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2013 Daytona: Kyle Busch NASCAR Truck Race Preview
Since becoming a Toyota-powered competitor in 2008, Kyle Busch has provided the manufacturer with a remarkable 84 victories across NASCAR's top three series, most notably, their first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March of 2008. In Friday night's NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Busch will be looking to put his No. 51 Toyota Care Tundra into victory lane and celebrate another milestone win with Toyota, their 100th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory.
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After running just three Truck Series races in 2012, Kyle Busch Motorsports' (KBM) owner-driver has increased his schedule to 10 events in 2013, all with sponsorship from Toyota Care - - the complimentary maintenance plan provided with the purchase or lease of every new Toyota. In his three events last season, the Las Vegas native scored two runner-up finishes and a fourth-place result.
Over 10 seasons as a competitor in the Truck Series, all limited schedules, the 27-year-old driver has registered 30 career victories, which trails only Ron Hornaday's series-leading 51 wins. Busch's career Truck Series Driver Rating of 119.3 and Average Finish of 7.4 rank first all-time among Truck Series drivers. With 20 runner-up finishes to go along with his 30 wins, he has finished in the top two in 48.1% of his 104 career starts in NASCAR's third division.
Getting Toyota to victory lane is something that Busch has become accustomed to the last five seasons. He has contributed the most individual wins for Toyota in each of NASCAR's top three series, registering 20 of their 49 career Sprint Cup Series victories, 40 of their 74 Nationwide Series victories and 24 of their 99 Camping World Truck Series victories. In addition to his 24 wins as a Tundra driver, Busch's has been a part of four additional Toyota Truck Series wins as an owner, with Kasey Kahne (1), Denny Hamlin (2) and Brian Scott (1) all registering victories for KBM.
After a rough 2012 season, Busch will be looking to get off to a fast start in all three series in 2013. There would be no better way to start off the 2013 season then being able to reward Toyota for their support of his No. 51 Tundra by taking care of their 100th Truck Series win Friday night.
Kyle Busch, Driver of the No. 51 NCWTS Toyota Care Tundra:
What would it mean to you to earn Toyota's 100th Truck Series win?
"It would be great to get Toyota their 100th Truck Series win Friday night as a reward for everything they've done for me as a driver and a team owner the last five years. With racing in all three series at Daytona, it's pretty cool that I'll have the chance to collect three milestone wins for Toyota -- their 100th Truck Series win on Friday night, their 75th Nationwide Series win on Saturday and their 50th Sprint Cup Series win on Sunday. I was able to get Toyota's first Cup Series victory back in 2008 and that was pretty special. Hopefully, we can add a few milestone victories for them at Daytona to start the season and many more across all three series in the years to come."
What does it mean to be carrying a sponsor associated with your manufacturer?
"Being a part of the Toyota Family -- as both a driver and a team owner -- I can attest to the outstanding service Toyota provides its customers and I look forward to promoting their Toyota Care maintenance plan in the Truck Series this season. The support that Toyota and Toyota Racing Development provides to its race teams is unparalleled and is one of the main reasons that we've been able to collect 18 wins over our first three seasons in the Truck Series. With my 10-race schedule this season and having two talented young drivers in Joey (Coulter) and Darrell (Wallace Jr.) driving full-time, hopefully we can take Toyota to victory lane several times this season and help lead them to the Manufacturers' Championship."
Rick Ren, Crew Chief of the No. 51 NCWTS Toyota Care Tundra:
Are you looking forward to having Kyle run more Truck Series races this season?
"I think having Kyle run more races this season will be good for KBM as a team and Kyle as driver. He seems to be at his best when he is behind the wheel driving in all three series. I don't think it's a coincidence that his best stretch last year came at the end of the season when he was running more races. Having two young drivers in Joey (Coulter) and Darrell (Wallace Jr.), it will be good for them to have Kyle as a teammate for 10 races. It will give them a good resource to ask questions and help speed up their learning curves -- especially Darrell with it being his first time in the trucks."
Kyle Busch's No. 51 Toyota Care Tundra:
KBM-F59: The last time the Tundra was in action, rookie German Quiroga started 23rd and finished eighth in the last year's Truck Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Josh Richards finished 13th with the Toyota at Talladega in 2011 and Tayler Malsam earned a 17th-place result in the truck's inaugural appearance for KBM at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in 2010.
Notes of Interest:
Kyle Busch @ Daytona:
• Has collected three top-five finishes, including two second-place results, resulting in an average finish of 7.8 across five NCWTS starts
• Has registered 1 win (7/5/08 ), 5 top-five and six top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 18.0 across 16 NSCS starts
• Won the 2012 Budweiser Shootout non-points paying race (2/18/12)
• Has registered 1 win (7/7/07 ), six top-five and 8 top-10 resulting in an average finish of 14.4 across 18 NNS starts
• Won the 2004 ARCA Racing Series event (2/7/04)
Kyle Busch 2012 Camping World Truck Series:
• Produced two runner-up finishes and a fourth-place result in three NCWTS starts
Kyle Busch Camping World Truck Series Career:
• Ranks first all-time among NCWTS drivers with a career driver rating of 119.3 and an average finish of 7.4
• Ranks second in NCWTS history in wins (30), fourth in laps led (4,330), tied for sixth in poles (12) and ninth in top five-finishes (62)
• Has won 28.8% of the NCWTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 48.1%
• Led the NCWTS in wins for three consecutive season from 2009 - 2011; 2009 (7), 2010 (8) and 2011 (6)
• 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
• 105 All-Time Combined NASCAR National Series wins rank third all-time (Petty 200, Pearson 106)
• As an owner-driver in 2010, his series-leading eight wins helped KBM become the first team since the NCWTS originated in 1995 to capture an Owner's Championship in its inaugural season
• In August of 2010, made history when he won the NCWTS, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway, becoming the only driver to sweep all three of NASCAR's top three series at one track on the same weekend
• One of 10 drivers in NASCAR history to lead over 20,000 laps among the top three series
Kyle Busch Motorsports' No. 51 Tundra:
• KBM's second entry produced top-10 results in two of its five starts in 2012; Denny Hamlin drove the No. 51 to victory in the Kroger 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Germán Quiroga finished eighth in the fred's 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
Kyle Busch and Toyota:
In just five seasons as a Toyota-powered driver, Busch has registered a remarkable 84 victories for the manufacturer across NASCAR's top three series, including their first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March of 2008. The Las Vegas native has contributed the most individual wins for Toyota in each of NASCAR's top three series, registering 20 of their 49 career Sprint Cup Series victories, 40 of their 74 Nationwide Series victories and 24 of their 99 Camping World Truck Series victories.
"Rowdy" Returns to the No. 51
After three seasons of piloting KBM's No. 18 Tundra, "Rowdy" returns to the No. 51 for Friday night's NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. Busch registered 13 wins, 26 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes in 46 races driving the No. 51 for Billy Ballew from 2006 to 2009 before starting KBM and moving to the No. 18 in 2010.
The Ren File:
KBM General Manager Rick Ren, who with 28 victories is the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history, will be calling the shots for the No. 51 Toyota Care Tundra on Friday night. Ren's drivers have posted an average finish of 13.6 across eight starts at Daytona, including two top-five and four top-10 finishes. The Illinois native's best finish at "The World Center of Racing" was a third-place finish with Andy Houston in the 2000 event.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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