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{{Infobox NASCAR driver
{{Infobox NASCAR driver
| name = Kyle Busch
| name = Kyle Busch
| image = [[File:Kyle Busch.jpg|thumb|Kyle Busch]]
| image = [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AWEZRTjGWPk/TJEtKd0wylI/AAAAAAAABq8/-spPkoM1JsM/s1600/2010Richmond2NNSnewcarpracticeKyleBusch.jpg 2010Richmond2NNSnewcarpracticeKyleBusch.jpg]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|05|2}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|05|2}}
| birth_place = [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], [[United States]]
| birth_place = [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]], [[United States]]

Revision as of 15:01, 19 May 2013

Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch
Born (1985-05-02) May 2, 1985 (age 39)
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Achievements2009 Nationwide Series Champion

2008 Southern 500 Winner
2012 Budweiser Shootout Winner
2009 Snowball Derby Winner
2011 TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway Winner

2012 Prelude to the Dream Winner
Awards2005 Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year
2004 Busch Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
304 races run over 10 years
Car no., teamNo. 18 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2012 position13th
Best finish5th (2007)
First race2004 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 (Las Vegas)
Last race2024 Xfinity 500 (Martinsville)
First win2005 Sony HD 500 (California)
Last win2013 NRA 500 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles
26 147 12
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
252 races run over 11 years
Car no., teamNo. 54 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2012 position107th
Best finish1st (2009)
First race2003 Carquest Auto Parts 300 (Charlotte)
Last race2013 VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 (Darlington)
First win2004 Funai 250 (Richmond)
Last win2013 VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles
56 170 29
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
106 races run over 12 years
Truck no., teamNo. 51 (Kyle Busch Motorsports)
2012 position82nd
Best finish14th (2008, 2010)
First race2001 Power Stroke Diesel 200 (Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis)
Last race2013 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte)
First win2005 Quaker Steak and Lube 200 (Charlotte)
Last win2013 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles
31 83 12
Statistics current as of May 17, 2013.

Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars, Inc./Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and owns Kyle Busch Motorsports, which runs the No. 77 for Parker Kligerman in the Nationwide Series and the No. 18 Toyota Tundra for Joey Coulter and the No. 54 Toyota Tundra, driven by Darrell Wallace, Jr. in the Camping World Truck Series.

He currently holds the modern-era record for most race wins in a season across the top three NASCAR series with twenty-six wins, which he accomplished in 2010. On August 21, 2010, Busch became the first driver to win in all three of NASCAR's top three touring series in the same weekend (Bristol). Busch also holds the record for the most NASCAR Nationwide Series wins with 56, surpassing Mark Martin's 49.

Busch is also one of two active drivers to win on his birthday and was only the second driver ever to achieve the feat, winning the 2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russell Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway, which was run on his 24th birthday. Cale Yarborough was the first and Matt Kenseth won the 2013 Kobalt Tools 400. He is the younger brother of 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch. Although he has yet to win a title, Busch is viewed by many as a championship-caliber driver.

Early life

Kyle Busch's first driving lessons came at the age of 6 when he drove around the cul-de-sac of his family's Las Vegas neighborhood in a makeshift go-kart. Although he was too small to reach the throttle, Busch still was able to pick up the basics from his father Tom, who controlled the gas pedal as his young son steered the kart. Throughout his childhood, Busch spent many hours as an apprentice to his father and older brother Kurt in the family garage learning to build and repair race cars. By the age of 10, he was a full-fledged mechanic and served as crew chief of his older brother's dwarf car team. In addition to working on cars, Busch enjoyed forms of martial arts, including karate.

In 1998, shortly after his 13th birthday, Busch's driving career officially began. From 1999 through 2001, Busch earned more than 65 wins in legends car racing as he racked up two track championships at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's "Bullring" before moving to late models. He captured 10 victories in late model competition at the Bullring in 2001.[1]

Early career

At the age of 16, Busch began competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series) for Roush Racing as a replacement for Nathan Haseleu and Chuck Hossfeld, who were released midway in the 2001 season. He made his debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park, impressing many people with a 9th place finish. In his second race at Chicago Motor Speedway, he was leading with less than 20 laps to go until his truck ran out of fuel with 12 laps to go.

Busch was the fastest in practice for a 2001 Craftsman Truck Series race at California Speedway in Fontana, CA, when he 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.[2] Marlboro threw Busch out of the garage because of an interpretation of the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, prohibiting people under 18 years of age in participating in events sponsored by tobacco companies. He earned two top-10 finishes in six starts in the #99 Eldon[disambiguation needed] Ford F-150 in what had been scheduled to be a full-season campaign for 2002.

Six weeks after the incident, NASCAR imposed a minimum age of 18 years starting in 2002 to prevent future incidents from happening again, because Winston was the premier series sponsor at the time. When the age requirements were put in place, Busch switched from NASCAR to the American Speed Association (ASA) series, finishing 8th in points.

In 2002, Busch graduated a year early with honors from Durango High School in Las Vegas, Nevada to focus on his driving career. That same year, he made his debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway, finishing twelfth in the #22 WP Motorsports Chevrolet.

In 2003, Busch signed a driver development contract with Hendrick Motorsports, and drove seven ARCA races in their #87 ditech entry. He won his first two races at Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway, and won his most recent ARCA race the following year at Daytona.

He is often nicknamed "Shrub", since he is the younger brother of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch and a small bush is called a shrub.[3]

NASCAR career

2003

File:Kyle Busch Mexico.jpg
Kyle Busch at the March 5, 2006 race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City

Upon turning 18, Busch partnered with Hendrick Motorsports to run six NASCAR Busch Series races at selected tracks, running the #87 Ditech.com Chevrolet Monte Carlo for NEMCO Motorsports. During his seat time in that ride, Busch finished a Busch Series career-high second in his first NASCAR Busch Series race at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in May 2003.

2004

Busch's first full-time season began in 2004, as he competed in the Lowe's car vacated by Brian Vickers, who had moved up to the NEXTEL Cup series. Busch clinched Rookie of the Year honors in the series, receiving his first top-10 finish of the season at the second race in Rockingham, won his first pole of the season in the fifth race, and claimed his first victory at the Richmond International Raceway at the Funai 250 in May.[4] Busch went on to claim five wins in 2004, making him the record holder of most races won by a driver in their rookie season,[5] and finished second to Martin Truex, Jr. in the overall points. Busch also qualified for six Nextel Cup races out of nine attempts in 2004 in the #84 Carquest Chevrolet for Hendrick, his highest finish being 24th at California Speedway.

2005

After the announcement that long time Hendrick NEXTEL Cup series driver Terry Labonte would be running a limited schedule in 2005 and 2006, Busch was picked to take over the #5 Kellogg's/Carquest Auto Parts Chevrolet Monte Carlo, crew chiefed by Alan Gustafson. He won his first career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race on September 4 in the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway,[6] driving for Rick Hendrick. At the end of the season Busch won the 2005 Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year with 2 wins and a 20th place points finish.[7] The earlier win at Fontana made Busch eligible to become a part of the 20 NASCAR Triple Threats, a group of drivers who have won a race in NASCAR's top three divisions. At the time, he was the youngest-ever winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, at 20 years, 125 days, a mark that has since been eclipsed by former teammate Joey Logano. He also became the youngest pole sitter in NEXTEL Cup history after winning the pole for the 2005 Auto Club 500.[8]

Kyle Busch speeds out of the garage at Phoenix International Raceway

Busch returned to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2005 for a limited number of races in Billy Ballew Motorsports's Chevrolets, winning his first career truck series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 20, 2005, becoming the second youngest driver to win a Truck Series race, at 20 years 19 days.[9] The current youngest Camping World Truck Series winner is Ryan Blaney, when he won on September 15, 2012 at 18 years, 8 months, and 15 days.[10] Busch would also win the truck race at Dover International Speedway, and the fall race in Atlanta Motor Speedway, both 200-mile races. In addition, he ran a limited schedule in the Busch Series driving the #5 and #57 for Hendrick. He won at Lowe's Motor Speedway; but did not qualify for the race at Texas Motor Speedway, a track he had won the pole at one year earlier.

2006

In 2006, he took the victory in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, and qualified for the Chase for the Cup during the last race before the 2006 Chase at Richmond International Raceway, in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, where he finished second after leading the most laps. He entered the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup fourth in Cup points. Busch started the first race of the Chase mid-pack in the 43 car field at the New Hampshire International Speedway but got caught up in an incident on lap four when he and the #66 Best Buy Chevrolet of Jeff Green made contact, knocking his front suspension out of line, and eventually spun out and wrecked the car. Busch followed up the next week at Dover International Speedway with an initially strong run before an engine failure took him out of the race. Busch then went to the Kansas Speedway and led several laps before being caught for speeding on pit road and finished in the bottom half of the top-ten. He finished the season in tenth place in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup standings, 448 points behind champion Jimmie Johnson. His winnings for the 2006 season sum up to $5,537,337. Busch is currently the youngest driver to make the NASCAR NEXTEL Chase for the Cup.

Busch repeated his Lowe's victory in 2006 in a truck painted to resemble the Rowdy Burns car from Days of Thunder, in a tribute to Bobby Hamilton (who was the stunt driver for the character), who was in the midst of a cancer battle which would later take his life. In addition, he ran nearly the entire 2006 season in the #5 Lowe's/Shop-Vac Chevy, winning one race and finishing seventh in points despite skipping one race.

2007

Busch became the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver to win in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at the 2007 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also scored Hendrick Motorsports their 200th NASCAR win (in all series), and also scored Chevrolet's 600th NASCAR victory, the first by the Chevrolet Impala since Wendell Scott's 1963 win in Jacksonville, Florida.[11] At the Aaron's 312 Busch Race at Talladega, Busch went on a wild ride down the backstretch when he got turned into teammate Casey Mears' car by Tony Stewart. The car spun towards the outside wall and flipped onto its roof. The car then slid down the track and hit the turn 3 grass, flipping side over side. The car flipped a total of seven times, but Busch walked away unscathed. In the Nextel All-Star Challenge at the Lowe's Motor Speedway, he and older brother Kurt Busch got together, knocking them both out of the race. In June 2007, Busch announced his plans to leave Hendrick Motorsports after the 2007 season. The two sides had been working on a contract extension but eventually agreed mutually to part ways.[12] It was announced the same day that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be replacing him at Hendrick Motorsports. However, days later Busch stated that he had no idea he was going to be released.[13] It was announced two months later that Busch had chosen Joe Gibbs Racing for his team in the 2008 season. He replaced J. J. Yeley in the #18 Toyota Camry, with M&M's coming over from Yates Racing as the primary sponsor. In the Busch Series, he ran nineteen races and won four times, garnering a sixteenth-place points finish. He also made eleven starts in the Craftsman Truck Series for Billy Ballew in the #51 Flanders Beef Patties truck, winning 3 times.[14]

2008

Kyle Busch's 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Car

Busch's tenure with Joe Gibbs started off with leading the most laps (86) in the 50th Annual Daytona 500 before finishing 4th. He followed that with another 4th place finish in the Auto Club 500. As a result, he took the lead in the points standings for the first time in his career. Busch led 173 of the 325 laps and won the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was the 5th career win for Busch, and the first Sprint Cup points race victory for Toyota. Busch then won another races at Talladega, Darlington, Dover, Sonoma, Daytona, Chicagoland and Watkins Glen.

On August 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards tapped Busch's rear bumper on lap 470/500 to take the lead Busch had owned for most of the race. After the race, Busch pulled alongside to bump into Edwards repeatedly, to "let him know I didn't appreciate the way he passed me."[15] Edwards responded by spinning out Busch. The following week, NASCAR placed Edwards and Busch on probation for the off-track argument.[16]

Busch's hopes for his first championship were dashed by two consecutive DNF's at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway, wiping out his 20-point lead and dropping him to 12th in points. However, Busch ralled back with top fives and gained two more spots to close out his first season with JGR 10th in points. Busch had a career-high eight wins and twenty-one top-tens that season.

Busch also ran 30 Nationwide races, and along with Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart helped win the 2008 Nationwide series Owners Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing for the number 20 car. He ran in the series for three different teams and in 4 different numbers, running Braun Racing's number 32 with Beringer and Dollar General sponsorship, the 92 Toyota with Zippo BLU sponsorship for D'Hondt Motorsports in the Zippo 200, and for Joe Gibbs Racing in the number 18 with sponsorship from Interstate Batteries, DLP, Z-Line Designs and Southern Farm Bureau Insurance and the number 20 with Doosan Infracore, Farm Bureau and Z-Line as sponsors. Busch accumulated 4 poles, 20 top tens and 18 top fives in his partial season, and won 10 races which tied the Nationwide series record for most wins in a season with Sam Ard, who had accomplished the feat some 24 years earlier.

In the Craftsman Truck Series, Busch finished second in the Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway, and followed it up a week later with a win in the San Bernardino County 200 at the newly named Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Two weeks later at Atlanta, he raced to another win in the American Commercial Lines 200. Busch acquired his 2nd Craftsman Truck Series pole in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.[17] His 3rd win of the 2008 truck series season was at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

2009

Kyle Busch on pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

On February 12 2009, Busch won the second Gatorade Duel at Daytona. This was the first qualifying race win for Busch, allowing him to start fourth in the 51st Daytona 500. Busch led 88 laps, leading the most for the second year in a row. However, he was taken out on lap 125 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned into Brian Vickers' car, starting a chain reaction crash that sent Vickers into Busch's car, wrecking it, and several other lead lap cars. The following week, Busch made NASCAR history, becoming the first person in the history of the sport to win races in two of NASCAR's touring series in the same day by winning the San Bernardino County 200 in the afternoon and the Stater Brothers 300 in the evening. The next week, he won the 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his hometown. After the race, he and his brother exchanged a long, passionate hug, perhaps signaling the end of their feud. Darrell Waltrip was quoted as saying it was the "sweetest thing he had ever seen".[18] Busch then won his second race of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch was the first to win three Cup races in 2009, collecting his third win at Richmond International Raceway. With his win in the 2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400, Busch joined Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win on their birthday.

Busch was involved in a violent wreck at the end of the 2009 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway. While leading on the final lap, only yards from the finish line, Tony Stewart and Busch made contact, sending Busch spinning hard into the outside wall, his car nearly flipping over, which was then hit by Kasey Kahne, sending the car up on its nose. Busch took another hard hit in the driver's side from teammate Joey Logano before spinning to a stop in the infield. Stewart won the race.[19]

On August 22, 2009, Kyle Busch won his fourth race of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch would finsh 5th at Richmond, but he missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup by 8 points. Brian Vickers would get the last spot.

2009 Nationwide championship car at Milwaukee

In the Nationwide Series on November 21, 2009, Kyle Busch won both the Nationwide Series finale and his first NASCAR Championship, becoming the first driver since Sam Ard in 1983 to win the season finale and the championship in the same year.[20][21][22] Busch finished the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season with 9 wins, 25 top 5's, and 30 top 10's.

Busch's 2009 season in the newly-renamed Camping World Truck Series started off much like the 2008 season had. Finishing second in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway to Todd Bodine, as they had finished in 2008, Busch then dominated the San Bernardino County 200 a week later at Auto Club Speedway, winning the pole and leading 95 of 100 laps. Bodine finished second – again, the same as the two had finished in this race the year before. The following race, the American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Busch again won the pole, and overcame an ill-handling truck as well as transmission problems to take the lead in the closing laps. Busch was able to hold off Kevin Harvick to win the race for the second year in a row. It was his fourth win in five Truck Series starts at Atlanta. He finished the season with 7 victories.

2010

On December 11, 2009, Kyle Busch announced the formation of Kyle Busch Motorsports that will field two teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010. KBM will have two truck teams running in the series.[23] The #18 Toyota Tundra was to be driven by Busch part-time, with the remainder of races to be driven by Brian Ickler. The second truck, the #56 Toyota Tundra, was to be driven by Tayler Malsam. However, after both Ickler and Malsam accepted jobs to drive in the Nationwide Series, and while suffering financial troubles due to lack of sponsorship, Busch withdrew the #56 from competition and has hired various drivers such as Johnny Benson and Kasey Kahne as well as Brian Ickler to fill in on #18 when Busch wasn't driving it himself.

On August 21, 2010, Kyle Busch became the first driver in NASCAR history to win all 3 NASCAR tour events in one weekend. This was achieved at Bristol with a win for the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, and the Sprint Cup Series. Busch started 19th in his Doublemint Toyota. He worked his way to the front, but Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart led him until a caution came out. Stewart checked up, allowing Tony Raines in the #37 car to hit his rear bumper, losing him the lead and the race. On the restart, Busch passed Johnson for the lead, but soon after Johnson was turned into the wall by Juan Pablo Montoya. Kyle Busch continued on to win the race leading the most laps and setting yet another record. Now Kyle is one of the most dominant forces in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Series. In the Nationwide series he won 13 races in 2010, breaking the all-time record for most Nationwide Series wins in a season previously held by Sam Ard with 10. On October 30, 2010, Busch scored a controversial victory in the Camping World Truck Series Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, which saw Busch's truck wiggle below the track's double-yellow "out-of-bounds" line as Busch made the winning pass on second-place finisher Aric Almirola at the finish line by 0.002 seconds. On November 7, 2010, on lap 160, Busch spun on turn 1, which makes his tires worn out. He went to change fresh tires when he crossed the pit exit first, but got too fast, so he had to go back to pit road. The in-car camera caught Busch flip the finger to the officials, so he had to park his car on his pit road for two laps. He would finish in 32nd place 2 laps down. In Camping World Truck Series he won 8 races and his team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, won the Owners championship.

2011

Busch's car during the 2011 Goody's Fast Relief 500

For 2011, Busch's Speedweeks started off on a low note, as he crashed out of the Budweiser Shootout along with Joey Logano. Busch also raced in all 3 NASCAR events at Daytona, finishing 5th in the Truck Race, 7th in the Nationwide race, and 8th in the Daytona 500. The next week at Phoenix, Busch dominated the Truck race and led every single lap in the Bashas' Supermarkets 200. Busch swept the March weekend at Bristol, his second sweep of a Bristol weekend. On April 30, 2011, Busch won his third straight spring race at Richmond International Raceway, capturing his 2nd win in the 2011 season.

Following an on-track incident with Kevin Harvick during and after the Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway, Busch was fined $25,000 and put on probation for 4 races (plus the All-Star Race).[24]

Following the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, pit reporter Ray Dunlap tweeted, “Hot news from the track. Grandpa Childress put a whipping on Kyle Busch in the truck garage". Dunlap mistakenly referred to him as "kubu", which is Twitter shorthand for Kurt Busch, who was not involved.

It is believed that Busch's post-race bump of Joey Coulter, who drove the #22 Richard Childress Racing-owned Chevrolet Silverado, was in response to Coulter passing Busch on the final lap. About 30 minutes after the race, witnesses say that Childress came up to Busch, put him in a head lock and started punching him. Busch, who was still on probation at the time of the incident, did not violate his probation. Childress, however, was fined $150,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until December 31, 2011. Busch said in an interview that he did not hit Coulter's truck intentionally and that it was a congratulatory bump. He also said that he would pay Childress for the damage on Coulter's truck.[25]

On July 9, Busch won the very first Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Motor Speedway by holding off David Reutimann and Jimmie Johnson. He led the most laps and had a good finish at Watkins Glen with 3rd place when with three laps to go he turned too far in turn 1 and let Brad Keselowski and eventual race winner Marcos Ambrose pass him. August 21, 2011, a week after his heartbreak at Watkins Glen, Busch won the Pure Michigan 400 for his 4th victory of the 2011 season and became the first man to clinch a spot in the Chase. Jeff Gordon was the class of the field late, but after a late race debris caution, Busch beat Gordon and Matt Kenseth out of the pits and held off Jimmie Johnson for the win.

On August 26, 2011 Busch won the Nationwide Series at Bristol Motor Speedway surpassing Mark Martin for the most Nationwide series wins ever, with 50, and also simultaneously became the first driver to win three consecutive races at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Nationwide Series. He also won this race in one of the closest finishes in series history, as he won the race by 0.019 seconds over teammate Joey Logano. Busch also almost contended to win the truck race at Bristol until a controversial incident occurred on lap 100. Elliott Sadler made contact that resulted with Busch hitting the wall and ripping off his wheel. The others slowed down waiting for a caution but by the time it came out Busch using the "Have at it, boys" rule, had already waited for Sadler to come back around and intentionally spun Sadler away from the top ten positions. Elliott Sadler received little damage but his hopes to win were ended. On pit road Busch in his interview said in front of watching KHI members that he believed that since Sadler was driving mostly for KHI that year, Sadler had the whole incident planned with Kevin Harvick who was Busch's #1 rival in the cup series. An unrepentant Sadler maintained that he did not intentionally crash Busch since he was not even driving for KHI that night and both drivers left Bristol without any penalties.

On November 4, 2011, Busch was involved in an incident during the 2011 WinStar World Casino 350K at Texas Motor Speedway. Going 3 wide with the lapped truck of Johnny Chapman, Busch made contact with series regular and Kevin Harvick Inc. championship contender Ron Hornaday, bringing out a caution. Busch rushed to Hornaday's truck during the caution and deliberately turned him into the outside wall, smashing Hornaday's truck and ending Hornaday's title hopes. NASCAR immediately black-flagged Busch for the rest of the race and Busch came onto pit road with a negative response to his interview. The next morning, NASCAR president Mike Helton announced that Busch would remain parked for the remainder of the weekend, including the 2011 O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge and the 2011 AAA Texas 500. NASCAR took this action under rules that allow it to park a driver in order to ensure the "orderly conduct of the event." Helton and Gibbs mutually agreed to this action, though NASCAR would have been within its rights to park Busch on its own. Although it had the effect of a disqualification, it is not considered one for NASCAR rules purposes and is therefore not appealable. Denny Hamlin and Michael McDowell stepped up to replace Busch in both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup series races, respectively. It was the first time since what is now the Camping World Truck Series was launched in 1995 that NASCAR has parked a driver across all three national series, and only the third cross-series sanction in NASCAR's 64-year history.[26] NASCAR's action mathematically eliminated Busch from contention for the Sprint Cup, though any realistic chance of him winning it ended earlier in the Chase.

Later that day, Busch issued an apology to his fans, sponsors and teammates, saying that the Texas incident was "certainly a step backward."[27] He also apologized to Ron Hornaday and his workers and staff of his team KBM immediately offered Hornaday to drive for them next year to apologize. Hornaday stated that he appreciated the offer, but chose to stay loyal to Chevrolet and signed a deal with Joe Denette Motorsports.

On November 7, NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for "actions detrimental to stock car racing." While it lifted the parking directive, it placed Busch on probation for the rest of the year, saying that he would be suspended indefinitely if he commits another offense detrimental to stock car racing or disrupts the orderly conduct of a NASCAR event during the 2011 season.[28]

On November 10, ESPN's David Newton reported that M&M's, the primary sponsor for Busch's Sprint Cup team, refused to sponsor the 18 for the last few races as a result of Busch's behavior in Texas. Newton said that this has led Joe Gibbs Racing to open talks with Aric Almirola about taking over for Busch for the last two Sprint Cup races.[29] Earlier, Z-Line Designs asked that Hamlin take over as the driver for Busch's Nationwide Series team.[30] Later that night, however, it was decided that Busch would remain as the driver for the Sprint Cup team, but secondary sponsor Interstate Batteries was sole sponsor for the final two races of 2011. M&M's would return as sponsor for the 2012 season.[31]

2012

Busch's car during the 2012 Kobalt Tools 400

Recovering from a disastrous 2011, Busch and the #18 team started off their 2012 season on a high note by winning their first Budweiser Shootout, and for 2012, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that they would also race in the Nationwide Series, alongside his brother, Kurt Busch, driving the #54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, but for only fourteen events in the series for him. At Richmond, Kurt Busch won the Nationwide Series race for KBM's first victory in the series, Kyle Busch won the Capital City 400 on April 28, 2012, for the fourth straight year by holding off Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart. Busch and his future teammate Matt Kenseth were also the best average finishers at both Talladega races for the year (Busch finishing second in the spring and third in the fall, with Kenseth finishing third in the spring and winning in the fall). At Watkins Glen International, Busch was leading on the last lap when he slipped in Bobby Labonte's oil. Second-place Brad Keselowski also slipped in the oil and spun Busch in the esses. Marcos Ambrose, third at the time of the white, got by Keselowski in the final corners and won the race. Though Busch ended up being bumped out of the Chase by Jeff Gordon and was winless for the fall, he had seven top-5 finishes in the ten Chase races, led the most laps at three of them, and had eight top-10s (4th at Chicagoland, 7th at Dover, 3rd at Talladega, 5th at Charlotte, 2nd at Martinsville, 3rd at Texas and Phoenix, and 4th at Homestead). He ended the season 13th in points, the best finish among non-Chasers. The last race of the year in the Camping World Truck Series race at Homestead where he was upset by rookie Cale Gale and he broke the streak of 9 years with a win in both Trucks and the Nationwide series.

2013

Kyle Busch put his NNS #54 Monster Energy team to be run under Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2013 NNS season and renewed his cup deal with Joe Gibbs Racing.

In 2013, Busch crashed out of the Sprint Unlimited early on lap 14, but recovered to win the Second Budweiser Duel; Busch got the lead after Jeff Gordon was penalized for speeding on pit road. Busch said in victory lane that he won with help of a push from Matt Kenseth in the final laps to hold off Kasey Kahne. His win in the Duel put him in third spot in the 2013 Daytona 500. Although Busch ran as high as second place during the 500, his day ended on lap 150 with engine failure, merely laps after Kenseth had retired with engine failure.

Busch qualified pole, and led 142 of 200 laps in his win in Dollar General 200 in Phoenix Raceway in the Nationwide Series. The win ends the win drought since Virginia 529 College Savings 250 in Richmond International Raceway in September 2011, the second-longest in his career. He then claimed victory in the Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway by less than .025 seconds. The win gives him his 7th victory at the circuit in Nationwide series (and 5th in the event, and ties former rival Kevin Harvick for the most wins at that circuit and event in the series. At that same weekend, Busch won the Sprint Cup pole with a new track qualifying record. He finished second after rallying back from a speeding penalty.

At Fontana, Busch dominated the weekend, winning both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races. In the Nationwide race, he gave Joe Gibbs Racing their 5th consecutive win, a 2nd consecutive win for himself, and 6th win in the circuit in the Nationwide series on Toyota team's home track.[32] The next day, in the Cup race, Busch dominated, leading 125 laps on the way to his first victory of the season, and also Joe Gibbs Racing's first Sprint Cup win at Fontana. He almost lost the win in the final laps when former Gibbs teammate Joey Logano overtook him. But in the final lap, Logano and Busch's teammate Denny Hamlin were fighting for the lead, and when they drove hard into turn 3, Busch took advantage of an opening to slip past both cars before they touched and crashed, holding off Dale Earnhardt, Jr. coming back to the finish line. This snapped for Busch a 31-race winless streak with his victory and had given Joe Gibbs their first victory at Fontana. Of trivial note, leading up to the win, Busch had finished at Fontana in a reverse style; 3rd in 2011, 2nd in 2012 and then first in 2013.

Busch won his second Sprint Cup pole of the season at Texas, narrowly overtaking elder brother Kurt to do so. Once again, Busch dominated and completed a successful weekend sweep: after winning the Sprint Cup pole, he won the Nationwide race on Friday night after overtaking Brad Keselowski in the final 15 laps; causing him to take the NNS championship lead from Regan Smith by 7 points, although this was in owner's points as Busch is racing for driver points in the Sprint Cup Series. In the Cup race on Saturday night, Busch started on pole, and led 171 of 334 laps (close to 50% of the race), assuming the win by beating Martin Truex, Jr. off pit road during pit stops under the last caution flag of the night. This was Busch's 26th Sprint Cup win, and his seventh Nationwide/Sprint Cup weekend sweep, second of 2013. Of trivial note, Busch also ended up joining a family of drivers including Ned Jarrett, Rusty Wallace and Kasey Kahne who had all won a race in their 300th start.

Busch's form didn't carry into the next weekend at Kansas though, as he was crashed in both the Truck and Sprint Cup races. In the Cup race, he qualified in the top-ten, but he spun out early on lap 5. Later, on lap 102, Busch spun again and then collected Joey Logano. He finished 38th.

At Richmond, he wasn't having a better time. He started 8th and finished 24th.

At Talladega, Busch started 13th, but was involved in another crash and finished in 37th. It was the third straight race that Busch finished outside the top 20.

At Darlington, Busch started 3rd and lead the most laps with 265 and was on his way to winning. In the waning laps, car owner Joe Gibbs' cars were 1-2-3 (Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin). With 13 laps to go, Busch's teammate, Kenseth, closed in on him. Busch's car then started getting a little bit slower and tighter (understeer) as Kenseth overtook him. Busch fell back and finished in 6th place. His teammates, Kenseth and Hamlin, finished 1-2. It was later learned that Busch's right rear tire had a cut in it and he finished the race with only 12 pounds of air in it. Busch moved up 2 spots into 8th place in the standings.

American Canadian Tour

On July 24, 2011, Busch won $31,900 at the 38th annual TD Bank 250 presented by New England Dodge Dealers in Oxford, Maine. Busch defeated the young Austin Theriault, Nick Sweet and two-time TD Bank 250 winner Eddie MacDonald. Kyle Busch became only the second active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to win New England's largest short track race. Kevin Harvick is the only other active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to win the race with his victory in 2008. The 2011 event was Kyle Busch's first ever TD Bank 250 win in three attempts. (He also entered the race in 2005 and 2006.) Busch was excited about the race win saying "I've had this one on my list of big races that I wanted to win and now that I've done it, it feels great - it was everything I thought it would be." Kyle drove his own Kyle Busch Motorsports number 51 late model with sponsorship from HP Hood's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips.

Busch also won the 150 lap PASS (Pro All Star Series) super late model touring series race at Oxford Plains Speedway the night before the TD Bank 250 driving the Kyle Busch Motorsports number 51 Aaron's Dream Machine.

Formula One

Busch was one of three American drivers under consideration to drive for the US-based Formula One team US F1, along with Alexander Rossi and Jonathan Summerton before the team folded due to economic issues. Busch was scheduled to test drive a Toyota F1 car at the end of 2008 season, but could not make it in the end because of a commitment to the Nationwide Series banquet.

Kyle Busch Foundation

According to the KBFoundation Mission Statement, The Kyle Busch Foundation is dedicated to providing essential tools for less fortunate children throughout the country. KBF will concentrate its efforts on assisting organizations in fostering a safe environment for children to live, learn and challenge themselves as well as seeing that day to day needs are met.[33] His foundation sponsors his #51 late model which is driven by Alex Haase. Busch also has personal sponsorship deals in place with Monster Energy and Electric Visual, with both appearing on his late model at one time or another.

During the 2008 season, Busch announced the "Kyle's Miles" program, inviting consumers to go to www.dogsrule.com.[34] Kyle's Miles is a team-up with Pedigree to help dogs in shelters and breed rescue organizations.

Personal life

Kyle Busch married Samantha Sarcinella on December 31, 2010 in Chicago. Sarcinella is a native of St. John, Indiana and a graduate of Purdue University.

On May 24, 2011, Busch was cited for reckless driving and speeding in Troutman, North Carolina, driving 128 mph (206 km/h) in a 45 mph (72 km/h) speed limit zone.[35] He claims he got carried away test driving a Lexus LFA and issued a public apology. On August 23, 2011, he received a $1,000 fine and had his license suspended for 45 days after he pleaded guilty to speeding. He was also ordered to serve 30 hours of community service and placed on one year of unsupervised probation.[36]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

* Season in progress

NASCAR Nationwide Series

* Season in progress
1 Ineligible for Nationwide Series championship points.

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Statistics

Year Races Wins Poles Top 5 Top 10 DNF Avg. Finish Avg. Start Winnings Season Rank Team(s)
2004 6 0 0 0 0 4 35.2 27.2 $394,489 52nd Hendrick Motorsports
2005 36 2 1 9 13 8 21.0 18.6 $4,730,471 20th Hendrick Motorsports
2006 36 1 1 10 18 2 15.5 14.9 $6,077,337 10th Hendrick Motorsports
2007 36 1 0 11 20 2 14.1 15.0 $6,475,098 5th Hendrick Motorsports
2008 36 8 2 17 21 2 12.5 11.9 $8,276,725 10th Joe Gibbs Racing
2009 36 4 1 9 13 2 15.4 12.2 $6,945,752 13th Joe Gibbs Racing
2010 36 3 2 10 18 3 14.0 15.8 $7,447,367 8th Joe Gibbs Racing
2011 35 4 1 14 18 3 12 14.6 $5,633,641 12th Joe Gibbs Racing
2012 36 1 2 13 20 4 13.3 10.2 $6,559,390 13th Joe Gibbs Racing
2013 11 2 2 5 6 2 15.9 6.1 $2,506,735 8th Joe Gibbs Racing
Totals 301 26 12 98 146 27 17.0 14.7 $48,465,671

(Data current as of April 13, 2013)[37]

  • 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in progress

See also

References

  1. ^ "Busch's Childhood". Kyle Busch Foundation.
  2. ^ "Kyle Busch". wetpaint.com. April 11, 2008.
  3. ^ Pistone, Pete (June 13, 2007). "Hendrick makes room at inn; now Junior's all out of excuses". CBS SportsLine.
  4. ^ "Busch Gets First Career Win". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. May 15, 2004.
  5. ^ "Busch dominates at Michigan". St Petersburg Times. Florida. The Associated Press. August 22, 2004.
  6. ^ McCormick, Steve (September 5, 2005). "Kyle Busch takes first career win with California score". About.com.
  7. ^ "Kyle Busch". About.com. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  8. ^ "Kyle Busch". timeken.com. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  9. ^ Parsons, Keith (May 23, 2005). "Busch dominates for first career Truck Series win". nascar.com. The Associated Press.
  10. ^ "Blaney becomes Truck Series' youngest winner". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Busch wins first COT race by beating Burton, Gordon". nascar.com. March 25, 2007.
  12. ^ Busch announces plans to leave Hendrick. scenedaily.com (2007-06-11)
  13. ^ Dutton, Monte (14 June 2007). "Notebook: Busch denies he wants to leave Hendrick". Gaston (N.C.) Gazette. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Kyle Busch Career Statistics". Racing-Reference.info. 1985-05-02. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
  15. ^ Hinton, Ed (August 24, 2008). "Edwards brings Bristol crowd to its feet with postrace spinout of Busch". ESPN.com.
  16. ^ Express, The Washington Post, August 28, 2008, p. 16.
  17. ^ "KB: Craftsman Truck Pole Sitter Carolina Education Lottery 200".
  18. ^ "Busch brothers hug it out in Vegas". FanNation.com. March 4, 2009.
  19. ^ Ganguli, Tania (5 July 2009). "Stewart Crashes Way Into Winner's Circle". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  20. ^ "Busch wins title by starting finale". ESPN.com. The Associated Press. November 22, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  21. ^ Livingstone, Seth (November 22, 2009). "Busch basks in Nationwide title as Hamlin, Keselowski feud". usatoday.com. USA Today. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  22. ^ "News/Notes from Homestead". jayski.com. ESPN. November 23, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
  23. ^ Kyle Busch Motorsports to field two trucks in 2010. Racewayreport.com. Retrieved on 2012-03-13.
  24. ^ Newton, David. "Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch punished". ESPN.com. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  25. ^ NASCAR looking into Childress-Busch altercation – NASCAR – Sporting News. Aol.sportingnews.com (2011-06-04). Retrieved on 2012-03-13.
  26. ^ Rodman, Dave. Busch out at Texas. NASCAR.com, 2011-11-05.
  27. ^ Open letter posted on Busch's Website
  28. ^ Official release from NASCAR
  29. ^ Aric Almirola could drive for Kyle Busch. ESPN, 2011-11-10.
  30. ^ Report: Sponsor wants Kyle Busch out. ESPN, 2011-11-10.
  31. ^ Newton, David. Kyle Busch to return without M&M's. ESPN, 2011-11-10.
  32. ^ Final Laps of 2013 NASCAR Nationwide race at Auto Club
  33. ^ "KBFoundation Mission Statement".
  34. ^ ""Kyle's Miles" Drives NASCAR Fans Crazy For The Cause Of Dog Adoption". carjunky.com. May 13, 2008.
  35. ^ [1][dead link]
  36. ^ "Kyle Busch has driver's license suspended for 45 days". Sporting News. August 23, 2011. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  37. ^ "Kyle Busch Career Statistics". Racing-Reference.info. 1985-05-02. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
Sporting positions
Preceded by NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion
2009 		Succeeded by
Achievements
Preceded by NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year
2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Budweiser Shootout Winner
2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Snowball Derby Winner
2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by TD Bank 250 Winner
2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prelude to the Dream Winner
2012 		Succeeded by
Incumbent

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