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Ready to Take Care of Unfinished Business

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 1, 2012) – In Kurt Busch’s debut behind the wheel of his brother Kyle’s Tundra, he dominated the early stages of the VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway in August, leading 57 of the first 78 laps, before surrendering the lead to make his final scheduled pit stop. After the race proceeded caution free and was decided on fuel mileage, the elder Busch – to no doing of his own – was left with a disappointing ninth-place finish, knowing that if the race hadn’t played out the way it did, that he would have had the truck to beat.

Busch will get a second chance to put Kyle Busch Motorsports’ (KBM) flagship Tundra in victory lane this Saturday, when he pilots the No. 18 Dollar General Toyota in the Coca-Cola 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It will be the Las Vegas native’s second career Truck Series start on a superspeedway, but first at the historic 2.66-mile Tri-oval. In his lone restrictor plate start in NASCAR’s third division - which also happened to be his first-ever NASCAR start - he rolled off from the 34^th position in the 2000 season-opening race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, but by race’s end had maneuvered his way into a runner-up finish.

Although he hasn’t visited victory lane at the Alabama track, he has shown a knack for getting to the front of the field. The talented 34-year-old has led at least one lap in each of his last eight and 19 of his 23 career Sprint Cup Series starts at NASCAR’s longest oval. He also led a lap in his lone Nationwide Series start at the track earlier this season and went on to post a sixth-place finish.

The former Sprint Cup Series champion has already captured one superspeedway victory in 2012 - the July Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Busch’s battered No. 51 car - which had to be pieced back together during several pit stops after being involved in a lap-66 wreck - was the first to make it across the stripe in an exciting green-white-checkered finish.

Busch, who registered KBM’s first-ever Nationwide Series win at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in April - is hoping to score his third NASCAR win of 2012 and take care of unfinished business with his brother’s Truck Series team Saturday at Talladega.

Kurt Busch, Driver of the No. 18 NCWTS Dollar General Tundra:

Do you feel like you have unfinished business in the No. 18 Tundra?

“We had a really fast truck earlier this year at Michigan, but the circumstances of how the race played out didn’t work in our favor. We didn’t get the finish we deserved, but it was a solid effort by all. With Kyle heading to the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville to run the All-American 400, he needed me to step in and I’m thankful for another opportunity to work with Eric and the guys again. It would be a great day for Dollar General if I can put the No. 18 Tundra in victory lane for them in Talladega Saturday afternoon and then have Kyle do the same with them as his sponsor in the late model race later that night.”

Do you remember your first Superspeedway start in a Truck?

“It was the inaugural Truck Series race at Daytona in 2000, I was a rookie and it was my first-ever Truck Series race. I ended up finishing second -- not too bad for my first time out there. That was the only time I ever raced a truck on a superspeedway. I’ve done a lot of restrictor plate racing since that day, so I hope that I’m able to better that finish by one position in Kyle’s truck on Saturday.”

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

How much effort have you put into your Superspeedway program since last year?

After Talladega last year, we put a lot of emphasis on building a new superspeedway truck. We hadn’t qualified in the top 15 in our four restrictor-plate events prior to this year, so for us to qualify sixth at Daytona was a big step in the right direction and showed how hard the guys had worked. Unfortunately, we got in a wreck early in that race and didn’t get a chance to show the speed we had. They’ve changed some rules since the Daytona race, so the guys have been working hard to get the truck put back together with the new specifications. We’re happy with the results from the wind tunnel and hope that it qualifies and races as well as we expect it to.”

What type of race do you expect on Saturday?

“I’m not really sure at this point. I think we all know that we’re faster doing the pushing, but with the grill openings and some of the other rule changes that NASCAR made, it’s going to be hard to do it for a long period of time. I think you’ll see a little more of the pack racing and guys riding around waiting until the end of the race to make their move. When it gets to the end, you’re going to have to be able to push and whoever can do it the longest is going to be able to win.”

Kurt Busch’s No. 18 Dollar General Tundra:

Chassis KBM-11: The No. 18 Dollar General Tundra team will unload chassis KBM-11 this weekend at Talladega. The Tundra has been refurbished since being involved in an early accident in its debut at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February.
Notes of Interest:

Kurt Busch @ Talladega Superspeedway:

• Making his first Truck Series start
• Came from the 31^st starting position to finish sixth in his NNS debut in May (5/5/12)
• Has posted six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 23 Sprint Cup Series starts; has led at least one lap in each of his last eight starts and 19 of his 23 starts overall

Kurt Busch 2012:

• Has finished in the top 10 in each of his two Truck Series starts this season, including a ninth-place finish in which he led 57 of 100 laps driving the No. 18 Tundra at Michigan International Speedway (8/18/12)
• Two wins, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 15 Nationwide Series starts, including the first-ever series win for KBM at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in April
• One top-five and two top-10 finishes in 28 Sprint Cup Series starts

Kurt Busch Camping World Truck Series Career:

• Has collected four wins, four poles, 14 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes in 27 career starts
• Earned Rookie of the Year honors and finished second in the 2000 final point standings

Kurt Busch NASCAR Career:

• 2004 Sprint Cup Series Champion, first to win in the “Chase for the Cup” points format
• Has collected 24 career Sprint Cup Series wins and 15 poles in 428 career starts
• Four-time qualifier for the Chase for the Sprint Cup Series Championship
• 2010 Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race Winner
• Has registered five career Nationwide Series wins and three poles in 27 career starts
• One of 26 drivers with at least one victory in each of NASCAR’s top three divisions

Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra:

• Kyle Busch started 17^th and finished ninth in last year’s Coca-Cola 250 at Talladega Superspeedway
• Kyle Busch’s 0.002-second victory over Aric Almirola in the 2010 race at Talladega Superspeedway still stands as the closest margin of victory in Truck Series history
• David Mayhew started third, led one lap and finished ninth in last week’s Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway
• All seven drivers that have made a start this season have posted a top-10 finish (Ku. Busch, Ky. Busch, Hamlin, Herring, Leffler, Mayhew and Scott)
• Has led at least one lap in four straight and five of the last six races after leading just once over the first 11 races of 2012
• After 17 races, resides ninth in the 2012 NCWTS Owner’s point standings
• 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)
• In 2011, ranked first in Truck Series wins (8) and second in Owner’s points (920), Laps Led (878), Fastest Laps Run (448) and Top-Five Finishes (16)
• Three different drivers won a race in the No. 18 Tundra in 2011 - Kyle Busch (series-leading 6), Kasey Kahne (1) and Denny Hamlin (1)
• Since debuting in the Truck Series in 2010, the team has compiled 16 wins, 36 top-five and 51 top-10 finishes over 67 starts
• In 2010, became first team since the NCWTS originated in 1995 to win the Owner’s Championship in its inaugural season

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

Dollar General is giving fans an extra reason to cheer for Kurt Busch at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday. If the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra brings home a top-10 finish in the Coca-Cola 250, everyone will receive 10% off all online products purchased at DollarGeneral.com next Monday, Oct. 8, and if he wins, the savings increase to 20% off.

The Phillips File:

Crew chief Eric Phillips has collected one win (2010 Kyle Busch), one top-five and three top-10 finishes in five races calling the shots for Truck Series races at Talladega Superspeedway. His drivers have combined to lead 17 laps and have completed 472 of 475 (99.4%) total laps available.

Kyle Busch Motorsports 2012 NCWTS Box Score:
 
 

-KBM-