Kyle Busch wasn’t the winner of Sponsafier 3, but the 26-year-old team owner has elected to kick his feet up on the pit box and relax during Saturday’s Kroger 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway as Hamlin takes to the chore of trying to put Busch’s No. 18 Toyota/Traxxas Tundra in Victory Lane.
When asked how the deal came about to have Hamlin race the truck, Busch – who has registered runner-up finishes in each of his two starts behind the wheel of the No. 18 Tundra at Martinsville – replied, “I asked Denny if he would race the truck for me at Martinsville and he asked me why I didn’t want to run it. I just said, ‘Well, you’re better at Martinsville than I am and it would sure be nice to win there.’”
Busch couldn’t have dreamed up a better replacement than Hamlin. The Virginia native has won four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at his home-state track, including three of the last four, and has finished in the top-five in eight of his 12 Cup Series starts at “The Paperclip.”
Hamlin has posted five top-10 finishes in 11 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts, including two top 10s in four starts at Martinsville. His career-best result behind the wheel of a truck was a third-place finish in the 2008 E-Z Go 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga.
“It’s Denny Time” for Kyle Busch Motorsports this weekend and the team is hoping that Hamlin can deliver that elusive grandfather clock to the trophy room inside its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C.
Denny Hamlin, Driver of the No. 18 Toyota / Traxxas Tundra:
Are you excited about driving the Truck Series race at Martinsville?
“I’ve wanted to drive one of Kyle’s trucks for a long time. He has one of the most successful programs out there and I couldn’t pass this opportunity up. The Martinsville truck race is always an exciting one and I look forward to being a part of it.”
Eric Phillips, Crew Chief of the No. 18 Toyota / Traxxas Tundra:
You’ve been pretty dominant on the short tracks this season, what do you contribute that to?
“We got beat up a little bit last year on the short tracks, so we really worked hard this off season on building a new and improved truck for the short-track races. KBM-7 has been fast everywhere we’ve taken it and we’ve been able to win a few races with it. We’re bringing that truck this weekend and I think we’ll be one of the teams to beat again. We’ll unload with a similar setup to what we ran with Kyle in the spring and go from there. Goodyear is bringing a little different tire this time, so we’ll probably have to change our setup just a fuzz. We’ve been fast with both Kyle and Brian (Ickler) at Martinsville, but haven’t been able to get to Victory Lane. Denny is one of the best at getting around that place, so hopefully Saturday we can change that.”
Denny Hamlin’s No. 18 Toyota / Traxxas Tundra:
Chassis KBM-7: Since debuting at Phoenix earlier this season, KBM-7 has two wins and a runner-up finish in four starts. In “007′s” debut at Phoenix in February, Busch led the final 107 laps en route to his first victory of the season. The last time it saw the track, Busch lead 165 of 175 laps en route to his sixth victory of the season. Busch also drove the Tundra at Martinsville in March, where he led 67 laps before settling for a second-place finish.
Notes of Interest:
Denny Hamlin @ Martinsville:
- Collected two top-10 finishes in four NCWTS starts
- Led 60 or more laps in each of his last two NCWTS starts
- Started in the top five in each of his last three NCWTS starts
- Has won four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at his home-state track, including three of the last four, and has registered eight top-five finishes in 12 career Cup Series starts
- Finished third in the NASCAR Nationwide Series 2006 Goody’s 250
- Denny Hamlin’s Martinsville NCWTS Performance Profile:
Denny Hamlin Camping World Truck Series Career:
- Has posted five top-10 finishes in 11 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts
- Third-place finish in the 2008 E-Z Go 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. was a career-best
Kyle Busch Motorsports and the No. 18 Toyota / Traxxas Tundra:
- Ranks second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) owners’ point standings, 81 points behind KHI’s No. 2 team
- Ranks first in the NCWTS in wins (7) and second in laps led (809), fastest laps run (391) and top-five finishes (14)
- Since joining the NCWTS in 2010, the team has compiled 15 wins in 47 races
- Crew chief Eric Phillips ranks first among active crew chiefs with 25 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
KBM and Traxxas Look to Continue Successful Partnership:
KBM’s No. 18 Tundra has been to victory lane five times in six races with Traxxas, the leading manufacturer of hobby-class radio-controlled (R/C) vehicles, onboard as a primary or co-primary sponsor the last two seasons. The partnership got off to a perfect start as Kyle Busch won all three races – Chicagoland, Talladega and Homestead -that the Plano, Texas-based company was onboard as a primary sponsor in 2010.
Traxxas has returned as a primary sponsor for three races this season. In their 2011 debut, Busch made it four-for-four with a dominating win at Dover. In their second primary this season, Busch was in contention for the win at Michigan before he ran over a piece of debris, which punctured a hole in the radiator, and was unable to finish the race.
In addition to their final primary sponsorship this season, which will be next week at Texas, Traxxas recently added two co-primary sponsorships. The first was last month at New Hampshire, where Busch led 165 of the 175 laps en route to his sixth victory of the season, and the second will be this weekend with Denny Hamlin behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota/Traxxas Tundra.
- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release
