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‘7 Come 11’ at Las Vegas

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 24, 2012) – It’s fitting that as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway for Saturday’s Smith’s 350, Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) will roll out its seventh different driver in the No. 18 Tundra this season. That driver, David Mayhew, will appropriately be making his 11^th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start, driving the Dollar General Toyota in Saturday’s 146-lap race.

All six drivers to strap into KBM’s flagship Tundra this season have recorded at least one top-10 finish, but after leading the Truck Series with eight wins in each of its first two seasons, the No. 18 Toyota has yet to record a win in 2012. Misfortunes plagued the team in three of the first four races of the season, but since then the No. 18 has been leading laps, knocking on the door of victory and moving up the owner’s point standings.

The team has led double-digit laps in four of the last five races. Kurt Busch led 57 of 100 laps at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Aug. 18, Kyle Busch led 75 of 130 laps at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Aug. 31, Drew Herring led 19 laps in his Truck Series debut at Iowa Speedway in Newton on Sep. 15 and last week Brian Scott led 14 laps at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. Scott’s fifth-place finish last weekend at Kentucky was the team’s 50^th top-10 in 66 starts since debuting in the Truck Series in 2010.

Over the last 10 races, the No. 18 Tundra team has recorded nine top-10 finishes and improved 10 positions - from 18^th to eighth - in the owner’s point standings. Over those 10 races, KBM’s Toyota has scored 373 owner’s points, tied for fourth most during that span. Only the No. 3 (380), No. 31 (379) and No. 22 (378) have scored more and the No. 88 has also scored 373

Enter Mayhew, a four-time winner in NASCAR’s K&N Pro West Series, who over 10 Truck Series starts has proven capable of running up front, when given the chance to drive top-notch equipment. In two starts for the Owner’s Championship-winning No. 2 truck last season, the California native captured a pole, led 21 laps and posted a pair of third-place finishes (Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth 6/6/11 and Iowa Speedway in Newton 9/16/12).

While it will be the West Coast driver’s first time driving for KBM, it will not be his first time on the 1.5-mile tri-oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and it will not be his first action this season. Mayhew led three laps and finished 15^th in the 2010 event in the ‘Sin City’ and improved on that last year when he finished seventh in the 146-lap event. The 30-year-old driver has been behind the wheel of the No. 19 truck in each of the last two Truck Series events this season, producing a season-best 16^th-place finish at Iowa Speedway.

KBM is hoping that its lucky seventh different driver this season will be able to ‘pass’ often and that the Dollar General Tundra will ‘come-out’ of Las Vegas with a ‘win’ in Mayhew’s 11^th career Truck Series start.

David Mayhew, Driver of the No. 18 NCWTS Dollar General Tundra:

Are you excited about the opportunity to drive the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra?

“Kyle (Busch) is one of the best in the business, so for him to call me up and ask me to drive this Dollar General Tundra -- just to jump into anything that he drives and is a part of -- is an honor. Hopefully, we can go get a win for him.”

You had a strong run at Las Vegas last year, what will it take to win the race this weekend?

“It’s going to come down to who can hold their truck wide-open the longest, so you have to have a truck that is nice and stable underneath you. So, I need to provide Eric (Phillips, crew chief) and the guys with good feedback in practice so that the balance of the truck is really good for the race.”

Eric Phillips, Crew Chief of the No. 18 NCWTS Dollar General Tundra:

Will starting in the evening provide for better racing than we saw in the day race last year?

“It was awfully hot there last year and everyone struggled with finding grip -- there were a lot of trucks sliding around which caused a lot of cautions. This year with the race starting in the evening and ending into dusk, I would imagine it will be a lot cooler and the trucks will have more grip. The schedule is a lot different this year, typically when we had a night race we practiced during the day. This year, having an evening practice will hopefully allow everyone to get their trucks setup a little better and we won’t have so many cautions.”

What is the biggest challenge as a crew chief when you go to Las Vegas?

“The bumps getting into Turn 1 seem to really upset the truck, so we’ll spend a lot of time trying to address that. The other thing we’ll keep an eye on is that -- like a lot of the other mile-and-a-half tracks -- you seem to get a little on the free side at night. So we will need to leave enough room to keep adjusting on the truck as the race goes along, so that we don’t get the Dollar General Tundra too free for David.”

Chassis KBM-12: The Dollar General Racing team will unload, KBM-12, the newest Tundra in the team’s stable. The last time the truck saw action, owner-driver Kyle Busch qualified fourth, led 75 laps and finished second at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Earlier this season, Jason Leffler registered top-10 finishes with the Tundra at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

Notes of Interest:

David Mayhew @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

• Started 20^th and finished seventh in the 2011 NCWTS race
• Started 23^rd, led three laps and finished 15^th in the 2010 NCWTS race

David Mayhew Las Vegas NCWTS Performance Profile:

Date	Start	Finish	Laps	Laps Led	Status
10/15/11	20	7	146/146	0	Running
9/25/10	23	15	146/146	3	Running

David Mayhew 2012:

• In two NCWTS starts, posted a season-best finish of 16^th at Iowa Speedway (9/15/12)
• Ranks third in the NASCAR K&N West Series standings collecting one win, two poles, seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes over 12 starts; led every lap of the season-opening race at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway (3/3/12)
• Started 33^rd and finished 40^th after being sidelined by a brake issues is his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (6/24/12)
• Started 14^th and finished 11^th at Bristol Motor Speedway in lone K&N East Series start of season (3/17/12)

David Mayhew NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Career:

• In 10 career starts has collected one pole (Iowa Speedway on 7/16/11), nine top-five and 20 top-10 finishes
• In 2011, registered one pole, 21 laps led, two top-five and three top-10 finishes in five starts

David Mayhew NASCAR Career:

• Has four career K&N Pro Series West wins (Phoenix on 3/3/12 and Iowa Speedway on 5/23/10, 9/4/09, 5/17/09)
• Led four laps and finished 10^th at Iowa Speedway in his lone NASCAR Nationwide Series start (8/6/11)
• Runner-up in the final NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship standings in 2010
• 2006 Rookie of the Year in former NASCAR Southwest Tour
• 2004 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Champion at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif.
• Won five International Kart Federation National Championships in go-kart

Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra:

• All six drivers that have made a start this season have posted a top-10 finish (Ku. Busch, Ky. Busch, Hamlin, Herring, Leffler and Scott)
• Has led double-digit laps in four of the last five races (Brian Scott 14 at Kentucky Speedway on 9/21/12, Drew Herring 19 at Iowa Speedway on 9/15/12, Kyle Busch 75 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on 8/31/12 and Kurt Busch 57 at Michigan International Speedway on 8/18/12)
• After 16 races, resides eighth in the 2012 NCWTS Owner’s point standings; 373 points collected over the last 10 races are tied for fourth most in series (No. 3 – 380, No.31 – 379, No. 22 – 378 and No. 88 - 373)
• Brian Ickler started eighth in last year’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but was relegated to a 28^th-place finish after being caught up in a lap-30 crash
• Registered a season-best second-place finish with Kyle Busch at Atlanta Motor Speedway (8/31/12) and earned a season-best second-place qualifying effort with Jason Leffler at Kansas Speedway (4/21/12)
• Since debuting in the Truck Series in 2010, the team has compiled 16 wins, 36 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes over 66 starts
• In 2010, became first team since the NCWTS originated in 1995 to win the Owner’s Championship in its inaugural season

No. 18 Tundra Earned Its 50^th Top-10 Finish in 66 Starts

Brian Scott’s fifth-place finish in the Kentucky 201 at Kentucky Speedway last week was the 50^th career top-10 finish for the No. 18 Toyota. Since the team originated in 2010, 10 drivers have piloted the team’s flagship Tundra over its 66 starts and nine have posted at least one top-10 finish (Benson Jr., Ku. Busch, Ky. Busch, Hamlin, Herring, Ickler, Kahne, Leffler and Scott).

Strong Finishes Equal Online Savings Monday’s at DollarGeneral.com

Dollar General is giving fans an extra reason to cheer for David Mayhew at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday night. If the

No. 18 Dollar General Tundra brings home a top-10 finish in the Smith’s 350, everyone will receive 10% off all online products purchased at DollarGeneral.com next Monday, Oct. 1, and if he wins, the savings increase to 20% off.

The Phillips File:

Crew chief Eric Phillips has collected four top-10 finishes in seven races calling the shots for Truck Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Nevada track is one of just two tracks on the 2012 schedule that Phillips’ drivers have yet to post a top-five finish or lead a lap at (Rockingham Speedway).

Kyle Busch Motorsports 2012 NCWTS Box Score:

-KBM-