering the 2011 season is the highest accumulated by a NCWTS driver since the stat was introduced in 2005

- Average career finish of 7.1 ranks first among active drivers with 10 or more career starts in the NCWTS

Kyle Busch Motorsports and the No. 18 Toyota Tundra:

- Lead the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Owners’ Point Standings – tied with KHI’s No. 2 with 583 points, but with six wins rank first via the tie-breaker by three wins

- Aiming to become the first team to win back-to-back owners’ titles since 2003 (No. 16 Steve Coulter 2002 and 2003)

- Rank first in the NCWTS in wins (6), laps led (609) and fastest laps run (295) and are tied with KHI’s No. 2 for most top 5s (10)

- Crew chief Eric Phillips ranks first among active crew chiefs with 24 career NCWTS wins and General Manager Rick Ren’s 27 wins as a crew chief are the most in the history of the NCWTS

- In 2010 became the first team since the NCWTS originated in 1995 to win the owners’ championship in its inaugural season

12-Year-Old David Owens Jr. Riding Shotgun with Kyle Busch Motorsports at Bristol:

David Owens Jr. from Nashville, Tenn. has been selected as the winner of the “Riding Shotgun with Kyle Busch Motorsports” essay contest for Bristol Motor Speedway. Owens Jr.’s name and picture will adorn the area above the passenger side window of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Dollar General Tundra for Wednesday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 200. Owens Jr., a student at DuPont Hadley Middle School in Old Hickory, Tenn., had his essay selected as the winner among submissions from children age 5-12 for the Bristol race.

In his essay, he described how due to a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot he was unable to race quarter midget cars like he had always dreamed of. To fulfill his racing fix, he turned to racing radio-controlled (R/C) vehicles. After winning his first R/C race on March 5, he described how happy he was to finally experience victory, even though it was not in a quarter midget. In the closing sentence of his essay he declared, “Even though I have a heart disease, I can still be a winner.”

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release