Date: Nov. 18, 2011

Event: Ford 200 (Race 25 of 25)

Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)

Start / Finish: 17th/2nd (Running, completed 119 of 119 laps)

Winner: Johnny Sauter of Thorsport Racing (Chevrolet)

No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra

Celebrating his 31st birthday, Hamlin was like a kid patiently waiting until the end of the party to eat his cake and open his presents. His No. 18 Dollar General Tundra was riding in the catbird seat, tucked behind Sauter’s No. 13 truck, as he patiently waited for the right opportunity to make his move in the final stages of the Ford 200.

With 20 laps remaining Hamlin’s spotter, Curtis Markham, made his driver aware that rain was fast approaching the area and if he felt like he could challenge for the win, he needed to get by Sauter in a hurry. One lap later, Hamlin made a strong run on the outside line through the middle of Turn 3 but just as he began to pull around Sauter coming off of Turn 4, Sauter got loose, slid up the track and brushed Hamlin into the wall. To avoid possibly wrecking both trucks, Hamlin checked up, and Sauter maintained the lead. As the field approached the start-finish line, the rain began falling and the caution waved.

Shortly after the field was parked on pit road, the rain strengthened and the race was ruled official with 119 of the scheduled 134 laps complete.

“I knew I had a Dollar General Tundra that could get around Johnny (Sauter), but I just wanted to be patient and wait until later stages of the race, and also to ensure that we kept the third-place guy behind us and tried to use the draft,” said Hamlin who posted a win and a runner-up finish in two starts for KBM this season. “Strategy didn’t work out. It probably cost us a win today, but they told me one lap before the rain came that it looks like rain is coming, so if I got anything, I’d better go. That was my last-ditch effort on the corner to try to get around him. He slid up and got into us and we got in the wall, and it was one of those things. We were not in a position to really race him that hard anyway.”

With Friday afternoon’s qualifying washed out by rain, the field was set by practice speeds from the morning practice session. Hamlin started the race from the 17th position, but began marching towards the front of the field once the green flag dropped. By lap 11 he had cracked the top 10 and had advanced into the seventh position when the competition caution occurred on lap 20.

The 31-year-old driver communicated to crew chief Eric Phillips that the Dollar General Tundra was tight off the exit of the corners in the early stages of the race. When pit road opened, Hamlin brought his truck down pit road where the KBM over-the-wall crew put on right side tires, filled it with fuel and returned their driver back to the track in the runner-up position.

Hamlin made his way to the lead on lap 25, but after one lap on point, relinquished the lead to James Buescher and settled into the runner-up spot. He remained in the second position when the second caution of the race occurred for a spin involving his teammate, Germán Quiroga, on lap 31.

After the race restarted on lap 35, a long green flag run ensued allowing competitors who took four tires during the competition caution to take advantage of having fresher tires. Hamlin had slipped back to the eighth position when he made a green flag stop for four fresh tires and fuel on lap 70.

When pit stops had cycled through on lap 90, the Virginia native had worked his way back up to the third position. He remained third when the third caution of the race occurred on lap 97. He communicated to Phillips that the biggest issue with the Dollar General Tundra was being loose into the corners.

Hamlin brought the Dollar General Tundra down pit road for four fresh tires and full tank of fuel. Phillips used an air pressure adjustment to try and secure Hamlin’s entry for the final stages of the race and communicated to Hamlin that his truck had enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.

The race restarted on lap 102 with the No. 18 Tundra scored in the third position. On lap 105, Hamlin made his way into the runner-up spot and tucked in behind race-leader Sauter. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular, making just his 13th career Truck Series start, kept within two truck lengths of the lead, applying just enough pressure to try and force Sauter into making a mistake or abusing his equipment.

In the end, Sauter finally slipped up, but Hamlin ran out of both space and time and was forced to settle for a runner-up finish in the rain-shortened race.

Sauter’s win was his second of the season. Hamlin was second and Kevin Harvick third, while rookies Nelson Piquet Jr. and Joey Coulter finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ty Dillon, Elliott Sadler, Timothy Peters, Jason White and Austin Dillon, who became the youngest driver to win a Truck Series championship, rounded out the top-10 finishers.

Quiroga, the three-time reigning NASCAR Mexico Series champion, finished 26th in KBM’s No. 51 Tundra.

There were five caution periods for 16 laps, with seven drivers failing to finish the race.

The No. 18 Tundra led the Truck Series with eight wins in 2011, but the defending Truck Series owners’ champions finished second in the 2011 standings, 104 points behind KHI’s No. 2 team.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Martinsville Speedway – October 29, 2011

- Denny Hamlin won Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) at Martinsville Speedway.

- Hamlin led the field twice for a total of 68 laps, including the final 14 laps.

- Hamlin became the 23rd driver in history to win races in all three of NASCAR’s national series.

- This was Hamlin’s first NCWTS victory in 12 career series starts.

- Tundra drivers Timothy Peters (eighth) and Brendan Gaughan (ninth) also recorded top-10 finishes.

- Other Tundra drivers in the field included Timothy Peters (eighth), Brendan Gaughan (ninth), Todd Bodine (11th), Max
Papis (18th), David Starr (22nd), Matt Lofton (31st), Johanna Long (33rd) and TJ Duke (34th).

- Peters is fifth in the unofficial NCWTS point standings — 48 points behind leader Austin Dillon. Bodine (sixth), Gaughan (11th), Starr (13th), Paludo (17th) and Papis (18th) are also in the top-20 in the point standings.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 18 Traxxas Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 1st

What did you think of your pass to take the race lead?

“It was great. Those guys — I know they were battling for the championship, so I didn’t want to put them in three -wide at any point, but it was just a gift right there into turns one and two. Just a great battle back. That was definitely the hardest 50 laps that I’ve ever driven at this race track. I had to restart 18th. We didn’t think that was going to be the case, but still like to see it work out.”

Were you worried about starting so far back with 50 laps remaining?

“Not until 20 laps into the run and I hadn’t gone anywhere. We just had to battle and it was so tough just to get through those trucks running two and three-wide — just proud of this whole team.”

What does it mean to have won in all three national NASCAR series?

“It’s a big deal for me — more than what people probably think. When they think that we go down into these different series — Nationwide and Truck — and we’re just going down there trying to get wins. From my standpoint, it’s very, very tough. The Truck Series is more competitive now than it’s ever been so it means a lot to myself to win a Truck Series race, especially just running one a year usually. It’s just been one of those weekends where you unload and it’s pretty good. I felt like we gave these guys an off-weekend as far as adjustments and stuff. I know you can have weekends where you can
unload and you have to work you guts out to get it right. This is just one of those weekends where everything worked out great for us.”

What did you learn for tomorrow’s race?

“The track didn’t rubber up as good as what we thought it was, but the track did go through some transitions right there through the race and we’ll adjust to that accordingly.”

What does it mean to get your first NCWTS win?

“I have to thank Kyle (Busch, team owner) for letting me drive this truck. This is something that really means a lot to me to get my very first Truck Series victory. Just have to thank everyone at Toyota for helping support Kyle’s program. This is a big race for all these truck guys and to have all these fans come out to Martinsville is great.”

How does it feel to get another win at Martinsville?

“This is a great race track for us. Even back in the Late Model days — this was always a great race track for me. I knew this was going to be one of my best opportunities going forward to win a Truck race. Being teamed up with these guys. Kyle (Busch, team owner) just sent me a text about a month ago and asked if I would run this. He wanted to concentrate on the Cup car a little bit more during the Chase and he’s our (Joe Gibbs Racing) last hope for a championship. I volunteered to do it for him. Hopefully, that all pays off for that team tomorrow.”

When was your truck at its best in the race?

“Our truck was just so good on the long run. That’s really where it seemed to excel and I felt like I did a good job. I didn’t abuse my truck very early for the first five to 10 laps — as soon as I put tires on — to try to make sure I had something at the end. That’s what paid off for us the biggest. On the last restart — I just needed them to get single file so I could pick them off. I felt like our truck was so much faster at that point of the race — we had better tires and we just needed them to get single file or figure out who was going to be in front. Obviously, we had some transmission over the radio and we knew those guys were racing for points so I didn’t want to put them in a bad spot. I told them if they just moved right over and let me go then they could gladly race right behind me. That’s exactly what they did.”

ERIC PHILLIPS, crew chief, No. 18 Traxxas Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

How was the race truck this weekend?

“It’s been pretty flawless since we unloaded. We didn’t change much. Made a little bit of an air pressure adjustment there at
the beginning of the race after watching Cup practice. Put it back the way we practiced yesterday and the thing came back to
life and was really good after that. Then the rest was just managing your tires and when to pit so you had enough tires at the
end. It kind of paid off. I got a little nervous there when we restarted 18th, but Denny (Hamlin) did a great job getting back
through there and taking care of the truck.”

TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Gearwrench / Strutmasters Tundra, Red Horse Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

How was your race?

“Great race — good hustle. We got eighth on the last lap. This Gearwrench Tundra — she’s used up pretty good. I love coming to Martinsville. It’s great short track racing. It’s a great day. It’s just fun.”

What happened with Brendan Gaughan at the end of the race?

“I guess he (Brendan Gaughan) just wants me to pull over for him. The 32 (Blake Feese) was wounded on the bottom and he committed high and I’m going to go up under him. He ran me down and I wasn’t going to give. If he’s mad then I guess we won’t be doing any appearances together anytime soon. I’m out here to race hard for my sponsors — this is my livelihood. We’ll go on to Texas.”

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Tundra, Germain Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

How was your race?

“Our Toyota — I haven’t seen the loop scoring data in quite a while, but I believe our Tundra has passed more vehicles this year than probably anybody. We started 28th today and I would like to know if anybody picked up more than 19 positions. I hate qualifying at Martinsville and if I can ever just start up front at Martinsville — I think I would have just a normal day. But I can’t. I always mess up qualifying and it’s on me. I have to figure out how to qualify better here. Our Tundra went to the front. We got up there. We never got to the lead this time, but we got to the top-10. We got to the top-five. We were strong and in the end we just had older tires so we were just trying to keep that solid top-10 spot and we ended up coming home ninth.”

TODD BODINE, No. 5, NTB / Service Central Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports

Finishing Position: 11th

What happened with Max Papis early in the race?

“The stuff on the race track you can deal with and you can lay it off that it’s Martinsville and that’s racing and that’s part of the game. When you’re driving down pit road and the guy keeps running in the side of you — you keep turning away from him trying not to run into each other and eventually you’re going to hit a pit crew — that’s ridiculous. I had to let off and hit the brakes. I don’t know who’s crew it was out there changing tires, but I was going to run into them since he (Max Papis) had me so low on pit road. That’s the part that I have a problem with. Endangering those guys — it’s dangerous enough on pit road. Then it snowballed from there.

After I pulled behind him, he brake-checked me and I run into him. He got me again on the race track and run into me and then off of (turn) two. He got loose, I got under him and tried to get off him, couldn’t get off him because he kept slowing down because his rear tires were off the ground. Finally, I just dumped himaround because at that point there’s no saving it. I’m going to get run into. Some of that stuff is Martinsville, some of that stuff is lack of experience racing at Martinsville.

We’ve all done those things — I’ve done those things and I’m not proud of those things. It is part of the learning process and you have to go through it. Unfortunately, we had a great Tundra. We were fast. We had a top-five truck and we thought we had the best truck we ever had at Martinsville. For a while there we got to show it and I was running good. We were biding our time and just trying to keep the wheels on it. We got out of sync
on the pit stops and that messed us up. That’s why we went down pit road with Max. From there it was everybody hitting everybody.”

What happened at the end of the race?

“We had 10th and James (Buescher) decided he was going to run out of brakes on the last corner of the last lap. We battled. We had a great truck. All that skirmish with Max (Papis) is what messed us up and messed the fenders up. The thing started pushing and then we had our hands full after that. Just trying to ride along and get a decent finish. Passed some guys clean and was racing those guys at the end clean. James decides to run through us.”

MIGUEL PALUDO, No. 7 Stemco Duroline Tundra, Red Horse Racing

Finishing Position: 16th

MAX PAPIS, No. 9 GEICO Tundra, Germain Racing

Finishing Position: 18th

What happened with Todd Bodine?

“We had just a great run and Todd (Bodine) just ruined it. It was going to be my best ever race so far in my career. It is not what you are expecting from a friend — I don’t treat my friends like that or my teammate like that. It’s just disappointing. I was not expecting that and we deserve better. When things like this happen, I guess it ruins team spirit.”

DAVID STARR, No. 81 Zachry / NCCER / ASI Limited Tundra, SS Green Light Racing

Finishing Position: 22nd

JOSH RICHARDS, No. 51 Joy Mining Machinery Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 28th

MATT LOFTON, No. 97 Strutmasters.com Tundra, Coulter Motorsports

Finishing Position: 31st

JOHANNA LONG, No. 20 Panhandle Grading & Paving Tundra, Panhandle Motorsports

Finishing Position: 33rd

TJ DUKE, No. 07 Merrill Lynch Tundra, SS Green Light Racing

Finishing Position: 34th

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

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

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

Date: Oct. 22, 2011

Event: Coca-Cola 250 (Race 22 of 25)

Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile Tri-oval)

Start/Finish: 17th / 9th (Running, completed 94 of 94 laps)

Winner: Mike Wallace of Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) (Chevrolet)

It became evident in the early stages of Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Coca-Cola 250 at Talladega Superspeedway that the race was going to follow suit with recent Sprint Cup Series events at the 2.66-mile Tri-oval and the best pair was going to win.

The high-speed game of poker appeared to be headed for a showdown between three Truck Series aces and a wildcard as the 94-lap race approached the final laps. Kyle Busch was paired with Austin Dillon while Ron Hornaday Jr. was paired with teammate Mike Wallace, who was making his first start in the series since 2009. The two tandems had separated themselves from the rest of the field and were swapping the lead every few laps until a late caution set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Dillon, who was scored in the third position, failed to maintain minimum speed under caution and was forced to restart the race from the 18th position. Busch scrambled to find a new drafting partner and chose to align himself with fellow Toyota driver Timothy Peters.

As the field went back green for the final time, Peters ran out of gas and Busch, who once again found himself without a partner, saw his No. 18 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra get shuffled from the third position all the way outside of the top 10. On the final lap, Busch connected with Max Papis and the Italian pushed the Las Vegas native back into the top 10 as the field reached the start-finish line for the final time.

Kyle Busch

Busch, the two-time defending winner of the race, started from the 17th position. After things got bottled up on the initial restart, he communicated to crew chief Eric Phillips that he believed his No. 18 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra had made contact with another truck and already suffered damage to the grill.

Spotter Eddie D’Hondt examined the damage from atop the spotter’s stand and communicated to Busch that the damage appeared to be minimal. The No. 18 Tundra had made its way up to the 14th position when it was involved in a multi-truck accident on lap 13.

With a flat left front tire and crinkled fender, the 26-year-old immediately brought his Tundra down pit road under caution, where the KBM over-the-wall crew went to work repairing the damage. After multiple visits to pit road, the repairs allowed Busch was to drive the truck without the tire rubbing the fender but he reported that the steering was slightly off.

The No. 18 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra was scored in the 27th position when the race restarted on lap 18. Busch communicated to the crew that the truck was “a little darty but not terrible” as he made his way up to the 19th spot on lap 30. As the driver was making progress on the track, the KBM crew was making progress in their pit stall — formulating a plan to make additional repairs to the truck and fabricating metal pieces to strengthen both the fender and the crush panel.

A three-truck incident on lap 36 slowed the field for the third time. With severe damage to two of the trucks involved, the caution period lasted five laps and gave the KBM crew ample time to make repairs to the No. 18 Tundra. The crew used four pit stops over five caution laps to adjust the tow of the truck and make repairs to the left front fender and crush panel with a combination of sheet metal and bearbond.

Busch was scored in the 26th position when the race restarted on lap 42. When the next caution of the race occurred on lap 48, he reported that the steering on his truck was much improved and he was ready to make his way to the front of the field. When pit road opened, he brought the No. 18 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra down pit road for four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel. Busch returned to the track scored in the 17th position.

Shortly after the race restarted, Busch connected with his rookie teammate Josh Richards and the two began working their way toward the front of the back. With the owner pushing his No. 51 Joy Mining Machinery Toyota — and coaching his young driver of the radio at the same time — the two trucks made a strong run along the outside lane of the track. On lap 56, Busch had pushed his teammate all the way up to the third position. The two KBM trucks broke away from the pack and began to pursue the two Kevin Harvick Inc. trucks that were pacing the field.

Fluid on the track brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 59. Busch brought his Tundra down pit road for a fuel-only stop and returned to the track scored in the fourth position. Richards, who made a two-tire stop, was scored in the 11th spot when the race restarted.

With Richards starting further back in the pack, Busch was forced to find another partner to tandem draft with, as the “Two-Truck Tango” had proven to be the fastest way around the famed Superspeedway. He quickly teamed up with Dillon and pushed the young driver to the top spot on lap 65. With Busch the pusher and Dillon the pushee, the tandem swapped the lead with Wallace and Hornaday Jr. several times. The four trucks distanced themselves from the rest of the field as the race proceeded into the final laps.

Wallace won his fifth career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race with the help of his teammate, Hornaday Jr., who finished a close second. James Buescher finished third, Ricky Carmichael fourth and Jason White fifth. Todd Bodine, Dillon, Gaughan, Busch and Papis rounded out the top-10 finishers.

Richards was running seventh when the field took the white flag, but like Busch, found himself without a partner and was shuffled back on the final lap. The two-time defending World of Outlaws Late Model champion posted a career-best 13th-place finish in the KBM No. 51 Joy Mining Machinery Tundra.

There were six caution periods for 27 laps, with 12 drivers failing to finish the 94-lap race.

The No. 18 Tundra remains second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owners’ point standings. The team trails KHI’s No. 2 team by 81 points with three races remaining on the 2011 schedule.

The next event on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the Oct. 29 Kroger 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The race starts at 2:00 p.m. ET with live coverage beginning with the NCWTS Setup show at 1:30 p.m. ET on SPEED. Denny Hamlin will be behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota/Traxxas Tundra, making his first 12th career Truck Series start and first for KBM.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

Over his first 99 career starts, the 26-year-old has quickly established himself as one of the most prolific drivers in the history of the Truck Series. Busch’s 30 wins rank second on the all-time series wins list. Additionally, he ranks fourth all-time with 4,120 laps led, is tied for sixth with 12 poles and ranks ninth with 59 top-five finishes.

On Aug. 3, 2001, at the age of 16, the Las Vegas native made his Truck Series debut at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. After starting from the 23rd spot, Busch raced his way to a ninth-place finish in his first, of 574 – and counting – career starts among NASCAR’s top three divisions. He made five more Truck Series starts in 2001, highlighted by a near victory in his second series start, two top-five qualifying efforts and in what turned out to be his sixth and final start of the season, a second top-10 finish.

Busch was scheduled to make a seventh start that season, the maximum allowed – at the time – by NASCAR for a driver under the age of 18 in their first season, at the series finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The young driver was the fastest in practice for the Auto Club 200, but due to circumstances beyond his control, was unable to qualify or race his No. 99 truck. The then 16-year-old was ejected from the track by CART officials because the American Racing Wheels 200 was part of a CART weekend featuring the Marlboro 500 CART FedEx Championship Series event. Marlboro threw Busch out of the garage because of an interpretation of the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, prohibiting persons under the age of 18 in participating in events sponsored by tobacco companies.

Shortly after the Auto Club Speedway incident, NASCAR – whose title sponsor at the time was also a tobacco company – enacted a minimum age requirement for the 2002 season, which forced Busch to put his NASCAR career on hold until his 18th birthday.

After spending two seasons honing his skills in the American Speed Association, Busch returned to NASCAR upon turning 18 in May of 2003. He registered three top-10 finishes in seven Nationwide Series races that season, but did not make a Truck Series start.

Busch returned to the Truck Series for one start in 2004 and in 2005 began running several Truck Series races each season alongside his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. In his first Truck Series start of 2005, at the age of 20 years and 18 days, he became the youngest driver in series history to earn a victory when he won the Quaker Steak & Lube 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the next race at Dover International Speedway, he made it back-to-back victories and added his third career victory later that season at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Since scoring his first victory in 2005, Busch has won at least once each season and has scored multiple victories in each of the last five seasons.

In December of 2009, Busch entered the ownership ranks of the Truck Series when he announced that Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) would field a pair of entries for the 2010 season. With its owner behind the wheel for a series-leading eight wins in 2010, KBM’s No. 18 Tundra became the first team to win a Truck Series owners’ championship in their inaugural season since the series originated in 1995.

Entering this weekend’s race, Busch, the driver, has registered a series-leading six wins in 14 Truck Series starts this season while Busch, the owner, has tallied seven victories.

With no signs of slowing down, on or off the track, Kyle Busch – the owner and the driver – plans to keep on truckin’.

Other notable Truck Series highlights for Busch include:

- Has won 30.3% of the NCWTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 48.5%.

- 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.

- 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 7.2 ranks first among active drivers with 50 or more career starts in the NCWTS.

Kyle Busch

What does the Truck Series mean to Kyle Busch?

“I love the Truck Series. I think it’s one of the best forms of racing we have in NASCAR. It’s definitely brought some excitement to the series over time with ESPN2 back in the 90s and of course with Speed Channel being the broadcast partner that we’ve had for the last few seasons. They’ve done a wonderful job for us. It’s definitely been a great series to run in, to be involved in, to win some races in and to now be owning a race team in the series is definitely great for myself and for all the people at Kyle Busch Motorsports that are employed there and that we can give jobs to and put food on the table for their families.

Without the sponsorships and without the strong partnerships that we have there, we wouldn’t be here and be doing what we do. We have to thank all those people with Dollar General, Flexco, Joy Mining Machinery, NOS Energy Drink, Traxxas, Toyota and I’m sure there are some that I am forgetting — forgive me.. It takes all of those people to stand behind you that can make your program successful and that you can build it.”

Eric Phillips, Crew Chief of the No. 18 NCWTS Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra:

What is the reason that tandem drafting hasn’t trickled down to the Truck Series?

“It’s a combination of a few different things. Probably the most obvious reason is that the bumpers on the trucks don’t line up as well as they do on the cars. Another reason is that most of the drivers in the Truck Series don’t have the same experience that the Nationwide and Cup guys do on the superspeedways and haven’t had the opportunity to tandem draft. The tandem drafting snuck up on people and we weren’t really prepared for it last year at Talladega — or this year at Daytona. Not only do the driver’s not have the experience, the teams in the Truck Series aren’t as experienced because we only run on the big tracks twice a year. Our staffs are smaller and we don’t have the time or resources to put into the research that is needed to prepare the trucks for the physical demand that the tandem drafting puts on the chassis and the motors. I think this weekend you’ll see a little bit more of two trucks working together to try and gain an advantage, but nothing like in the Cup Series where they are able to do it lap after lap.”

Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra:

Chassis KBM-F59: Chassis KBM-F59 is the same chassis that Busch used to squeeze past Aric Almirola on the last lap of last year’s Truck Series race at Talladega. The Tundra has been on the track once this season, registering a fifth-place finish in the season-opening race at Daytona.

Kyle Busch @ Talladega:

- Two-time defending winner of the Truck Series race at Talladega and has registered three top-three finishes in four career NCWTS starts.

- .002-second win over Aric Almirola in 2010 Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway was the closest margin of victory using electronic scoring in NCWTS history (10/30/10).

- Won the 2011 Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race (4/16/11).

- Won the 2008 Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (4/27/08).

Kyle Busch 2011 Camping World Truck Series:

- In 14 starts this season, has won a series-leading six races (Phoenix, Nashville, Dover, Charlotte, Kentucky, New Hampshire) and is tied with Ron Hornaday Jr. for the series lead with 11 top-five finishes

- Ranks first among NCWTS drivers in Laps Led (703), Miles Led (782.41), Fastest Laps Run (325), Fastest Early in a Run (3.250 rank), Fastest Late in a Run (3.083 rank) and Green Flag Speed (2.50 rank)

Kyle Busch Motorsports and the No. 18 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra:

- Trails KHI’s No. 2 team by 73 points in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) owners’ point standings.

- Ranks first in the NCWTS in wins (7) and second in laps led (809), fastest laps run (390) and top-five finishes (14).

- Since joining the NCWTS in 2010, the team has compiled 15 wins in 46 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.

7-Year-Old Annabelle Lacy “Riding Shotgun with Kyle Busch Motorsports” for Saturday’s race:

7-year-old Annabelle Lacy from Odenville, Ala., was selected the winner of the “Riding Shotgun with Kyle Busch Motorsports” essay contest for Talladega Superspeedway. Lacy’s name and picture will adorn the area above the passenger side window of the No. 18 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Tundra for the Coca-Cola 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday, Oct. 22. Lacy and her family will have the opportunity to attend Saturday’s event compliments of Talladega Superspeedway and will get the chance to meet Busch on the starting grid prior to the race.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Date: Oct. 1, 2011

Event: Kentucky 225 (Race 20 of 25)

Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Location: Kentucky Speedway in Sparta (1.5-mile Tri-oval)

Start/Finish: 4th/5th (Running, completed 150 of 150 laps)

Winner: Ron Hornaday Jr. of Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) (Chevrolet)

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

Saturday night’s Kentucky 225 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta was a vintage Ickler performance. In just his third truck start of the 2011 season, the San Diego native kept the No. 18 Toyota Tundra in the top 10 all night, led 11 laps and brought home a solid fifth-place finish for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

“The Toyota Tundra was just a little bit free all night, but we were able to end the night with a solid finish,” said Ickler, who registered his second top-five finish this season and sixth in 21 career Truck Series starts. “This team is in a battle for the owners’ championship and I wanted to give them a solid run to keep them in the hunt. Unfortunately, the 2 truck ended in Victory Lane and we lost a few points. The guys did a good job of making improvements throughout practice and providing me with a fast Tundra for the race and Eric Phillips made good calls atop the pit box. I want to thank Toyota, Dollar General, M&M’s, Flexco for their support of KBM. I’m looking forward to getting back in this No. 18 Tundra at Vegas in a few weeks.”

Ickler, who rolled off the grid from the fourth position, made it three wide for the lead as the field reached the start-finish line for the first time. Off Turn 2, the No. 18 Toyota Tundra cleared Austin Dillon and Ron Hornaday Jr. to assume the race lead down the backstretch. The No. 18 remained on point when Ickler’s teammate, Josh Richards, brought of the first caution of the race on lap four.

Hornaday Jr. and Dillon got back around Ickler shortly after the restart on lap 12 and the No. 18 Tundra settled into the third position. The KBM Tundra remained running third until the next caution occurred on lap 21. Ickler communicated to Phillips that his truck had been a little free during the early stages of the race. When pit road opened, Ickler brought his Tundra down pit road where KBM over-the-wall crew made trackbar and wedge adjustments, filled his No. 18 with fuel and returned him to the track in the fifth position.

Brian Ickler - Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images for NASCAR

With teams on various pit strategies, Ickler slowly began regaining spots as the race progressed caution free towards the finish. On lap 143, the 26-year old had maneuvered his way back into the top five but was unable to advance further before the field took the checkered flag.

Hornaday Jr., the winningest driver in Truck Series history, picked up his 50th-career win. Dillon, who kept his spot atop the Truck Series driver point standings, finished second, .438-seconds behind Hornaday Jr. James Buescher finished third and Nelson Piquet Jr. came home fourth. Ricky Carmichael, Todd Bodine, Cole Whitt, Dakoda Armstrong and David Starr rounded out the top-10 finishers.

There were seven caution periods for 36 laps, with 13 drivers failing to finish the 150-lap race.

The No. 18 Tundra team now trails KHI’s No. 2 team by 41 owner points with five races remaining on the 2011 schedule.

The next event on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the Oct. 15 Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. ET with live coverage beginning with the NCWTS Setup show at 3:00 p.m. ET on SPEED. Ickler will be back behind the wheel of the No. 18 Tundra.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

New Hampshire Motor Speedway — September 24, 2011

- Tundra driver Kyle Busch earned his sixth NCWTS win of the season in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

- Busch started from the pole and led all but 10 circuits in the 175-lap race en route to his 30th career series victory, his 24th win behind the wheel of a Tundra and third consecutive win at the one-mile oval.

- Toyota drivers Todd Bodine (eighth), Timothy Peters (ninth) and Miguel Paludo (10th) also earned top-10 finishes at Loudon.

- Other Toyota drivers in the field at New Hampshire included Brendan Gaughan (12th), David Starr (14th), German Quiroga (16th) and Max Papis (20th).

- After 19 of 25 races, Peters is fourth in the unofficial NCWTS point standings, 25 points out of first place. Bodine (10th), Starr (11th), Gaughan (13th) and Paludo (14th) all rank in the top-15 in points.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Traxxas Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 1st

How dominant was your truck today?

“The truck was awesome today. I can’t say enough about all these guys and everybody at Kyle Busch Motorsports. They worked their butts off. We haven’t had the best of runs at the mile-and-a-half tracks and the faster places, but feel really good about where we were today and how our short track stuff is. This is cool to come out here and run like this again. I can’t say enough about Toyota, Traxxas and all the guys that support us — M&M’s, Dollar General, Dupont, Triad Racing engines and Joe Gibbs Racing oil — of course Camping World. Can’t say enough about the fans too — thank you guys. Appreciate the support and it was a fun race today at New Hampshire. Put on a great performance like that and it goes back to these guys.”

How much did your truck change when the sun came out?

“It changed a little bit. Certainly, there about lap 20 it went through a big swing and we got really tight. I didn’t think it would take that long, but maybe it took that long. Our truck went really tight right there and was having a hard time getting through traffic. The 3 (Austin Dillon) could run us down every time we got to the back of people. As the race wore on and we made the truck better, I got better at where to predict people and where you put people and how to get by them and stuff. It was certainly a mindful game today. Certainly had to work and tomorrow is going to be the same thing I can only imagine. Hopefully we’ve got a pretty cool M&M’s Camry over there for tomorrow and we can put on a good
show.”

Do you think it will be difficult to pass in tomorrow’s race?

“A little bit, not as significant I don’t think. The trucks punch such a big hole in the air — we’ve got really wide front fenders and you’re using up a lot of downforce there. When you lose downforce on your nose or when you’re so dependent on that and you don’t get that much again, it hurts you. It seems to hurt you a lot more than the Cup cars do. It’s still going to be track position sensitive tomorrow, but the good cars will be able to move through I think a little bit better than the worse ones. Today was certainly particular there a few times and got a little rough — got a little hard to find some air to pass a couple guys. Eventually we figured some things out and made it happen so it was good.”

What did you learn today for tomorrow’s race?

“A lot of the feel that I’ve been looking for in my Cup car I felt this weekend in my truck. When I was able to go to the gas what it would do — would it push or would it turn or what would happen. We made a lot of changes to my Cup car over the weekend this weekend. We’re vastly different than we’ve ever run here in the past. I’m hoping it doesn’t bite us,but I can’t see us going in the wrong direction because we’ve never run very good here. I’m hoping that sort of helps us a little bit and gives us a feel. The feel that I have in the trucks and Nationwide cars is obviously something that works for me. I’ve been able to win in both of those pretty regularly here. Just a matter of getting that feel in the Cup car and making it last for a long time throughout the race. I’m hoping that we got something good.”

Are there any plans for Kyle Busch Motorsports next year?

“Certainly there’s plans. We want to expand and get more truck teams and maybe venture into Nationwide Series, but it’s all funding dependent and of course knowing how tough everything is based upon everybody’s experiences — it’s not easy for us either. We’ve had some discussions going on and we’ll see what happens. We’d like to move into two full time trucks at least and we’ll see what happens from there.”

Does this win say something after your performances the last few Truck races?

“I think a little bit should say that certainly — you could say it’s a little bit of a horsepower track, but it’s more of a handling track. You’ve got to be able to handle through the turns and you’ve got to be able to go down the straightaways, but when you go to a mile-and-a-half place and you run wide open and we’re wide open for qualifying and the rest of the guys are wide open and we’re two tenths off — there’s something the matter. Whether that’s too much drag on our bodies or not enough horsepower under the hood. There’s certainly some things that we need to work on as a company to get better. With only having one team and barely being funded for the whole year — you don’t have a lot of time and a lot of
resources to sit there and develop trucks. Nothing to knock the KHI (Kevin Harvick Incorporated) guys, but they have done a nice job because when they build new trucks they try new things. They have the option to keep going through them. We’ve only built nine trucks. We’re on truck number nine and that’s our new one. It’s not even done yet. We’ll work on a couple of those things for truck nine and get it ready for Texas.”

Do you plan to drive for your team again next year?

“I would love to build Kyle Busch Motorsports without Kyle Busch having to drive. The problem is that you’re not going to sell that. I can’t get partners that want to come in here and help support our program without me behind the wheel. They want the guaranteed chance of going to victory lane. I think that says a little bit. Certainly there’s a price for that.We’ve got to make sure that we can live and strive off of somebody besides myself. We’re working towards that and we’re trying really, really hard. With only having one truck team, people come to us and say, ‘Well, you’re not running that good.’ We like to fight that argument and say that we don’t have the resources to develop things, but we certainly have the people capable of thinking of some good ideas. It’s just a matter of being able to implement all of them.”

Did you think about trying to lead all the laps in the race when deciding when to pit?

“No, I never thought of that actually. I think I led 190 or 192 of the Nationwide race here too one time so that’s cool. Certainly Phoenix and Loudon — when I can hit it right, I can hit it right. I’m really, really good. The cars are really, really good and the guys do a good job for me. Today was no different. Certainly, I don’t know what Eric’s (Phillips, crew chief) strategy was to pit early.”

ERIC PHILLIPS, crew chief, No. 18 Traxxas Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Did you know you had the truck to beat?

“No, we were off a little bit. We came here this year a lot different than what we raced last year even though we won the race. We didn’t feel like we had the best truck so we tried something different. It worked out. We just made steady progress through both practices. We made a few changes in between the first and second practice and really made the truck a lot better. After that the truck was pretty good the rest of the weekend.”

TODD BODINE, No. 5 International Toyota Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports

Finishing Position: 8th

TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Gearwrench Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

How was your race today?

“It feels good to be back in the top-10. Didn’t really have our Gearwrench Tundra like we wanted, but we finished ninth. We gave up a lot on pit road, but that’s just the way our year has been. I give up on the race track and we give up on pit road. There is no I in team — we win as one and we lose as one. We just go to Kentucky next week.”

How did your truck handle today?

“We were just tight really all race long. We fought that really both of our practices yesterday and we made the best of it. It is what it is. We’re going to try to stay in this hunt down to Homestead. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. If not, we’ll get them at Daytona.”

MIGUEL PALUDO, No. 7 STEMCO / Duroline Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

How was your race today?

“It was a tough race with long green flag runs. We made the right adjustments and Rick (Gay, crew chief) made an awesome call with two tires at the end and that paid off. I don’t know why, but four tires took like 10 laps for the pressure to build up and the truck be good. With two tires the truck was awesome right away. Good day for us, top-10 and on the lead lap. I want to gain as many points as I can for the end of this season. Days like this are good to finish in the top-10.”

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing

Finishing Position: 12th

DAVID STARR, No. 81 Zachry / NCCER Toyota Tundra, SS Green Light Racing

Finishing Position: 14th

GERMAN QUIROGA, No. 51 Telcel Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Finishing Position: 16th

MAX PAPIS, No. 9 GEICO Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing

Finishing Position: 20th

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

Event: Fast Five 225 (Race 18 of 25)

Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Location: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. (1.5-mile D-shaped oval)

Start / Finish: 14th / 5th (Running, completed 150 of 150 laps)

Winner: Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing (RCR) (Chevrolet)

Kyle Busch entered Friday night’s Fast Five 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. looking to three-peat as the race winner and maintain his bragging rights as the only victor in the series at the 1.5-mile D-Shaped oval.

No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra

The only problem was eventual race winner Austin Dillon, who was running third before the final pit stops, also elected to make a two-tire stop and managed to come out ahead of Busch on the track. Johnny Sauter, who had yet to make his final pit stop, stood in the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra’s path to Dillon. Sauter fought hard to keep the second spot away from Busch for several laps until he was forced to come down pit road for his final stop of the night. As the two battled for second, Dillon was able to stretch his lead on the field. The second-year driver went on to cross the stripe 4.950 seconds ahead of Harvick, earning his second victory of the season and fourth of his career.

Kyle Busch

“The Dollar General Tundra was pretty good all night, but we didn’t have a truck that could stay out front and hold those guys off,” said Busch, who led twice for a total of 10 laps. “Eric made the right call to take two tires — we are here to win races and that was our best shot to win tonight.”

Nelson Piquet Jr. finished third and Parker Kligerman came home fourth. Sauter, Matt Crafton, Miguel Paludo, Cole Whitt and Ron Hornaday Jr. completed the top 10.

There were three caution periods for 15 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish the 150-lap race.

KBM’s No. 18 Tundra remains in second place in the NCWTS owners’ point standings, 40 points behind KHI’s No. 2 truck, with seven races remaining.

The next event on the NCWTS schedule is the Sept. 24 F.W. Webb 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race starts at 3 p.m. ET with live coverage on SPEED beginning with the NCWTS Setup show at 2:30 p.m.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra

Busch will be looking to make like “Da Bulls” and three-peat as the winner of Friday’s Fast Five 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. The 26-year-old has breezed through the competition in each of the first two Truck Series races held in the Windy City. He led 121 of the 154 laps in last year’s race and 79 of the 150 laps in the inaugural Truck Series race at the 1.5-mile D-Shaped oval.

The Bulls three-peat was led by Michael Jordan, viewed by many as one of the most talented players in the history of the NBA, but equally as important to Chicago’s success was the supporting cast of players and coaches the team built around their superstar. Busch, viewed by many as one of the most talented drivers in NASCAR, has assembled a strong supporting cast on the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra team, including two of the most successful crew chiefs in the history of the Truck Series.

General Manager Rick Ren, from Tilton, Ill, is the winningest crew chief in the history of the Truck Series. As a crew chief, Ren led his drivers to 27 wins before moving into a managerial role at Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) in 2010. Since moving into his role at KBM, Ren has help guide the team to 14 wins in just 52 races. Crew chief Eric Phillips, from Canton, Ill., is the Truck Series’ active leader in wins with 24 trips to Victory Lane in his career.

Not only does Busch have a strong team behind him, the Las Vegas native will have a strong Toyota Tundra underneath him. The No. 18 Dollar General Racing team will be unloading chassis KBM-4, which has been to Victory Lane seven times in 11 starts since making its debut at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May of 2010. KBM-4 is the same Tundra that Busch drove to victory lane in last year’s Truck Series race at Chicagoland.

Kyle Busch

Are you looking forward to racing at Chicago?

“Chicago is a great city, one that I always enjoy when I visit. Chicago fans are very passionate about their sports and with this weekend being the first race of the Chase, I think it will be a great atmosphere. I’m definitely looking forward to not only the racing at Chicago, but all the festivities going on Wednesday and Thursday to promote the start of the Chase. Once all the off-track festivities are over, it will be like any other race weekend and my focus will switch to the action on the track. We had a strong Toyota last year and we’re confident that we can get the Dollar General Tundra back in Victory Lane Friday night.”

Do the track conditions change a lot from day to night at Chicagoland?

“The track conditions at Chicagoland don’t seem to change much from day to night. You gain some grip when the temperatures get cooler, but the balance of your truck remains pretty consistent. At Atlanta, it was really hot during practice, the track was very slick and as practiced progressed we weren’t able to get a feel for the changes we were making. Once you reached a certain point in practice, you were just out there making laps. This weekend, we’ll be able to use the practice time in the morning to make quality laps and really dial in our Dollar General Tundra for the race.”

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

Being from Illinois, is the Chicagoland race one that you look forward to?

“I grew up about two and a half hours from the track and spent a lot of time in the Chicago area, so this is a race I look forward to each year. With Samantha (Busch) being from the area as well, I know this is a race that Kyle and Samantha would like to win. We’ve changed a few things around on our setup since Atlanta and feel like we’re bringing an improved Dollar General Tundra this weekend. We’re putting our best foot forward and ready to get on the track Friday to see the results.”

Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra:

Chassis KBM-4: Since making its debut at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May of 2010, the Tundra has been to Victory Lane seven times in 11 starts, including three times this season (Darlington, Nashville, Kentucky). The Toyota has posted an amazing average finish of 2.0 over its 11 starts. KBM-4 is the same Toyota that Busch drove to victory in last year’s NCWTS race at Chicagoland.

Notes of Interest:

Kyle Busch @ Chicagoland:

- Has won both NCWTS races at Chicagoland (8/28/09 and 8/27/10) and led 200 of the 304 total laps available.

- Ranks first among NCWTS drivers in Driver Rating (148.2), Average Finish (1.0), Laps Led (200), Fastest Laps (88), Laps in the Top 15 (304),

- Fastest Early in Run (169.521 mph), Fastest Late in Run (167.670 mph), Fastest on Restarts (158.957 mph), Green Flag Speed (168.443 mph) and Speed in Traffic (167.728 mph)

- Captured the pole and led 165 laps en route to victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2008 LifeLock.com 400 (7/12/08)

- Two-time winner of the Dollar General 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race (7/11/08 and 7/7/10)

Kyle Busch 2011 Camping World Truck Series:

- In 12 starts this season, has won a series-leading five races (Phoenix, Nashville, Dover, Charlotte, Kentucky) and registered a series-leading nine top-five finishes

- Ranks first among NCWTS drivers in Laps Led (528), Miles Led (592.84), Fastest Laps Run (260), Fastest Early in a Run (3.50 rank), Fastest Late in a Run (3.30 rank) and Green Flag Speed (2.60 rank)

Kyle Busch Camping World Truck Series Career:

- Has won 29.9% of the NCWTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 48.5%

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

- Ranks second in NCWTS history in wins (29), fourth in laps led (4,035), tied for sixth in poles (11) and 10th in top fives (57)

- 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 7.3 ranks first among active drivers with 10 or more career starts in the NCWTS

Kyle Busch Motorsports and the No. 18 Toyota Tundra:

- Trail KHI’s No. 2 by 36 points in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) owners’ point standings

- Rank first in the NCWTS in wins (6) and laps led (623)

- 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

“Riding Shotgun with Kyle Busch Motorsports” Essay Contest Winner Honors Friend Who Beat Leukemia:

10-year-old Claire Winiarski from Naperville, Ill., was selected the winner of the “Riding Shotgun with Kyle Busch Motorsports” essay contest for Chicagoland Speedway. Winiarski, per a request in her essay, will use the unique opportunity of having her name on Kyle Busch’s Tundra to honor her friend, Varsha Jayasundar, who recently beat leukemia. Jayasundar’s name and a picture of the two friends together will adorn the area above the passenger side window of the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra for the Fast Five 225 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, Sept. 16. Both girls will have the opportunity to attend the race compliments of Chicagoland Speedway.

KBM has Already Proven “Eight is Enough”:

With 17 of 25 races completed this season, Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 team trails Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 2 team by 36 points in the NCWTS owners’ point standings. With eight races remaining last season, the No. 18 team found themselves trailing Steve Germain’s No. 30 team by 48 points. Over the final eight races, the No. 18 Tundra went to victory lane four times, finished second twice and registered an average finish of 2.8 en route to becoming the first team since the Truck Series originated in 1995 to capture the NCWTS owners’ championship in its inaugural season.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra

Dollar General, an Official Partner of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ is offering customers the chance to win more than 9,000 prizes including free gas for a year, a trip for two to Las Vegas for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week™ and $250,000. The “Race in to Win” sweepstakes officially launched Aug. 28 and runs through November 12, 2011. It is the first-ever national retail program around the Chase, NASCAR’s version of the playoffs.

To enter the “Race in to Win” sweepstakes, customers may purchase qualifying products at Dollar General during the sweepstakes period, then visit www.dollargeneral.com or call 1-800-813-5738 to enter required information from their purchase receipts. There is no purchase necessary to enter or win. For complete sweepstakes details and rules visit www.dollargeneral.com.

Kyle Busch - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images for NASCAR

Are you looking forward to racing in all three series at Atlanta this weekend?

“I’m definitely looking forward to going to Atlanta this weekend and racing in all three series. As far as the trucks go, we’ve had a couple tough weeks and need to have a strong run Friday to make up some of the points we have lost in the owners’ standings. Atlanta is a track that I’ve always ran well at in the trucks, so it’s a good place to be going to as we try and get things headed back in the right direction. It’s also a big weekend for me on the Cup side with the Sprint Summer Showdown.

It would be really nice to get to Victory Lane on Sunday and be able to win $1,000,000 each for the Kyle Busch Foundation, Joe Gibbs Racing and a fan. That $1,000,000 would go a long way in helping the Kyle Busch Foundation provide essential tools for less fortunate children throughout the country.”

What does it take to be successful at Atlanta?

“It takes a lot of things. You have to have a lot of grip, you have to have a lot of downforce, you have to have tire management, a great engine and fuel mileage too. There are a lot of circumstances that it can come down to at the end and what it will boil down to.”

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

What are you looking to accomplish during practice at Atlanta?

“With practice being during the day and then having the race at night, we’ll be working hard on the balance of the Dollar General Tundra. We need to make sure that the setup we have for practice will transition well to the race. You also need get the truck where Kyle is comfortable running both the top and bottom lines. Once the race starts, you need to be able to run both lines to be able to pass people at Atlanta.”

Does knowing that you came from behind to win last year’s owners’ championship help the team’s mindset going into last nine races this year?

“Yes and no. We know that if we go out and do our job as a race team that the points will take care of themselves. We’re not focused on where we need to be at the end of the season, our focus is on having a strong run at Atlanta Friday. We just need to take it one race at a time and do everything that we can each week to put ourselves in a position to have a strong run.”

Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra:

Chassis KBM-8: Chassis KBM-8 went to Victory Lane in its debut with Kyle Busch behind the wheel in the N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May. The Tundra has been on the track three times since then, twice with Busch and once with Josh Richards. In its most recent start, Busch piloted KBM-8 to a second-place finish in the Good Sam RV Emergency Road Services 125 at Pocono Raceway.

Notes of Interest:

- Kyle Busch Hosting Guests from Carrie Steel-Pitts Home at Friday night’s race:

- Kyle Busch will be hosting guests from the Carrie Steel-Pitts Home – a private, nonprofit, and nondiscriminatory child caring agency that provides 24-hour state approved residency for neglected, abandoned abused or orphaned children- at Friday night’s Atlanta 200 thanks to a generous donation of tickets from Atlanta Motor Speedway and Speedway Children’s Charities. Located in Atlanta, Ga., Carrie Steel-Pitts Home is one of five organizations throughout the country that the Kyle Busch Foundation assists in providing essential tools for less fortunate children. This will be the group’s fourth annual trip to the NCWTS race at Atlanta. They have been able to celebrate a Busch victory after two of their first three visits.

Kyle Busch @ Atlanta:

- Four career NCWTS wins are most of any driver and five top-five finishes rank second

- Has finished in the top 10 and led at least one lap in each of his six NCWTS starts

- Ranks first over the last ten NCWTS races in average starting position (2.8) and ranks second in several categories, including driver rating (129.5), average running position (3.21), laps led (206) and fastest laps run (113)

- Captured the pole for the 2009 NCWTS American Commercial Lines 200 (3/7/09)

- Scored Toyota’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in the 2008 Kobalt Tools 500 (3/9/08)

Kyle Busch 2011 Camping World Truck Series:

- In 11 starts this season, has won a series-leading five races (Phoenix, Nashville, Dover, Charlotte, Kentucky) and is tied with James Buescher for most top-five finishes with eight

- Ranks first among NCWTS drivers in laps led (514), miles led (571.2), fastest laps run (240), 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 30.2% of the NCWTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 49%

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

- Ranks second in NCWTS history in wins (29), fourth 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 7.4 ranks first among active drivers with 10 or more career starts in the NCWTS

Kyle Busch Motorsports and the No. 18 Toyota Tundra:

- KHI’s No. 2 by 34 points in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Owners’ Point Standings

- Led the NCWTS Owners’ Points after 14 of the first 15 races this season

- Rank first in the NCWTS in wins (6), laps led (609) and fastest laps run (301)

- 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

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra

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 - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images for NASCAR

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

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

Date: Aug. 20, 2011

Event: VFW 200 (Race 15 of 25)

Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Location: Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)

Start / Finish: 13th / 25th (DNF -Radiator, completed 63 of 102 laps)

Winner: Kevin Harvick of Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) (Chevrolet) in a green-white-checkered finish

Kyle Busch was running third just past the halfway mark in Saturday’s VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway, when a piece of side window off another truck pierced its way through the front of his Toyota and punctured a hole in the radiator. Busch, who appeared to have a formidable shot at putting his Traxxas Tundra in Victory Lane for the fifth time in as many races with the Plano, Texas-based company’s logo on the hood of his No. 18, was forced to retire from the race and was credited with a disappointing 25th-place finish.

Kyle Busch - Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images

Harvick’s win, combined with Busch’s misfortune, helped KHI’s No. 2 Chevrolet erase KBM’s 27-point lead in the NCWTS Owners’ Point Standings, leaving the two teams tied as the series heads to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

After starting the race from the 13th position, Busch maneuvered his way up to the fifth spot when the second caution of the race occurred on lap 14. Believing that the 100-lap race was destined to be decided by a battle of fuel mileage, crew chief Eric Phillips ordered the No. 18 Traxxas Tundra down pit road where the KBM crew administered a fuel-only stop.

Busch restarted the race from the 16th position, but was able to make a strong run on the top line of the race track and catapulted into the fifth position by the time the field got back to the start-finish line. By lap 29, the Las Vegas native was in the runner-up spot and took the lead for the first time at lap 41, when Austin Dillon made a scheduled pit stop under green-flag conditions.

The No. 18 paced the field until Busch brought his Tundra to pit road for his regularly-scheduled four-tire stop under green-flag conditions at lap 48. When pit stops cycled through on lap 57, the No. 18 Traxxas Tundra was scored in the third position – trailing only race-leader Mark Martin and Dillon.

Around lap 60, Busch communicated to the team that he had run over some kind of debris. Shortly after, the engine began to skip and the water pressure plummeted, forcing him to bring his Toyota into the garage after completing just 63 laps.

“I kept an eye on the gauges to make sure nothing like that was happening and it snuck up on us,” said a dejected Busch about the debris. “It just happened. The water pressure gauge didn’t do anything until the motor started missing and by that time it was too late. Water temp didn’t change. I hate it for all the guys and Traxxas, Dollar General, M&M’s, Flexco – everybody that supports us. It’s going to hurt us in the owner’s championship. I just hate it for all our guys. We really worked hard and thought we had a good truck and thought we were going to have a decent day out of it. We were just waiting for this caution to come out and get our track position back to see if the changes we made were better, because it seemed like our truck was better.”

In winning Saturday’s VFW 200, Harvick picked up back-to-back NCWTS victories and became the first driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s national series (NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NCWTS) at Michigan International Speedway.

The race ended in a green-white-checkered finish with Red Horse Racing teammates Timothy Peters and Miguel Paludo finishing second and third, respectively. James Buescher finished fourth and David Starr rounded out the top five while Jason White, Ron Hornaday Jr., Brendan Gaughan, Colin Braun and Cole Whitt completed the top 10.

There were seven caution periods for 22 laps, with 14 drivers failing to finish the 102-lap race.

The next event on the NCWTS schedule is the Aug. 24 Pure O’Reilly 200 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live coverage beginning with its NCWTS Setup show at 7:30 p.m. EDT on SPEED.

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

TRACK: Michigan International Speedway (2 miles, D-Shaped oval)

PRIMARY SPONSOR: Traxxas

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS: Dollar General, DuPont, Flexco, M&M’s

MANUFACTURER: Toyota

PRIMARY CHASSIS: KBM-8

BACKUP CHASSIS: KBM-4

MOTORS: Triad Racing Technologies

BROADCAST: Saturday, Aug. 20 – 12:30 p.m. ET SPEED/MRN/Sirius XM NASCAR 90

KYLE BUSCH AND TRAXXAS “STRIVE FOR FIVE” AT MIS

Traxxas, the leading manufacturer of hobby-class radio-controlled (R/C) vehicles, returns as the primary sponsor of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Tundra for the VFW 200 Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, the second of three races the Plano, Texas-based company will sponsor in 2011. Busch, an R/C enthusiast, will be looking to make it a perfect five-for-five in races which Traxxas’ logo adorns the hood of his Tundra. In 2010, the Las Vegas native collected wins behind the wheel of the No. 18 Traxxas Tundra at Chicagoland Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway and this May he kept perfection intact by winning the Lucas Oil 200 at Dover International Speedway. Fans can purchase an officially licensed and ready-to-race 1/16th scale brushless R/C replica of Busch’s No. 18 Traxxas Tundra online at www.traxxas.com.

KYLE BUSCH FINISHES IN THE TOP TWO IN 50% OF THE NCWTS RACES HE ENTERS

Kyle Busch has finished first or second in exactly half of his 94 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) starts. Busch’s runner-up finish last weekend at Pocono Raceway was the 18th of his career to go along with 29 victories. The 26-year-old has helped the defending NCWTS owners’ champions take their place back atop this year’s standings by registering five wins (Phoenix, Nashville, Dover, Charlotte and Kentucky) and two runner-up finishes (Martinsville and Pocono) in nine starts. He has finished in the top 10 in each of his last 21 NCWTS starts, collecting 12 wins and five runner-up finishes while registering an average finish of 2.05 during the streak.

KYLE BUSCH NCWTS @ MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

*NCWTS career leader in laps led (142) and tied with Mike Skinner for most career top-five finishes (4)

*Ranks first in fastest laps run (62) over the last six NCWTS races and second in average running position (4.76)

*Captured the pole for the 2005 NCWTS Paramount Health Insurance 200

* Won the 2004 NASCAR Nationwide Series Cabela’s 250

KYLE BUSCH 2011 NCWTS

*In just nine starts, 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 (127.2), average finish (2.2), laps led (507), miles led (557.2), fastest laps run (225), fastest early in a run (3.66), fastest late in a run (3.33) and green flag speed (2.66)

*Has recorded top-10 finishes in each of the last 21 NCWTS races he has entered, collecting 12 wins, five runner-up finishes and an average finish of 2.05 during the streak

KYLE BUSCH MOTORSPORTS NO. 18 TOYOTA TUNDRA

*Leads the 2011 NCWTS Owner Point Standings by 27 points over KHI’s No. 2

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

*Ranks first in the NCWTS in wins (6), top 5s (10), laps led (541) and fastest laps run (286)

*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

KYLE BUSCH NCWTS CAREER

*Has won 30.9% of the NCWTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 50%

*100 All-Time Combined NASCAR National Series 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 (4,014), tied for sixth in poles (11) and 10th in top 5s (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 divisions, 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 6.9 ranks first among active drivers with 10 or more career starts in the NCWTS

Kyle Busch

“We’ve been to Victory Lane all four times that Traxxas has been onboard our Tundra — not many sponsors in this sport can say that they’re undefeated. Hopefully, we can make it a perfect five-for-five this weekend at Michigan. I grew up an R/C vehicle enthusiast and even worked in a hobby store as a teenager, so Traxxas is a sponsor I can really relate to. When I’m not involved in something related to my NASCAR racing, you can usually find me working on or racing my R/C vehicles. It has been a great partnership on and off the track. To have the leading manufacturer of hobby-class R/C cars produce a Kyle Busch edition of their award-winning slash model last year was quite an honor. And when they came out with an officially licensed replica of our No. 18 Tundra this year, I thought that was pretty cool.”

KYLE BUSCH ON MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

“It’s a fun place to race. It’s a wide racetrack and you can run from top to bottom, which makes it exciting for both the drivers and the fans. I’ve had good runs throughout my career in the truck series at Michigan, but haven’t been able to get a win. I think I’ve finished twice two or three times and we’ve led a bunch of laps, but for whatever reason didn’t get to Victory Lane. We’re looking to change that this weekend and keep our perfect record with Traxxas as the primary sponsor on our Tundra intact.”

ERIC PHILLIPS ON PRIMARY CHASSIS SELECTION

“We are bringing our newest Tundra, KBM-8, to Michigan. It was a brand new truck when Kyle won with it at Charlotte in May and it’s raced twice since then — Kyle ran it at Kansas and Josh Richards ran it at Nashville. Since the Nashville race, we’ve put a lot of time and effort into finding ways to improve this piece. We’ve been to the seven-post rig and the wind tunnel and feel like we’ve found a few things that have allowed us to be bringing a better Tundra to the track this weekend.”

ERIC PHILLIPS ON MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

“One of the biggest wins of my career was at Michigan when Travis Kvapil gave Toyota their first National Series win, so it’s a place that brings back good memories. It has long straightaways and which makes most crew chiefs worry about horsepower but to me, the corners are the key. The corners are also long, so the better your truck turns and the longer your driver can stay in the gas, the faster you’ll be. We’ve put a lot of effort in preparing for this race and we’re excited to get to the track and see our hard work pay off.”

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

“The CocoaVia Tundra was pretty good today, but we all weekend we knew that if we were going to beat the 2 truck, we needed to find some more speed,” said Bush. “We tried to minimize our losses today and coming home second we were able to do that. A few of those cautions helped us and kind of bunched the field back up and got us to where we could make some moves on the restarts and that seemed to be the pivotal turning point to the race on most of these guys. It is fun racing the trucks here. It’s certainly entertaining for us behind the wheel. It’s real rough and you’re bouncing all over trying to hold onto it and all of that. I can’t say enough about CocoaVia.com – another Mars product. Thanks to those guys for stepping up and being the primary sponsor on our No. 18 this weekend. Coming out here putting on a good show for them – and fans can go to their website throughout August and use the code ‘GOKYLE’ to get 25 percent off their purchases. So, that will be pretty cool to help cardiovascular health and make sure you have healthy blood vessels.”

Busch, making his first start at Pocono Raceway in the NASCAR NCWTS, qualified second and started on the front row beside Harvick, who captured the pole. In the early stages of the race, Harvick opened up a 10-truck lead on the field while Busch maintained the second spot.

On lap 15, precipitation on the racetrack brought out the third caution of the race. Just as the yellow flag waved in the air, Busch communicated to crew chief Eric Phillips that he believed that a tire was going down on his No. 18 CocoaVia Tundra. As the field drove past pit road, Phillips examined the truck and verified that the left-front tire was flat. When pit road opened, the 26-year old brought his Toyota down pit road where the KBM crew put on four fresh tires, filled it with fuel and quickly surveyed the truck to see the severity of the damage caused by the flat. The flat tire caused had caused minor damage to the front splitter by dragging on the race track.

Kyle Busch

The race resumed under cloudy skies and the threat of rain looming Sunday morning. When pit road opened, the Las Vegas native brought his CocoaVia Tundra down pit road where the KBM crew filled it with fuel and made minor repairs to the front splitter. Busch returned to the track and was scored in the 17th position when the race restarted on lap 21.

Busch began maneuvering his way around competitors and by lap 25 had worked his way back into the top 10. He was scored in the seventh position when a debris caution slowed the field on lap 31. He communicated to Phillips that his Toyota needed improvements to advance through the field further and that the handling of the truck was “the roughest it had felt all weekend.” When pit road opened, the No. 18 CocoaVia Tundra came down pit road where the KBM crew put on right side tires with an air pressure adjustment, filled it with fuel and returned their driver to the track scored in the seventh position.

Two laps after the field went back to green-flag conditions, a three-truck incident brought out the fifth caution of the race. The race restarted on lap 40 with Busch scored in the sixth position. Busch, known for his great restarts, made his way around three trucks before the field made it back to the start-finish line and was continued running until the sixth caution of the race slowed the field on lap 46.

Shortly after the restart, Busch drove past James Buescher regaining the second position. He was running second when the final caution of the race occurred on lap 49. The caution set up a green-white-checkered finish with Harvick on point and Busch in the runner-up spot.

Harvick chose the outside lane for the restart and the two trucks went through turn 1 side-by-side before the race leader cleared the No. 18 CocoaVia Tundra down the backstretch. Busch tucked in behind Harvick down the backstretch, and then as they approached turn 3, got slightly loose trying to make a move for the lead knowing that the white flag was about to wave. He was able to hold off Buescher on the final lap to secure his second runner-up finish and ninth top 10 in as many NCWTS starts this season.

Johnny Sauter finished fourth and Austin Dillon rounded out the top five. Joey Coulter was sixth, followed by Mark Martin, Matt Crafton, Ron Hornaday and Timothy Peters rounded out the top 10.

The race featured seven cautions for a total of 22 laps. 26 of the 31 trucks were running at the finish of the 53-lap race with 24 cars finishing on the lead lap.

Busch’s KBM No. 18 team holds a 27-point lead over Harvick’s No. 2 team in the NCWTS owner’s point standings after 14 races.

Busch will be back behind the wheel of the No. 18 Traxxas Toyota when the NCWTS heads to Michigan International Speedway Saturday August 20 at 12:30 p.m. ET. SPEED’s live coverage begins with the NCWTS Setup Show at Noon ET.

About Kyle Busch Motorsports

Kyle Busch Motorsports has quickly established itself as one of the most successful teams in all of NASCAR. The reigning Camping World Truck Series owners’ champions prepare a fleet of race-winning Toyotas out of a 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C. Pending LEED certification, the facility’s state-of-the art equipment and innovative green initiatives make it unmatched among its peers. Fans can stay up-to-date with all the latest KBM news online at kylebuschmotorsports.com, by liking the team on facebook (KyleBuschMS) and following the team on twitter (@KyleBuschMS).

- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM)

RACE: AAA Insurance 200

TRACK: Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis

TRUCK: No. 18 Joy Mining Machinery Toyota Tundra

TEAM: Kyle Busch Motorsports

PRIMARY CHASSIS: KBM-5

BACKUP CHASSIS: KBM-6

MOTORS: Triad Racing Technologies

BROADCAST: Friday, July 29, 7:30 p.m. ET SPEED/MRN/Sirius NASCAR 90

NOTES AND QUOTES

- Two-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Josh Richards will make his debut at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis and his third career start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). In Friday’s AAA Insurance 200 Richards will pilot the No. 18 Joy Mining Machinery Toyota Tundra, fielded by Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). This will be Richards’ first race at Lucas Oil Raceway although he did participate in a rain-shortened ARCA test at the 0.686-mile oval in June.

KBM at Lucas Oil Raceway:

- Crew chief Eric Phillips called the shots in the last NCWTS race at Lucas Oil Raceway in 2010 when owner-driver Kyle Busch qualified second and finished second. KBM General Manager and Director of Competition, Rick Ren, called the shots for Ron Hornaday, Jr. when he went to Victory Lane in 2007 and 2009.

Driver Josh Richards on racing at Lucas Oil Raceway:

“I’m looking forward to racing at Lucas Oil Raceway. The truck we’re bringing is the same one that I tested at the Milwaukee Mile. I know that KBM is bringing a great truck to Indianapolis and I can’t wait to get on track. I tested last month at the track in an ARCA car at Lucas Oil Raceway. Because of the rain I didn’t get a lot of laps in, but I at least have a feel for the track. I’m especially looking forward to Friday since it’s my first short track race in the Camping World Truck Series.”

Crew Chief Eric Phillips:

“I think Josh may be more comfortable at this track coming from short dirt track racing. We tested at Milwaukee in the truck we are bringing on Friday and Josh ran really well up there. I’m confident that Josh’s learning curve will be shortened every time he gets into the truck.”

On the uncertainty of returning to Lucas Oil Raceway:

“Lucas Oil Raceway is one of the best short tracks we run at, you can pass, you can run multiple grooves there, it’s just an old fashioned short track. A lot of fans sit up there in turn one in the grass, I grew up not far from there and went to Indianapolis Raceway Park a lot. I hope we do get back there next year.”

Rick Ren on racing Lucas Oil Raceway:

“Lucas Oil Raceway, or IRP, to me is a special place because I grew up about 80 miles from there in Danville, Illinois. I will always call it my home track. I almost won my first race as crew chief there back in 1990, it just didn’t work out, but we about had it won. I’ve taken that personally all these years and to try to get better and have gone and tested there to improve. I finally hit on a combination with Ron Hornaday where we figured out how to get around the racetrack a lot better, and I had some success there with some guys in the Nationwide Series. ”

“I think a lot of it is getting your driver to calm down and not over drive the corners. I think a lot of that comes from my experience having been around a long time and trying to calm down a driver and figure out how to drive the racetrack, because it’s really easy to overdrive the track but hard to get grip off the corner and get the thing to turn. It’s a challenge to the crew chief and the driver so it makes the race a team effort.”

CHASSIS SELECTION:

Primary Chassis - KBM-5

Richards tested in KBM-5 for a two-day test at the Milwaukee Mile in June. In the Tundra’s debut, Brian Ickler started fourth in the 2010 NCWTS Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway and ran second for 60 laps before being involved in an accident on lap 80 that put him two laps down. Ickler fought back to earn a lead-lap 13th-place finish.

ABOUT JOY MINING MACHINERY:

Joy Mining Machinery has over 90 years of experience as a global leader in the development, manufacture, distribution and service of underground mining machinery for the extraction of coal and other bedded materials. Headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, Joy Mining Machinery employs over 8,000 employees worldwide. For additional information, visit www.joy.com.

ABOUT KBM:

Kyle Busch Motorsports has quickly established itself as one of the most successful teams in all of NASCAR. The reigning Camping World Truck Series owners’ champions prepare a fleet of race-winning Toyotas out of a 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C. Pending LEED certification, the facility’s state-of-the art equipment and innovative green initiatives make it unmatched among its peers. Fans can stay up-to-date with all the latest KBM news online at kylebuschmotorsports.com, by liking the team on Facebook (KyleBuschMS) and following the team on twitter (@KyleBuschMS).

- Rising Star Management Group Press Release