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Tackling a Texas Trifecta

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 30, 2012) – For just the second time this season, Kyle Busch will compete in all three of NASCAR’s top three divisions, something he has done numerous times throughout his career. Busch, who in August of 2010 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway became the only driver ever to sweep all three races in the same weekend, will begin his attempt at a Texas Motor Speedway trifecta driving the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra in the WinStar World Casino 350 Friday night.

Busch, who attempted the trifecta for the first time this year in August at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., wasn’t able to bring home a victory, but qualified in the top five and finished in the top 10 in all three races. He was nearly triumphant in his Truck Series return, running out front for a total of 75 laps before surrendering the lead to rookie Ty Dillon with six laps remaining, and recording his 19^th career runner-up finish in NASCAR’s third division. The following day, the Las Vegas native captured Kyle Busch Motorsports’ (KBM) first Nationwide Series pole in his No. 54 Monster Energy Camry and brought home a seventh-place finish in the race. He completed the weekend leading 66 laps and finishing sixth in the Sprint Cup Series race.

Texas has been a track where the 27-year-old driver has recorded multiple victories in both the Truck and Nationwide Series and has been knocking on the door of victory in the Sprint Cup Series. He produced back-to-back Truck Series victories in the fall race in 2009 and 2010 and won five straight Nationwide Series races from April of 2008 to April of 2010. In the Sprint Cup Series, he has yet to visit victory lane at “The Great American Speedway,” but has recorded four top-five finishes across 14 starts and twice has led over 150 laps.

Busch has been knocking on the door of victory in all three series recently. He finished second in the Cup Series event last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, was leading at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City in the Nationwide Series until he ran out of fuel entering the final turn on the final lap and in his lone Truck Series start this season was leading with six laps remaining at Atlanta. This could be the weekend when the talented wheelman knocks down the door old-west style and rides out of Fort Worth with a Texas-sized trifecta.

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

Are you looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Dollar General Tundra?

“I always look forward to driving the Dollar General Tundra. My first race at Atlanta this season, we had a really good Tundra for most of the race but the handling just got away from us at the end -- had to hold on for all I could just to come home second. I know that Eric and all the guys have been working really hard this year and we’ve had really fast trucks. We’re bringing the same truck that my brother Kurt ran at Michigan and although he didn’t get the win, he really dominated that race until it came down to fuel mileage. Just like my luck in Cup and our luck with the Nationwide Series team, this 18 truck has been in a position to win some races and for whatever reason luck just hasn’t been on our side. It would be a great start to a busy weekend for me if we can put the Dollar General Tundra in victory lane at Texas Friday night.”

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

What will it take to have a fast Tundra at Texas?

“The schedule is a little bit different this year. In the past, we’ve practiced during the day and the crew chief had to adjust the truck for the race at night. This year, we are practicing at night, so I think you’ll see the track conditions pretty similar during practice to what they will be for the race. You have to have a good balance of speed versus handling, so that you can run wide open basically all night there. The guy who can go the longest into a run without lifting is going to be the guy to beat.”

Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Dollar General Tundra:

Chassis KBM-9: Friday’s WinStar World Casino will be the sixth time on the track this season and eighth career start for KBM-9. The last time the Tundra saw action, Kurt Busch led 57 laps with it at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn before being relegated to a ninth-place finish when the race was decided by fuel strategy. Jason Leffler posted his season-best fourth-place finish for the No. 18 team with the truck at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May and also posted a season-best qualifying effort with it, starting second at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, in April.

Date	Site	Driver	Start	Finish	Laps	Laps Led	Status
8/18/12	Michigan	Ku. Busch	4	9	100/100	57	Running
8/4/12	Pocono	Hamlin	16	5	50/50	0	Running
7/21/12	Chicagoland	Leffler	5	8	150/150	0	Running
5/18/12	Charlotte	Leffler	5	4	134/134	0	Running
4/21/12	Kansas	Leffler	2	18	165/167	5	Running
11/18/11	Homestead	Hamlin	17*	2	119/119	1	Running
11/4/11	Texas	Busch	4	33	14/148	0	Accident

• Rain cancelled qualifying; starting order was determined by final practice speeds

Notes of Interest:

Kyle Busch @ Texas Motor Speedway:

• Has produced top-three results in six of his nine career Truck Series starts, including two victories (11/5/10 and 11/6/09)
• Won five consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series races from April of 2008 to April of 2010
• Has registered four top-five and five top-10 finishes across 14 career Sprint Cup Series starts

Kyle Busch’s Texas NCWTS Performance Profile:

Date	Start	Finish	Laps	Laps Led	Status
11/4/11	4	33	14/148	0	Accident
11/5/10	3	1	147/147	80	Running
11/6/09	12	1	147/147	54	Running
10/31/08	3	2	147/147	87	Running
6/6/08	17	2	172/172	0	Running
11/2/07	5	29	70/149	27	Engine
11/3/06	8	2	148/148	0	Running
11/4/05	4	3	147/147	26	Running
10/5/01	5	25	71/146	0	Accident

Kyle Busch 2011 Camping World Truck Series:

• In 16 starts, won a series-leading six races (Phoenix, Nashville, Dover, Charlotte, Kentucky & New Hampshire)
• Ranked first among all drivers in Laps Led (703), Miles Led (782.41), Fastest Early in a Run (4.000 rank), Fastest Late in a Run (3.308 rank) and Green Flag Speed (2.538 rank)

Kyle Busch Camping World Truck Series Career:

• ·Has won 29.4% of the Truck Series races he has entered and finished first or second in 48%
• ·105 All-Time Combined NASCAR National Series wins rank third all-time (Petty 200, Pearson 106)
• ·Ranks second in Truck Series history in wins (30), fourth in laps led (4,285), tied for sixth in poles (12) and 10^th in top five-finishes (60)
• ·One of 10 drivers in NASCAR history to lead over 20,000 laps among the top three series
• ·Reached 25^th win in Truck Series faster than any driver in the history of NASCAR’s top three series, attaining the milestone in just his 87^th career start
• ·Enters 2012 having collected at least one Truck Series victory in each of the last seven seasons (2005 - 2011) and multiple victories in each of the last five (2007 - 2011)
• ·119.6 career driver rating entering the 2012 season is the highest accumulated by a Truck Series driver since the stat was introduced in 2005
• ·Average career finish of 7.5 ranks first among active drivers with 10 or more career starts in the Truck Series

Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota Tundra:

• With top-10 finishes in six straight and 12 of the last 13 races, the team is currently tied for second among Truck Series teams with 14 top-10 results this season (No. 3 truck – 16 and No. 31 truck – 14)
• After 19 of 22 races completed, the team ranks seventh in the Owner’s championship standings
• 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) and six of the seven have led at least one lap
• 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, has compiled 16 wins, 36 top-five and 52 top-10 finishes over 68 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 Kyle Busch at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night. If the No. 18 Dollar General Tundra brings home a top-10 finish in the WinStar World Casino 350, everyone will receive 10% off all online products purchased at DollarGeneral.com next Monday, Nov. 5, and if he wins, the savings increase to 20% off.

The Phillips File:

Crew chief Eric Phillips’ drivers have posted an average finish of 13.2 across 16 starts at Texas, including two wins (Kyle Busch 11/5/10 and Clint Bowyer 11/3/06), four top-five and nine top-10 finishes. The Illinois native ranks second all-time among Truck Series crew chiefs with 26 career victories.


Kyle Busch Motorsports 2012 NCWTS Box Score:

-KBM-