Four series champions honored at NNS/NCWTS banquet in Miami

NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Brad Keselowski,
center, with crew chief Paul Wolfe and team owner Roger Penske.

·   Brad Keselowski, No. 18 JGR Toyota Are NASCAR Nationwide Series Driver, Owner Champions
 
·   Todd Bodine, No. 18 KBM Toyota Win Driver, Owner Titles in NASCAR Camping World Trucks

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 22, 2010) – For the first time in NASCAR national series history, four championships in two different series were awarded simultaneously.

NASCAR Nationwide Series team owner champions Joe Gibbs Racing
with (from left) Jason Ratcliff, Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs and J.D. Gibbs.

Brad Keselowski and Todd Bodine officially were crowned the 2010 driver champions of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, respectively, on the Americana Ballroom stage at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Monday evening.

Keselowski was honored with his first NASCAR national series title as champion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Bodine received his second championship ring in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, joining Ron Hornaday Jr. (four) and Jack Sprague (two) as the only drivers in the series with multiple titles.

Also, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota captured a record-tying third consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series owner championship, while the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota won the owner crown in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as a first-year team.

The champions were joined on stage by the drivers who finished in positions 2-5 in the final standings, along with each series’ Raybestos Rookie of the Year.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine.

After a fan vote on NASCAR.com, each series’ Most Popular Driver also was revealed. Keselowski and Narain Karthikeyan were chosen by the fans in the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, respectively. Keselowski took home the award for the third consecutive year, tying him with Kenny Wallace for the most awards in that category.

Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Justin Allgaier and Paul Menard finished second through fifth and were honored along with Keselowski in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team champions
Eric Phillips, Kyle Busch and Rick Ren.

Aric Almirola, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton and Austin Dillon were second through fifth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, and joined Bodine on stage.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Dillon claimed the honor in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Stenhouse is the fifth rookie winner for Jack Roush.

SPEED personalities Rick Allen and Krista Voda served as hosts of the event. The NASCAR Nationwide Series/NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Awards Banquet will air on Dec. 3 from 7 to 9 p.m. ET on SPEED, prior to the live telecast of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony from Las Vegas.

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Kyle Busch Motorsports to hold grand opening Oct. 14

Fan appreciation activities include autograph session with Busch, Brian Ickler

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 6, 2010) – Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), which recently moved into its newly completed corporate headquarters and race shop in Mooresville, invites race fans to its KBM Grand Opening and Fan Appreciation Day festivities on Thursday, Oct. 14.

Among the events and fan attractions on tap for the event, which begins at 9 a.m. and lasts until 6 p.m., is a morning autograph session featuring KBM driver-owner Kyle Busch and his fellow driver of the No. 18 KBM Toyota Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Brian Ickler. The autograph session is slated for a 9:30 a.m. start and will be limited to the first 200 fans who purchase a wristband for $2, proceeds from which benefit the Kyle Busch Foundation. Wristbands will be available on-site beginning at 8:30 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. A maximum of two items per wristband purchase will be autographed.

Fans attending the Grand Opening and Fan Appreciation Day festivities can tour the high-tech and environmentally friendly 77,000-square-foot KBM facility, where the team builds and prepares its stable of Toyota Tundra racetrucks.

Racetrucks and showcars will be on display in the KBM showroom, and fans can try their hands at a tire-changing display and take a turn at racing Traxxas radio-controlled cars. Fans can also find a variety of KBM merchandise and memorabilia in the brand new Rowdy Store at the facility.

“We are extremely happy with how our facility has turned out, and we’re excited about the opportunity to open our doors to our fans and let them inside for an up-close-and-personal look at the world of Kyle Busch Motorsports,” said Busch, the 25-year-old driving phenom whose Truck Series team has positioned itself to challenge for the 2010 owner’s championship in its very first season.

“We’re proud of our team, we’re thankful for our sponsors and supporters, and we’re so glad to invite everyone to our race shop,” Busch continued. “Actually, I think ‘corporate headquarters’ is a more appropriate description of what we have here. Not only do we build and prepare our racetrucks, we also are equipped to conduct executive meetings and gatherings for our partners and prospective partners on a daily basis. And we’re also proud of the fact that our facility has become a cornerstone for a number of ‘green’ initiatives. There are enough cutting-edge technologies involved in the construction of our building to put it on a path to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which would be something that’s unprecedented in motorsports facilities, whether it’s in NASCAR, IndyCar or Formula 1. That’s something in itself to be proud of. We welcome our fans to come out, see what we have going on here, and have a great time.”

Drinks and cookies will be sampled from NOS Energy Drink and Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, as well as items for purchase, which include Mars, Inc., brands of candies and snack foods, Moose Juice slurpee products, as well as hamburgers and hot dogs sold by the truck drivers association.

Raffle tickets will also be available for a chance to win the grand prize in this year’s “Win Kyle’s Tundra” promotion, in which the winner receives a 2010 Toyota Tundra pickup, as well as round-trip airfare and accommodations for two to the Nov. 12-14 NASCAR race weekend at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. Details about the promotion, which benefits the Kyle Busch Foundation, can be found at www.WinKylesTundra.com.
 
Kyle Busch Motorsports is located at 351 Mazeppa Road in Mooresville. There will be free parking across the street from the facility on the day of the Grand Opening and Fan Appreciation Day.

Late updates and more information can be found at www.kylebuschmotorsports.com

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#18 Crew Wins Pit Road Award at AAA 400

At Dover International Speedway

Photo courtesy of @SamSarcinella

Kyle Busch's Crew Captures NASCAR Sprint Cup Pit Road Award At Dover

Kyle Busch's pit crew claimed the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Sunday's AAA 400 Sprint Cup race (Sept. 26) at Dover International Speedway.

It was the third Tissot win of the season for the No. 18 crew, which moved into a three-way tie for second place in the Tissot standings. Jeff Gordon's No. 24 crew continues to lead with four wins.

The weekly-winning crew receives $5,000 from Tissot plus a Tissot V8 Quartz Chronograph watch. The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will receive a $105,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the over-the-wall crew members and driver.

The Joe Gibbs Racing team finished 1-2-3 in the Tissot pit road competition in Dover with Busch's No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota spending the least amount of time on pit road - 254.478 seconds. Denny Hamlin's No. 11 FedEx Toyota was second (255.463) and coming in third was Joey Logano's No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (257.578).

The No. 18 over-the-wall crew consists of: Nick Odell (front-tire changer), Brad Donaghy (front-tire carrier), Jake Seminara (rear-tire changer), Kenny Barber (rear-tire carrier), Jeff Fender (jackman), Tom Lampe (gasman), Jason Hinson (catch can). The team's pit crew coach is Mike Lepp and the crew chief is Dave Rogers.

"I'm real proud of this Interstate Batteries / M&M's over-the-wall gang," said Rogers. "They've been extremely fast and reliable all year. The Tissot Pit Road Precision Award is a testament to their speed, but their talent goes far beyond that. They are a fun group of guys to work with, they keep their egos in check, and they thrive on pressure. These guys are the real deal and are instrumental in the success of this race team."

Post credited to PaddockTalk NASCAR News

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Kyle Busch: One Down and One 2 Go!

Another Double at Dover?

On Saturday afternoon the #18 NOS Toyota Camry not only gave Toyota their 14th win for 2010, it broke the record for most wins in a season, giving Kyle his 11th win for the season. Having led 192 laps out of 200, Kyle made history, and broke the record previously set in 2008. In his career at the Dover Oval, Busch has taken the checkered flag 11 times out of a total of 23 races, a stat that he hopes to increase one more time this weekend. Kyle is also tied with Todd Bodine 'Onionhead' for most wins at Dover by a NNS driver with three.

Sunday's Sprint Cup AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway is Kyle’s chance to prove it wasn’t a fluke when he doubled at Dover last May. It was more than just luck when he beat out #48 Lowes Chevy. He is a definite contender in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

In an interview on Tuesday, the driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries for JGR said, "Our game plan (for Dover) is to try to repeat what we can from the Spring race. Obviously we had a good race going, qualified well. We raced well all through the event. Towards the end of the race, it came down to the final pit stop and we were able to get out of there smoothly and cleanly.

Kyle went on to say,"We'll just go back there with our Interstate Batteries Camry and try to make the most of the event and the weekend and get a good, strong finish and keep our momentum rolling here; Trying to get through the final 10 races strong in order to get the championship come Homestead."

With the #48 Lowes Chevy sitting on Pole for the 2nd Race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, this could be a chance for the #18 Interstate Battery Camry to strengthen its position in its pursuit and prove that JGR is among the top competitors in the series.

Sitting at 3rd in the point standings, Kyle had a qualifying run of 154.619 mph and will be starting 11th, 0.167 behind the 4x champion, and new Daddy, Jimmie Johnson.

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Kyle Busch extends winning streak at Chicagoland (NCWTS recap)

Kyle Busch celebrates in victory lane
Friday at Chicagoland Speedway.
(Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)

By Lee Montgomery
Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

JOLIET, Ill. (August 27, 2010) —What can slow down Kyle Busch? Perhaps only the checkered flag.

Busch won his second consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and his fourth national series race in a row by dominating the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 on Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch swept all three NASCAR national series races at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend and continued his winning ways at Chicagoland. He led three times for 121 laps for his fourth truck series win in nine starts in 2010.

Busch now has 17 wins across the Sprint Cup (three wins), Nationwide (10) and truck series this year.

The only drama for Busch came on pit road under two separate caution flags. On Lap 81, Busch’s gasman had trouble with the second gas can, and Busch lost four spots for the restart. But he charged to the lead on Lap 98 after another caution slowed the race.

On Lap 126, Busch changed four tires on his No. 18 Toyota, with several other drivers taking two. Busch restarted sixth but passed three cars on the first green-flag lap and got the lead on Lap 131.

Busch also survived a late-race thrust from Todd Bodine, who made an inside move on Busch with six laps to go but slipped and lost ground. Busch then held off Bodine on a green-white-checkered finish after Timothy Peters blew an engine. The race went four laps beyond the scheduled 150 on the 1.5-mile track.

Bodine ended up second, with Ron Hornaday Jr. third, Johnny Sauter fourth and rookie Justin Lofton fifth. Aric Almirola, Matt Crafton, Rick Crawford, Austin Dillon and David Starr completed the top 10.

The victory was Toyota’s 75th in the truck series since 2004, when it entered NASCAR competition. It also marks Busch's 20th victory in the truck series.



EnjoyIllinois.com 225 results:

1. Kyle Busch    
2. Todd Bodine    
3. Ron Hornaday    
4. Johnny Sauter    
5. Justin Lofton    
6. Aric Almirola    
7. Matt Crafton    
8. Rick Crawford
9. Austin Dillon 
10. David Starr
11. Jason White
12. James Buescher
13. Chris Fontaine    
14. Narain Karthikeyan
15. Ryan Sieg
16. Brad Sweet    
17. Tony Jackson Jr.    
18. Steve Park
19. Mario Gosselin
20. Johanna Long
21. Timothy Peters
22. Jennifer Jo Cobb
23. Mike Skinner
24. Norm Benning
25. Lance Fenton
26. Jerick Johnson
27. Ken Butler III
28. Ricky Carmichael
29. Jamie Dick
30. J C Stout    
31. Shelby Howard
32. Chris Jones
33. Mike Garvey    
34. Mike Harmon    
35. Brent Raymer
36. Tim Andrews

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Press Release: Busch Makes History with Bristol Hat Trick

Date: Aug. 21, 2010
Event: Irwin Tools Night Race (Round 24 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)
Start/Finish:    19^th/1^st (Running, completed 500 of 500 laps)
Winner:           Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)


Kyle Busch scored the elusive hat trick at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway by winning Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. The 25-year-old swept the slate of NASCAR races at the .533-mile oval, winning the Camping World Truck Series race Wednesday night and the Nationwide Series race Friday night before wheeling his No. 18 Doublemint Toyota to victory in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race.

“It means a lot,” said Busch after notching his 19^th career Sprint Cup victory, his third of the season and his fourth at Bristol. “I’m out of breath. I’ve been screaming the whole time. Normally, you take your time to get your breath back, but I used it all up. Man, I can’t say enough about this team, Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports earlier this week. This Doublemint Camry was awesome today. What a great racecar. It’s the second time we ran it this year, and the second race for Doublemint, and we won for them. Again, I can’t thank these guys enough. Flawless pit stops. These guys were awesome.”

Busch led four times for a race-high 282 laps in Saturday night’s race, and coupled with his victories in the Nationwide and Truck Series events, the Las Vegas native led 514 of a possible 956 circuits throughout the weekend.



“It’s pretty cool because when you come so close and then don’t get it, it’s pretty frustrating,” said Busch, who now has 78 victories across NASCAR’s top-three divisions (Sprint Cup – 19, Nationwide – 40, Camping World Truck – 19). “I mean, last year we won the Truck race and were leading the Nationwide race and we got crashed out, and then we ended up winning the Cup race. So this is probably a year delayed. I’m just real appreciative of what was able to happen tonight. It was pretty special, and I feel a lot about how this team has worked so much through the past few weeks to try to get ourselves back on track.
Coming to Bristol you could say, yeah, well, we’re supposed to run well here. But still, it’s 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.”

Busch started 19^th in the 500-lap race and it didn’t take him long to carve his way up through the field.

He was leading by lap 172 and was challenged during the midpoint of the race by Jimmie Johnson, David Reutimann and Jamie McMurray. Johnson crashed on lap 263 and then Reutimann and McMurray had nothing for Busch at the end. The Doublemint driver led the final 71 laps and beat Reutimann to the line by .677 of a second, while McMurray came home third.

“The pit stops tonight were flawless,” Busch said. “Jimmie beat us out one time just because of pit selection. Unfortunately, he had his troubles, but we were able to just get out there and kind of set sail. We had a really fast racecar. Coming through the field was fun. Passing in front of those guys and working traffic the way you had to work traffic and just kind of picking and choosing your way – do you go high, do you go low? You had to have a car that would really work anywhere.


“I was unsure going in about how good our car was going to be, but Dave (Rogers, crew chief) made some really good adjustments this morning and thought about it over the night to get us a good car for today. This Doublemint Camry was awesome, and it goes back to good teamwork.”

Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates – Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry – finished 18^th and 34^th, respectively.

Clint Bowyer finished fourth and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five. Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were seven caution periods for 39 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish.

With 24 of 36 races in the books, Busch continues to lead the Joe Gibbs Racing trio in the championship point standings. His win bumped him up five spots to third place, where he has 3,170 points and is 351 markers behind series leader Kevin Harvick. Hamlin dropped two spots to fifth and has 3,108 points, 413 points arrears Harvick. Logano remained 21^stin the standings and has 2,636 points, 284 points back of 12^th-place Bowyer, who currently holds the final spot for the 12-driver Chase for the Championship, which will be decided in the next two races.

The Sprint Cup Series takes a rare weekend off before returning to action at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Sept. 5 Emory Healthcare 500. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.

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Scranton dealership to host meet-and-great with Kyle Busch

In anticipation of this weekend's races at Pocono Raceway, Kyle Busch will make an appearance at the Toyota of Scranton dealership, 3400 N. Main Ave., Scranton, on Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The event kicks off with a press conference. Busch will take questions from media and fans and will be on hand to sign autographs. There will be food, racecars on display and simulators.

Toyota of Scranton will sponsor the No. 18 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports in Saturday's inaugural Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway. Kasey Kahne will pilot the No. 18 truck in the Pocono Mountains 125. Busch will be competing later that day in the Nationwide Series event at Iowa Speedway.

Busch is the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. He won the pole for the June race at Pocono Raceway and will attempt his first win at the track in Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. He has two Cup wins this season and sits sixth in the championship standings.

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Fans In The Stands - My ORP Experience!

For the last three years, my mom and I have scored two free Brickyard tickets. This year, we weren't so lucky. My mom had told me that we would go to the Brickyard this year even if we didn't get free tickets. The weekend of the Brickyard 400 was upon us and my mom told me that we wouldn't be going to the famous track this year. I was bummed but I understood why we weren't able to go. Then she said we would be going to the Nationwide Series race at O'Reilly Raceway Park aka ORP! I was so excited because I had never been to ORP and I had learned that Kyle Busch would be driving in the #18 Toyota Camry!

The following day, I learned that Lacy Keyser, a fellow writer for Skirts & Scuffs, would be flying out to Indy for her first ever NASCAR race weekend by attending the Nationwide and Cup races! We had gotten to know each other on Twitter and had become good friends. I was excited to meet her! I had tweeted Ashley Allgaier, Nationwide driver Justin Allgaier's wife, that I would be attending the race because I had wanted to meet her. We had talked on Twitter a few times and had wanted to meet each other at Eldora but it didn't work out. The Friday before the race, Ashley had direct messaged me on Twitter saying that if my mom and I needed tickets that she had 2 free extra tickets and wanted to know if we wanted them. I said yes that we would love them and thanked her over and over again. It was so nice of her to give us the extra tickets! Ashley is such a nice and down to earth person.


Saturday, July 24, 2010, I woke up early and got ready for the Nationwide race. Oh man, I was so excited. I had been talking to Lacy and Ashley before we got there so we could make arrangements to meet up. First my mom and I met Ashley Allgaier. She meet us by the gate and handed over the tickets. We talked for a little bit and then she had to go get ready for qualifying. I was so shy and didn't talk much, I felt bad after she left. She was so nice. Then, my mom and I walked around for a little bit and I got a direct message from Lacy asking where I was and I was getting ready to reply back and I noticed a girl walking around with a Amp #88 hat and a Brad Keselowski shirt on.

"Lacy?", I said and she said "Kiara?".

We talked for a little bit and then parted ways. She was very nice and funny. I was glad that I got to finally meet her. My mom and I walked around some more and then made our way to our seats to watch qualifying. Kyle was right there in front of me and I was freaking out...like always :) I was also talking to Lacy through direct message on Twitter, we were talking about qualifying and what we were going to do after qualifying. Qualifying ended and Trevor Bayne was on the pole! I was happy because I had meet him two days before! He was very sweet! Mom and I got up from out seats and walked around to find my moms friend.

While I was sitting there, Lacy dm'ed me and asked if I wanted to meet up again and get a picture for S&S! I said of course and I went and found her. We took some pictures together and got some NOS energy drink (yum!). Then we walked around for about 20-25 minutes just talking about different stuff. It was great, Lacy is a wonderful person to talk to! She is very nice and I hope to one day meet her again! We parted ways because driver introductions were about to start. I got back to my seat and looked on pit road, Kyle Busch's Toyota Camry was right in front of our seats. It was great! Drivers introductions ended and then it was time for the command!

Now it's race time! Kyle started off great and moved to second behind Trevor Bayne early. he kept on saying that he was having a hard time passing Trevor Bayne for the lead and then he finally passed him! I sprang to my feet and screamed! I was so happy. Kyle was having a great race. Day turned to night and the laps were counting down. Soon it was 50 to go, then 30 to go. I was starting to get really nervous and I had a knot in my stomach. I felt like I was going to pass out or something!

Now it was 20 to go, then 10 laps to go. My eyes were starting to fill with tears as I watched Kyle lap after lap. Carl Edwards was coming fast and then there was a caution. I screamed in disbelief. Could I walk out of here seeing my favorite driver Kyle Busch winning or walk out here upset. Even though I do like Carl, Kyle had run up front all night. The restart was so nerve racking, I was shaking so bad and my heart was pounding away. I started to get a lump in my throat like I was gonna puke. White Flag, I'm almost ready to die. I'm standing on my seat jumping up and down and screaming at the top of my lungs with my scanner in one hand and my other hand in the air. Can Kyle do it? Can he win for me?

Checkered Flag, KYLE BUSCH WINS! I burst into tears. I couldn't believe it! I had finally seen Kyle Busch win in the 18! I was shaking so bad and screaming at the top of my lungs. Everyone was looking at me but I didn't care, My favorite driver and hero had just won the race. I switched my camera to video and I could barely keep the camera straight while I recorded his amazing burnout because I was shaking so bad. I'm screaming so loud in the video!! (You can see the video on my Facebook Page!) My mom and I quickly got down to Victory Lane and I just stood there taking pictures. I was so close to my hero while he was celebrating with his crew. It was just an amazing site.

I'll never forget this race ever. From meeting Lacy Keyser and Ashley Allgaier to crying over my favorite drivers win, it was amazing.


Picture 1 - Kyle Busch's Qualifying Lap!
Picture 2 - Kyle Busch standing by his car during qualifying (he's in his Cup firesuit)
Picture 3 - Lacy and I! I'm in the white Kyle Busch tank top and Lacy in her Brad Keselowski shirt!
Picture 4 - My hero, Kyle Busch in Victory Lane!!

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Busch Wins 8th Nationwide Race of Season in Just 16 Starts

CLERMONT, Ind.—This time, there was no controversial finish.

For the second NASCAR Nationwide Series race in a row, Carl Edwards went side-by-side for the lead on the final lap. But Saturday night at O'Reilly Raceway Park, Kyle Busch held Edwards off to win the Kroger 200 at the 0.686-mile track.

Last week at Gateway International Raceway, Edwards dumped Brad Keselowski coming to the checkered flag, triggering a multicar accident and forcing NASCAR to penalize both drivers.

This time, Edwards raced Busch cleanly, and Busch grabbed his 38th career Nationwide Series victory, second only to Mark Martin on the all-time win list. Martin has 48 wins in the series.

Edwards and some others on the lead lap pitted for fresh tires on Lap 162, with Edwards restarting 11th with 28 laps to go. Edwards sliced through the top 10 to get to second, and a caution came out with six laps to go.

On the green-white-checkered restart, Busch got the jump on Edwards into Turn 1, though Edwards tried to get to the inside lane on the white flag lap and on the final lap. But Busch was up to the task. He led four times for 144 laps.
Ron Hornaday, who won Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race here, ran in the top five for most of the race until he and the lapped car of J.C. Stout got together in Turn 2 on Lap 161.
"Lapper just turned left," Hornaday said after he drove his damaged car behind the wall.
Aric Almirola finished third, with polesitter Trevor Bayne fourth and Reed Sorenson fifth.

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Busch vs. Busch: Chicagoland

Kyle Busch

Nationwide: Kyle Busch had one of his roller coaster weekends in the Nationwide series at Chicagoland Speedway. Finishing first and 13th in practices, he qualified eighth. Busch led four times for 110 laps, bringing his total laps led in 2010 to 1,009 laps. This is a milestone for the Las Vegas native, making this the fifth time in his career he has led more than 1,000 laps in a season. Throughout the race, Busch thought he had no chance of winning, especially when he received two penalties on lap 56 for speeding while exiting and entering pit road. On lap 172, running second to teammate Joey Logano, he said “It's over. There ain't going to be another caution. The freakin' race is over.” Busch caught a break just 13 laps later when there was a caution for debris and he took four fresh tires. This allowed him to take the lead on the next caution and eventually the win. The win marked his 37th in NNS (in 188 starts), passing Kevin Harvick for second position in the NNS all-time win list and is now 11 wins behind Mark Martin for first place. Busch joins Harvick as the only repeat winner at Chicagoland, earned the 51st victory for Joe Gibbs racing (25 solely from Busch), and has won four of his last five races. He leaves Chicagoland third in points, moving up one spot from last week.

Cup: While Busch had a great late run in the Nationwide series, his Cup race was underwhelming. He finished 31st and 29th in practices and qualified 33rd. Running out of the top-20 for most of the race, Busch eventually finished the race 17th. He leaves the race sixth in points, the same position he came to Chicagoland in.


Kurt Busch

Unlike last week, Kurt Busch did not have such a good night...

The remainder of this article can be read at examiner.com.

Article originally published at LV NASCAR Examiner and republished with permission of author.

Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

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Busch vs. Busch: Daytona (July)

Kyle Busch

Nationwide: No one could compare to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the weekend he was having but Kyle Busch tried during the Subway Jalapeño 250 at Daytona. During the rain-soaked weekend, Busch got in two of the three practices, finishing seventh and 22nd. Qualifying fifth, he led four times for a total of 19 laps and finished seventh. Having missed three races, Busch is still fourth in points.

Cup: Busch's Cup weekend started off the way it ended: with a crash. In the first practice he was 11th but in the final practice, he was side-by-side with teammate Denny Hamlin and they got together (Busch took blame for the accident … see quote below). Luckily for Busch, he did not need to go to a back up car and qualified third. Busch overcame a loose wheel on lap 28, contact with the No. 43 of A.J. Allmendinger on lap 67 and was able to lead three times for 23 laps. However, in a similar situation to his crash with Hamlin, Busch crashed after contact with the No. 42 of Juan Pablo Montoya. Unfortunately, the damage was too much to fix and the No. 18 finished in the 40th position. Busch leaves Daytona sixth in points, falling three spots from last week.

Busch explained in his interview after the crash his take of what happened: “He [Montoya] was too close to my side and he started turning me sideways down the straightaway without even touching me just like I did to Denny [Hamlin]. He started turning before I even got over the No. 6 [David Ragan] in practice. When you have no grip on these tires...I was two laps away from pitting...the thing started rear steering me down the straightaway and I had no control over it. I didn’t turn across the nose of the No. 42. Why would I do that? Why would I wreck myself?”


Kurt Busch

The elder Busch had just as bad a night, if not worse, as his brother...

The remainder of this article can be read at examiner.com.

Article originally published at LV NASCAR Examiner and republished with permission of author.

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

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Busch Breaks Another Nationwide Series Record

LOUDON, N. H. -- Kyle Busch added a few more records to his impressive resume
Saturday.        

He became the NASCAR Nationwide Series' all-time lap leader in winning the New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and he also broke veteran Mark Martin's laps-led mark in 45 fewer races than it took Martin to set the record of 8,083 laps.

Busch has now led 8,117 laps. Afterward, he heaped praise on his Joe Gibbs Racing team, under the leadership of crew chief Jason Ratliff.

Points leader Brad Keselowski finished second with Carl Edwards, third, Joey Logano fourth and Trevor Bayne fifth.           

Justin Allgaier was sixth followed by Kevin Harvick, Reed Sorensen, Paul Menard and Brenden Gaughan, respectively, to round out the top 10.


The victory was Busch's sixth of the season. He’s running a part-time series schedule as the defending champion. Saturday’s victory also marked the first time a driver has won two NASCAR Nationwide Series events at New Hampshire. Saturday’s was the series’ 24th race there; Busch also won the track’s June event a year ago.           

Indy Racing League star Danica Patrick had another luckless day, finishing 30^th, five laps behind, after an early-race shunt with Morgan Shepherd damaged her car.          

Skies were overcast when the race began, and a threat of rain put a little more urgency in the start. Pole winner Keselowski pulled out front and Allgaier moved into second.           

Patrick's day took a miserable turn on Lap 7 when the veteran Shepherd ducked beneath her in Turn 1, lost control and spun, collecting Patrick in the process.

When the green fell again, Kyle Busch took the lead but Keselowski went back to the front a couple laps later. Patrick, the center of attention in pre-race publicity and promotions, was relegated to 38th, a lap down, as a result of her spin.           

At 30 laps, it appeared Keselowski was in for a good afternoon, but Harvick, Busch, Edwards, Logano and Allgaier were hanging within striking distance. Sorensen, Steve Wallace, Lofton and Dillon rounded out the top 10.           


Patrick, meanwhile, had dropped another lap by Lap 40, putting her two laps down.           

Harvick took the top spot on Lap 45 and Busch went with him, putting Keselowski in third. A lap later, Busch went back out front.           

On Lap 94, Taylor Malsam and Ricky Stenhouse got together to bring out the second caution of the day. The leaders pitted again, some for two tires and some for four. Busch and Harvick took four while Logano and Allgaier took two. Keselowski didn't pit this time around.

On the restart, just past the halfway point of 100 laps, Keselowski led with Busch a little over a second behind. Logano was third, Edwards fourth and Harvick fifth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Sadler, Menard, Allgaier, Bayne and Sorensen.

Busch, however, chased Keselowski down and passed him for the lead on Lap 120.

Final Results:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Carl Edwards
4. Joey Logano
5. Trevor Bayne
6. Justin Allgaier
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Reed Sorenson
9. Paul Menard
10. Brendan Gaughan
11. Steve Wallace
12. Colin Braun
13. Elliott Sadler
14. Jason Leffler
15. Jason Keller
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17. Justin Lofton
18. Tony Raines
19. Michael Annett
20. Michael McDowell
21. Sean Caisse
22. Morgan Shepherd
23. Joe Nemechck
24. Willie Allen
25. Austin Dillon
26. Brian Scott
27. Robert Richardson Jr.
28. Mike Wallace
29. Eric McClure
30. Danica Patrick
31. Charles Lewandoski
32. Kenny Wallace
33. Mark Green
34. Mike Bliss
35. Tayler Malsam
36. Brad Baker
37. Danny O’Qunin Jr.
38. David Gilliland
39. Brian Keselowski
40. Johnny Chapman
41. Josh Wise
42. Kevin Swindell
43. Dennis Stzer

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Kyle Busch: Is Nationwide on His Side?

Kyle Busch is my driver. I like to see him run well and when he has a bad run, my mood goes downhill along with his place.

For two weekends, Kyle didn’t participate in the Nationwide Series. I’ve noticed when he doesn’t run, his performance suffers.

Just take a look at the numbers.


On May 30, he got a third-place finish at the Coca-Cola 600, and on June 6 he got a 2^nd-place finish at the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500; during both race weekends, he participated in the Nationwide race the Saturday before. On June 13 at the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400, Kyle got a 20^th-place finish, and on June 20 at the Toyota/Save Mart 350, he got a disappointing 39^th place. While the 39^th finish was out of his hands because of the run-in with Clint Bowyer, he didn’t participate in either Nationwide race. On June 26 Kyle ran in the Nationwide Series; the next day he ran in Cup. He had a top-5, if not a winning car at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Kyle was ready for a win, and could have gotten it there if it weren’t for an unexpected run-in with Jeff Burton, which placed him 11^th.

My point in these numbers is simple; when Kyle races in Nationwide, he’s ready for Cup the next day. He’s ready to win, dominate and take home the respect and the victory he deserves.

I’m interested in seeing how Kyle runs the rest of the season when he’s not doing Nationwide, and I’m honestly hoping I’m wrong. I hope that this is some sort of car issue that I’ve overlooked. I want to see Kyle have great runs, and hopefully win a championship. If it takes him racing Nationwide and Cup full-time to gain that championship, then by all means, I hope he does it. 

________________

Photo: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

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Johnson, Busch, Hornaday nominated for ESPYS

Three NASCAR drivers will bring the competition from the track to the 2010 ESPYS as they square off against one another in the Best Driver category, with one vying for the elite honor of Best Male Athlete.

The winners of these and other categories will be announced at the 18th annual performance sports awards ceremony in Los Angeles on July 14.

Four-time consecutive Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson received a pair of nods for Best Male Athlete and Best Driver. In the latter category, Johnson is a back-to-back winner, looking for his third straight win. But Johnson faces competition this year from reigning Nationwide Series champion Kyle Busch and four-time Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday. The trio of stockcar drivers will compete against two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion and former NASCAR driver Dario Franchitti and six-time NHRA champion Tony Schumacher.

In the Best Male Athlete category, Johnson, a repeat nominee, is up against Drew Brees, Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the New Orleans Saints; basketball players Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers; and baseball player Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Voting for the 2010 ESPYS started today, June 24, and will continue through July 10. Fans can vote by logging onto espn.go.com/espys/#/home or on the awards' Facebook page.

The 2010 ESPYS will be televised live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Seth Meyers from "Saturday Night Live" will host.

PHOTOS FROM NASCAR MEDIA

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Busch vs. Busch: Infineon

Kyle Busch

Nationwide: Brad Coleman again was in the seat of No. 18. He finished sixth after qualifying fourth. He finished third, third and first in three of the four practices and led one time for seven laps.

Cup: Busch had a horrible weekend at Sonoma, one he probably wants to forget. After finishing ninth, 11th and 24th in practices, he started 27th. On the 11th lap, he was involved in an accident with Jamie McMurray, A.J. Allmendinger, Elliot Sadler and Clint Bowyer. While the others were able to get back on the track, Busch wasn't so lucky and went behind the wall for 33 laps. Upon returning, he received a penalty on lap 87 for pulling up to pit. The race finally ended and Busch finished 39th, 34 laps down. He lost the second spot in the standings, falling to third, being replaced by race winner Jimmie Johnson.




Kurt Busch

The elder Busch was on track to have a great race...



The remainder of this article can be read at examiner.com.

Article originally published at LV NASCAR Examiner and republished with permission of author.

Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR

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Fans In The Stands - My Michigan Experience.

Every time Michigan International Speedway rolls around, I get so excited. MIS is my favorite track. The track is so much fun to be at and the staff is wonderful. They have so much that fans can do at the track and have made this a fan-friendly environment. I just love going to MIS.

The race day started out normal for me, wake up early and be out on the road before 7 a.m... Michigan International Speedway is only about two and half hours away from Warsaw, IN, so my mom and I always stop at the same Cracker Barrel restaurant on the way to MIS. I encourage all of you to eat at Cracker Barrel is you are ever near one, it’s delicious! After we ate breakfast, we were back on the road and headed towards the track. We were about 4 miles from the track and we hit traffic. Which is kind of normal but we normally don’t hit traffic.



After we parked and got our race bags ready, we headed towards the discount tents! You can find great deals in the tents but I only bought a shirt because I wanted to save my money for the souvenir trailers! We left the discount tents and headed towards the souvenir trailers. We stopped at Kyle Busch’s, Denny Hamlin’s, Jimmie Johnson’s, Joey Logano’s, and Clint Bowyer’s. I only bought a tank top from Kyle’s trailer because I’m just one of those people who can’t make up their minds and want everything! All of the other souvenir trailers were having sales, but Kyle’s wasn’t which made me mad! Haha! My mom got three shirts which I was happy about because she normally doesn’t get anything. We walked around some more and it was starting to get humid and sticky but the sun would only peak through sometimes. We walked around till we found the Sprint Experience Tent! Since we are Sprint customers, we got to get free gifts! We each got a Sprint Cup bag, hat, sticker, and a lanyard. We also got to take this quiz about the 2009 season. I scored 5 out of 5 and my mom scored 4 out of 5!

It was getting close to race time, so we decided to go and find our seats. We always sit in Turn 1 and we love sitting there. This time, we were around a lot of people. Which was alright but it was still humid and my mom didn’t want to sit there anymore so we moved down to where some empty seats were. Before we moved, a couple rows in front of us was a guy who looked just like Dale Earnhardt! I mean, it was shocking! I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t take a picture of him!

Driver introductions started, Kyle came around and I screamed my head off. I must add that when Kevin Harvick came around, I yelled “TEAM LOGANO!”. I seriously doubt he heard me but had to get it out there! The flyover came and went, then it was time for the command. Adam Sandler and Kevin James are two of my favorite actors and I was so excited that they were there! Their command was amazing and everyone around me loved it! Before their command, you could hear Adam Sandler say into the microphone “Michigan” several times in his iconic voice! I loved it!

It was race time and my mom and I had our scanners so we could listen to our favorite drivers! For some reason, my moms scanner wasn’t switching to Sprint Cup because it was stuck on Nationwide radios from when we went to Nashville in April. She had to run down the radio and scanner trailer to get it fixed. While she did that, I moved our stuff down to the empty seats. Without my scanner, I listened to the engines roar as they went by and loved it. My mom finally came back with the scanner fixed and then I programmed the numbers for my favorite driver’s radios. I listened to Kyle Busch most of the time, but I would switch around to Denny, Joey, Carl, and Clint. As the race went on, Denny Hamlin showed his strength and went to the lead. I was completely happy. Denny Hamlin is my second favorite driver. As Denny soared to the lead, Kyle was stuck. For awhile, he would be gaining ground and then he would be losing ground. I was upset because I just wanted to see Kyle run well at MIS. He hit the wall twice and I knew it was over for him.

The checkered flagged waved and it was Denny Hamlin crossing the finish line first! I was just so excited and happy! This was my second time seeing Denny win in person. Seeing him win at Martinsville in 2008 was amazing but seeing him win at my home track was bitter sweet. I’m so proud of Denny Hamlin and the #11 crew!

As we walked to the car, my shoulders, chest, and face were sun burnt as always. We got out of the parking lot fast and we headed south to Indiana. I had a great time even though I woke up Monday morning with blisters on my shoulders, but I have had worse sunburns...The Brickyard! I can't wait to go back to Michigan International Speedway in August!


Picture #1 - The cars rolling off Pit Road!
Picture #2 - The Sprint Experience Tent!
Picture #3 - Kyle Busch during Driver Introductions!
Picture #4 - Denny Hamlin's Burnout!

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Busch vs. Busch: Michigan

Kyle Busch

Trucks: Kyle Busch took back the wheel of his truck this weekend at Michigan. He was sixth in practice and started eighth. After leading five times for a total 25 laps, he finished third to Aric Almirola. This is Busch's fifth top 10 in fives races at Michigan International Speedway and he leaves MIS 13th in points, two spots up from last week.

Nationwide: This weekend the Nationwide series was in Kentucky. Brad Coleman drove Busch's No. 18, qualifying second, finishing 13th and leading one time for two laps.

Cup: Busch's Cup weekend can be summed up in one word: frustrating. Finishing fourth, 10th and 32nd in practices, he had to start in the rear of the pack after qualifying 15th for an engine change. After making his way up to fourth by lap 140, he wound up on pit road with damage to the spoiler and finished the race in 20th. Busch still remains second in points, 22 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.



Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch is having a great season ...

The remainder of this article can be read at examiner.com.

Article originally published at LV NASCAR Examiner and republished with permission of author.

Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

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Busch vs. Busch: Pocono

Kyle Busch

Truck: Busch shut down operations of his No. 56 truck this week and with the trucks in Texas and Cup in Pocono, had Johnny Benson in the driver's seat. Benson brought the truck home 10th.

Nationwide: Busch announced several weeks ago he would not run the entire Nationwide season, especially on split weekends. This weekend, Brad Coleman took over the wheel of the No. 18 and finished sixth.

Cup: Busch had a great weekend at Pocono, where he was making his 200th start. He finished sixth, fifth and fourteenth in practices. He topped that off by qualifying on the pole next to Clint Bowyer. He led four times for 32 laps, although at one point fell to around 14th position. However, he stayed in the top five for most of the race and came to the checkered flag 2nd, behind teammate Denny Hamlin. This is his third top 10 in 11 races at Pocono and his ninth top 10 of 2010. Busch remains second in the point standings, now only 19 behind leader Kevin Harvick.


Kurt Busch

The elder Busch had a roller coaster of a weekend. In practices, he finished 10th, 10th and 20th and qualified fourth.

The remainder of this article can be read at examiner.com.

Article originally published at LV NASCAR Examiner and republished with permission of author.

Photo Courtesy: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR

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Busch vs. Busch: Charlotte

Kyle Busch

Nationwide: Busch's weekend started off less-than-stellar in Busch standards. He was third and second in practices but started sixth. During the first round of green flag pit stops, he pitted earlier than everyone else and received a speeding penalty, putting him two laps down. He eventually made his way up to the front of pack, eventually taking over first place on lap 139 after a race off pit road. After 3 attempts at a finish, Busch held of Brad Keselowski to take the checkered flag after leading a total of only 30 laps of the race. This is Busch's fifth win of the season and sixth win at Charlotte, tying Mark Martin's record of Nationwide wins at the track. He leaves the race second in the points standings, but will not be racing next week and is not running for the championship.

Cup: Busch's Cup weekend started off terrible. He was 14th, 22nd and 20th in practices and started ninth. The first one hundred laps seemed to be going Busch's way, as he worked his way to the lead on lap 130. From there, his race went back to how his weekend started. While pitting during a caution, Busch got in an accident with Brad Keselowski on pit road, causing damage to both cars. On top of the damage, Busch also received a speeding penalty, leaving him in 24th place. The damage was too much for Busch to continue driving so he pitted twice, leaving him in 26th. After a caution with 123 laps left, he had only moved up to 24th. But he fought back and made it to 13th with 100 laps to go and after the next caution, with the two-tire strategy, moved up to sixth. He remained there and with 24 to go, after another caution, Busch had a miscue in the pits and ran over his own crew member yet came out fifth (his crew member is okay). Going three wide with Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton, he and Burton got together, cutting down Burton's tire and ruining any chance Burton had at contending for the win. After Busch came to the checkered flag third and having led the race twice for a total of 36 laps, the two exchanged words on pit road. Busch leaves the race second in points, gaining two spots, but 29 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.


Kurt Busch

The elder Busch had a roller coaster start to the weekend, with finishes of 11th, second and 17th in practices and qualified on the outside of the front row next to Ryan Newman. After the start of the race, he took over the lead from Newman on lap 12.

The remainder of this article can be read at examiner.com.

Article originally published at LV NASCAR Examiner and republished with permission of author.


Photo Courtesy: Jason Smith/Getty Image for NASCAR

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Busch vs. Busch: All-Star Edition

The walls are yellow. There are no points. The drivers race for pride and $1 million.

The field is made up of the best-of-the-best. Former Champions, previous year race winners, All-Star Race winners, two transfers from the 20-lap showdown and the Sprint Fan Vote winner.

The whole week is special, from the Pit Crew Challenge (Denny Hamlin's No. 11 crew won this year), a burnout challenge, long driver introductions with their crews … it's truly an all-star event.

But this year, it changed from the All-Star Race to the Busch Brother Showdown. For around 40 laps, Kurt and Kyle ran right next to each other, fighting for the lead during segment one. Kurt took the segment before losing the second and third segments to Jimmie Johnson.

The younger Busch was coming back and vying for the lead against his teammate Denny Hamlin when Hamlin didn't give Busch enough room and he got into the wall. This eventually ended Busch's day and had them both in a meeting with Joe and J.D. Gibbs after the race was over.


The remainder of this article can be read at examiner.com.

Article originally published at LV NASCAR Examiner and republished with permission of author.

Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

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