Although it will take some laps to get readjusted to the feel of a truck, Busch believes that having two races already under his belt on the repaved two-mile oval will give him a leg up on the competition when practice begins Friday morning. The elder Busch, who shares the driving duties behind the wheel of KBM’s No. 54 Monster Energy Camry with younger brother Kyle, finished third in the Nationwide Series race at MIS earlier this year. He will be looking to improve on that finish Saturday, as he bids to add a Truck Series victory to his two Cup Series wins at the track nestled in the Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan.
Quickly adapting to the feel of a truck shouldn’t be a problem for the veteran driver, who proved to be a quick learner when he burst onto the NASCAR scene in 2000. As a 21-year-old driver, making his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start, Busch registered a second-place finish in the Truck Series opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The talented wheelman made an immediate impact on NASCAR’s third division that season, collecting four wins, four poles, 14 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes en route to a second-place finish in the final point standings and Rookie of the Year honors.
His success in the Truck Series earned him a promotion to the Sprint Cup Series for the final seven races of 2000 and he has been a full-time competitor in NASCAR’s premier division ever since. The Las Vegas native’s Cup Series resume includes a Sprint Cup Series championship (2004), 24 wins, 15 poles, 89 top-five and 171 top-10 finishes over 421 career starts to date.
Coincidentally, as Busch gets back to ‘riding a bike’ this weekend, a bike will be riding onboard the tailgate of his Shore Lodge Tundra. The tailgate will be promoting “Win Kyle’s Custom Made Chopper,” the latest Kyle Busch Foundation fundraising campaign. Deadwood Choppers, based in Middle Island, N.Y., designed and built a custom chopper that features the logos of the Kyle Busch Foundation’s largest supporters. Fans can go to kbfchopperraffle.com and purchase two chances to “Win Kyle’s Custom Made Chopper” for $54.
Kurt Busch, Driver of the No. 18 NCWTS Shore Lodge Tundra:
How much fun will it be getting back behind the wheel of a truck?
“This is exactly what having fun means to me — driving different vehicles in different situations. Kyle came to me and asked for my help this weekend — it comes from my heart to be able to do this and I’m thankful for the opportunity with his team. It’s been 11 years since I’ve been in a truck, but hopefully it will be like riding a bike.”
Most of the drivers in the Truck Series will be racing at Michigan for the first time since the repave, how big of an advantage will it be to already have two races under your belt on the new surface?
“I think that having raced in both the Nationwide Series and the Cup race in June will give me an advantage early on, but those guys will catch up to us. We will have to keep working hard throughout the three practice sessions to find speed in the truck and then be able keep the speed in it that will allow us to compete for a victory in the race.”
Eric Phillips, Crew Chief of the No. 18 NCWTS Shore Lodge Tundra:
How will the repave affect the Truck Series race at Michigan?
“I think that we are going to see a situation very similar to Pocono, where some teams are going to be more trimmed out — like speedway racing — and other teams will set their truck up for more downforce. I also think that you’ll see more drafting — we’ve drafted a fair amount there in the past on restarts, but I think that you’ll see it for a longer period of time this weekend. I talked to our Nationwide Series guys and they were able to run wide open during the early part of a run and I think that we’ll be able to run wide open almost the whole run.”
Will the extra practice session this weekend allow you to do some experimenting?
“We’ll have some time in between the first two practices and then a couple of hours before the final session, so that will allow us to experiment a little bit. We’re going to start out with a little different package than we’ve ran there in the past — mostly because of the repave. We can always go back to our baseline setup if that doesn’t work for us.”
Kurt Busch’s No. 18 Shore Lodge Tundra:
Chassis KBM-9: Saturday’s VFW 200 will be the fifth time on the track this season and seventh career start for KBM-9. KBM-9 is the same Tundra that Denny Hamlin drove to a fifth-place finish in the Pocono Mountains 125, the last time that the Truck Series was in action. Jason Leffler posted a 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.
Notes of Interest:
Win Kyle’s Chopper Featured on Tailgate of the No. 18 Shore Lodge Tundra: The tailgate of the No. 18 Shore Lodge Tundra this week will be promoting “Win Kyle’s Custom Made Chopper,” the latest Kyle Busch Foundation fundraising campaign. Deadwood Choppers, based in Middle Island, N.Y., designed and built a custom chopper that features the logos of the companies who support the Kyle Busch Foundation. Fans can go to kbfchopperraffle.com and purchase two chances to “Win Kyle’s Custom Made Chopper” for $54. The winner of the raffle will get to be Kyle’s guest at the Oct. 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway – airfare, lodging at a Choice Hotel property and pit passes included – and receive a custom designed helmet, a Monster Energy refrigerator with a year supply of Monster Energy, and Monster Energy team gear. Proceeds from the raffle will allow the Kyle Busch Foundation to continue to empower young men and women by fostering life experiences and helping them achieve their goals. To learn more about the foundation, go to kylebuschfoundation.org.
About Shore Lodge
Established in 1948 on the sandy shores of beautiful Payette Lake, the iconic Shore Lodge is the premiere resort in Central Idaho and a quintessential mountain retreat. Amenities include The Cove, an authentic mountain McCall spa, and the Andy North-designed Golf Digest “Top 100″ Whitetail Golf Course. The course is located within the private, 1300-acre, mountain lake residential community of Whitetail, which offers lake, mountain and golf course-view home sites, contemporary mountain cabins and an array of amenities including a Fish & Swim Club, golf shop & grill restaurant, indoor tennis and fitness facility, plus a play park and Camp Sharlie for kids. In addition, Shore Lodge is situated on the edge of the largest area of protected wilderness in the continental United States, three major river systems and the best and most plentiful natural hot springs in the lower 48 states. It’s located only 10 minutes from Brundage Mountain, which Ski Magazine has credited with “the best powder in North America” and which provides lift-assisted access to more than 20 miles of mountain bike trails. Visit www.shorelodge.com, www.thecovemccall.com and www.whitetailclub.com for more information.
- Kyle Busch Motorsports Press Release
The post Hopeful that Return to Trucks will be ‘Like Riding a Bike’ (Kurt Busch) appeared first on Catchfence.
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David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch
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