FANTASY NASCAR Racin

an American NASCAR driver and team owner. Busch is the younger brother of 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch. He also currently holds several records in NASCAR competition. At age 19 years and 317 days, Busch became NASCAR's youngest ever pole winner in a Cup Series race at California Speedway in 2005. He holds the record for the most wins (5) in a Xfinity Series rookie season. Furthermore, Busch became the first driver to win a race and a championship in a Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series, winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway during the 2008 season and the 2015 Cup Series championship. Additionally, he is the only driver to win four straight spring races at Richmond International Raceway (2009–2012), and was also the inaugural winner of the first Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway, in 2011. Busch was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. His first driving lessons came at the

age of six when he drove aroundthe cul-de-sac of his family's Las Vegas neighborhood in a makeshift go-kart. Although he could not reach the throttle, Busch still was able to pick up the basics from his father Tom, who controlled the gas pedal as Busch drove the vehicle. Busch worked in the family garage with his father and older brother Kurt as he grew, becoming crew chief for his brother's dwarf car team at age ten. Busch began his driving career in 1998, shortly after his 13th birthday; from 1999 through 2001, Busch won over 65 races in legends car racing, winning two track championships at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring short-track, before moving to late models; Busch scored ten victories in late model competition at the Bullring during the 2001 season. At the age of 16, Busch began competing in the NASCAR Truck Series, driving the No. 99 Eldon Ford for Roush Racing as a

replacement for Nathan Haseleu, who was released midway in the 2001 season. He made his debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park, posting a 9th-place finish in his first race in the series. In his second race at Chicago Motor Speedway, he was leading until his truck ran out of fuel with 12 laps to go. Busch was the fastest in practice for a 2001 Truck Series race at California Speedway in Fontana, CA, when he was informed he was not allowed to participate in events at the track, due to the fact that the CART FedEx Championship Series, running at the track the same weekend, had

its race sponsored by Marlboro cigarettes. Busch was decreed ineligible to compete due an interpretation of the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, prohibiting people under 18 years of age in participating in events sponsored by tobacco companies; Tim Woods III replaced Busch in the No. 99 Ford for the event. Busch competed in a total of six races in the Truck Series in 2001, finishing ninth twice, at IRP and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Six weeks after the incident, NASCAR imposed a minimum age of 18 years starting in 2002 to prevent incidents of the sort from happening again; this was partially because Winston was

the series sponsor of its premier Winston Cup Series at the time. In 2002, Busch graduated a year early with honors from Durango High School in Las Vegas, Nevada to focus on his driving career. That same year, he made his debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway, finishing twelfth in the No. 22 Chevrolet for WP Motorsports. Busch entered the 2003 season as a development driver for Hendrick Motorsports; he ran seven ARCA RE/MAX Series races for the team, scoring his first career win at Nashville Superspeedway in April, and winning again at Kentucky Speedway in May. Having turned 18 in early May, he resumed his NASCAR career, driving seven Xfinity Series races in the No. 87 Chevrolet for NEMCO Motorsports. He posted two-second-place finishes in the seven races, including in his debut at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and again at Darlington Raceway. Busch began his 2004 season by competing in the ARCA Re/MAX

Series 200-mile race at Daytona International Speedway; he won the event, beating Frank Kimmel for the win. He began his first full time Xfinity season in 2004, replacing Brian Vickers in the #5 Lowes Chevrolet. Busch scored his first career pole in the series in the fifth race of the year at Darlington Raceway, and his first career win in May at Richmond International Raceway in the Funai 250. Busch won four additional races, tying Greg Biffle for the record for most wins by a driver in their rookie year, and finished 2nd in points behind series champion Martin Truex, Jr. Busch

also made his debut in the Cup Series in 2004, driving the #84 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He attempted to qualify for nine races in 2004, qualifying for six events with his first being at his home track of Las Vegas Motor Speedway; he posted a best finish of 24th at California Speedway. In October 2004, it was announced that Busch would be competing full-time in the Sprint Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports starting in 2005, replacing Terry Labonte in the #5 Kelloggs Chevrolet as Labonte semi-retired to run a partial season. Busch won his first career Sprint Cup race at California Speedway in September, winning the Sony HD 500; at the time he was the youngest winner in the history of the series, at an age of 20 years, 4 months and 2 days, four days younger than previous recordholder Donald Thomas. Busch won a 2nd

race later in the year at Phoenix International Raceway, on his way to finishing 20th in Cup series points and winning the NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year title. Busch also became the youngest pole-sitter in Cup Series history when he was the fastest qualifier for the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway in February. Busch also competed on a limited basis in the Xfinity Series and ruck Series in 2005; in Xfinity Series competition he ran fourteen races, winning at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May; he won three races in eleven starts in the Truck Series driving the #15 DiTech truck for Billy Ballew Motorsports; his first career win, at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 20, made Busch the

youngest winner in series history at the time. Busch scored one Nextel Cup Series win in 2006, taking the checkered flag in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at Loudon NH. Busch qualified for the Chase for the Cup for the first time in his career by finishing second at Richmond International Raceway in September, moving into the top ten in points; he finished the year tenth in points. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Busch ran all but one race over the season, winning the spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and finishing seventh in points; in the Truck Series, Busch competed in

seven races, winning the Quaker Steak and Lube 200 at Lowe's Motor Speedway; Busch's truck was painted to resemble the Rowdy Burns car from the movie Days of Thunder. In 2007, Busch became the first Cup Series driver to win in the Car of Tomorrow, winning the Food City at Bristol Motor Speedway in March over Jeff Burton; despite winning, Busch stated an intense dislike of the Car of Tomorrow after the race. The win was the 200th NASCAR national touring series win for Hendrick Motorsports; the 600th NASCAR victory for Chevrolet; and the first win for a Chevrolet Impala in NASCAR since Wendell Scott won at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida in December 1963. In the NASCAR All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May, Busch and older brother Kurt were involved in an accident while racing for the win, knocking each other out of the race; afterwards the brothers were

angry with each other, Kurt joking that "I won't be eating any Kellogg's soon", referencing Kyle's sponsor, and Kyle refusing to be interviewed. Both drivers were warned to avoid further incidents; while the brothers later stated that they were reconciling, it was later revealed that the two refused to speak to each other until their grandmother scolded them at the family Thanksgiving dinner later that year. In June 2007, it was announced Busch would be leaving Hendrick Motorsports after the end of the 2007 season; a contract extension had been proposed, but instead Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was signed replace Busch starting with the 2008. In August, Busch announced that

he would be joining Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2008 season, replacing J. J. Yeley in the #18 Toyota. Busch started his association with Joe Gibbs Racing by leading the most laps in the 50th Daytona 500, finishing 4th; he posted another 4th-place finish the following week at Auto Club Speedway, becoming the series points leader for the first time in his career. At Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Kobalt Tools 500, Busch scored his first win with JGR and the first Cup points-race win for Toyota. Busch won Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway, Darlington Raceway, Dover

International Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway and Watkins Glen International over the summer of 2008. Busch entered the Chase leading the points standings, but consecutive poor finishes at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway dropped Busch from a 20-point lead to twelfth in points; Busch rallied to finish tenth at the end of the season. Busch also ran in thirty Xfinity Series races during the 2008 season; Busch competed for three different teams over the course of the Xfinity Series season, driving four different cars (some races in the #18 NOS Energy car); he collected ten race wins. In the truck series he'd claim three wins this season Including a win driving the #51 Miccosukee Truck. Busch started his 2009 season with a win at Daytona International Speedway in his Gatorade Duel qualifying

race for the Daytona 500; he led the most laps in the Daytona 500 but was involved in an accident and failed to finish the race. The next week at Auto Club Speedway Busch became the first driver in NASCAR history to win two national touring series races in the same day, winning the Truck Series San Bernardino County 200 and Nationwide Series Stater Brothers 300. Busch then won Sprint Cup races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. On May 2, 2009, Busch became the second driver in Sprint Cup Series history to win a race on his birthday, after Cale Yarborough with a win in the Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Busch ran the entire 2009 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule, making it the first time he had done so since his rookie year in 2004. In the 2009 Xfinity Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November

21, Busch won the race, clinching his first NASCAR Championship; having won nine races over the course of the season. On December 11, 2009, Busch announced the formation of Kyle Busch Motorsports, planning to field two teams in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2010. On August 21, 2010, Busch became the first driver in NASCAR history to win all three NASCAR national touring series events run in a single weekend. This was achieved at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Busch won in the NASCAR Truck Series, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series events over a four-day period.

In the Xfinity Series, he won 13 races in 2010, breaking the all-time record for most Xfinity Series wins in a season previously held by Sam Ard with 10. In 2011 Busch again would sweep the March weekend at Bristol wheeling his Zline sponsored #18, his second sweep of a Bristol weekend. Following an on-track incident with Kevin Harvick during the Southern 500 on May 7, and a post-race scuffle that saw Busch push Harvick's unoccupied car on pit road with his car, Busch and Harvick were fined $25,000 and put on probation for four races. Following the Truck Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway, Busch became involved in an altercation with Richard Childress; Busch had bumped Childress' #22 truck, driven by Joey Coulter, on

the race's cool down lap and according to witnesses about 30 minutes after the race Childress came up to Busch, put him in a head lock and started punching him. Childress had previously stated, following Busch's altercation with Harvick at Darlington, that he would consider it personal if Busch damaged another vehicle he owned; Childress was fined $150,000 for the incident, and placed on probation for the remainder of the year. Busch stated that the bump had been congratulatory, and that had he realised the resulting damage would upset Childress he would have paid for the repairs. On August 26, 2011 Busch won the Xfinity Series Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway, surpassing Mark Martin for the most Xfinity Series wins ever, with 50, and also simultaneously became the first driver to win three consecutive races at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series. On November 4, 2011,

Busch was involved in an incident during the NASCAR Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350K at Texas Motor Speedway. While passing the lapped truck of Johnny Chapman, Busch made contact with series regular championship contender Ron Hornaday, Jr., causing a caution flag to be displayed. While under the yellow flag, Busch drove to Hornaday's truck during the caution and deliberately turned him into the outside wall, smashing Hornaday's truck and ending Hornaday's title hopes. NASCAR immediately black-flagged Busch, and parked him for the remainder of the

race for his aggressive driving; this was the first case of this being done since Robby Gordon was parked in a 2007 Xfinity Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Busch declined comment after speaking with NASCAR officials. Hornaday stated, I'll be at his house Monday morning" if Busch was not suspended. The next morning, NASCAR president Mike Helton announced, following discussion with Busch and team owner Joe Gibbs, that Busch would remain parked for the remainder of the weekend, including the Nationwide Series O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge and the Sprint Cup AAA Texas 500. On November 7, NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for "actions detrimental to stock car racing"; in addition, Busch was placed on probation for the rest of the year, being warned that he would be suspended indefinitely if he committed another offense detrimental to stock car racing or disrupted

the orderly conduct of a NASCAR event during the remainder of the 2011 season. On November 10, it was reported that M&M's, the primary sponsor for Busch's Cup team, refused to sponsor the 18 for the last few races as a result of Busch's behavior in Texas. Aric Almirola was briefly considered by Joe Gibbs Racing to replace Busch for the remainder of the year; while it was decided by the team to allow Busch to drive in the final two races of the season with Interstate Batteries sponsorship. Busch started the 2012 season announcing he would be moving, in the Xfinity Series, from running for Joe Gibbs Racing to running only a limited schedule races in cars prepared by his own Kyle Busch Motorsports team, driving alongside his brother Kurt, in addition to cutting back his Truck Series

schedule to only three races. He failed to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, finishing 13th in Sprint Cup points, and was win-less in Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series competition. Heading into the 2013 season, Busch merged his #54 Xfinity Series team with Joe Gibbs Racing as part of a multi-year contract extension with the team; he continued to field his own #77 Toyota in the Xfinity Series with driver Parker Kligerman. At Fontana, Busch dominated the weekend, winning both the Xfinity and Cup races. At Charlotte, in the Xfinity Series, Busch was back in the winner's

circle at History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, having already won at the track in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 in the NASCAR Truck Series the previous weekend. The next day at the Coca-Cola 600 in the Cup Series, Busch had qualified in 8th, and was leading when an unusual incident occurred on lap 121; with Busch leading, one of the cables to a FOX Sports cable camera on the front straightaway snapped and fell on the track in the turn 4 grandstands, injuring 10 spectators. Busch ran over it, as did Mark Martin, Marcos Ambrose and several others, suffering damage to the underside of his car. A red flag was waved but while under normal red flag conditions, crews are not allowed to touch the cars, enough cars took damage from hitting the cable that NASCAR gave all teams 15 minutes to check for damage and do any repairs if

needed. At the restart, all cars returned to the position they were in. On lap 258, Busch's engine blew, ending his night and finishing him in 38th place. Despite this, Busch finished fourth in the final points, his best career point finish at the time. In 2014, Busch announced that he would drive the No. 54 car part-time in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing, splitting the ride with Sam Hornish, Jr. He also stated that he would drive the No. 51 truck part-time for 10 races in the Truck Series, with Erik Jones driving the other 12. Kyle Busch's first highlight of the season came at Daytona in the NASCAR truck series race. He took the lead half-way in the 100 lap event, after leader Ben Kennedy

(grandson of Bill France Jr.) ran out of gas. He led 25 laps and Timothy Peters got by Busch with 5 laps to go. With help from Ron Hornaday Jr. and Ryan Truex, Busch used a high-line move, to beat Peters by an inch for the win in a photo-finish. Kyle Busch led some laps during the Daytona 500 and was running 4th on the final lap but got collected in an accident involving former arch rival Kevin Harvick. Harvick apologized for causing the wreck, but he and Busch both called out the track for not having safer-barriers in the front-stretch. Busch hinted in a post-race interview that

the wreck was the hardest impact he's ever had in a race-car. On March 23, 2014 at Auto Club Speedway, Busch started 14th and was running fifth on the final restart. His older brother Kurt Busch appeared to have the win locked up, but Kurt and Tony Stewart got into an aggressive battle for the lead that resulted with Busch catching up to the leaders and passing for the win on the final lap. Kyle Busch also had a good Xfinity series season. He shared the No. 54 with Sam Hornish Jr. bringing the 54 to victory many times. During the spring and early summer, Busch had great results in the truck series wheeling the Totota Care #18 truck. In the first 5 races he entered he dominated and won. Busch made it to the second round of the Chase and while he was 2nd in points coming in to Talladega, a crash on lap 103 eliminated him from contention due to a 40th-place finished which dropped him

to 10th. Busch finished 10th in the 2014 Cup series standings. On February 21, 2015; Busch was involved in a multi-car accident with eight laps to go during the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. The accident happened exiting the tri-oval, and saw Busch slam into a concrete wall head-on with no SAFER barriers, Busch climbed out of his race car with the help of medical and on-track officials. He laid on the ground before being placed on a stretcher as medical personnel attended to his right leg. He later was transported to Halifax Medical Center for further evaluation. A few hours later, the diagnosis was found to be a massive compound fracture in the lower right leg, a small fracture in the left foot, and a sprained left finger. Matt Crafton replaced Busch for the Daytona 500. From Atlanta through Talladega, David Ragan replaced Busch. For Kansas, Erik Jones drove Busch's car. Busch

announced on March 12 that his recovery progress was going well. The crash, as well as Jeff Gordon's crash in Atlanta weeks later was a wake-up call to several race-tracks to install more SAFER barriers. Within 180 minutes since the crash, Daytona's CEO took responsibility for the crash, saying that the speedway "did not live up to its responsibility today. We should have had a SAFER Barrier there. We are going to fix that right now." Other tracks such as Talladega Super speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, and several other tracks vowed to install

SAFER barriers alongside the whole track soon afterwards. Busch made his first media appearance since the crash on April 15. He came in a wheelchair and explained the wreck. He took responsibility for the wreck stating: "I got greedy there trying to win the race and I pushed Erik Jones. I felt relieved at first because I avoided getting hit by him but then the upset air crooked my car left. It was 100% my fault and it was the hardest hit I've ever had in a race-car for sure. As soon as the wreck happened, as soon as I hit, I knew instantly that my right leg broke. I could feel it. It was a sharp pain. I want to get back sooner than later, but we've obviously got to be smart about it too knowing that I've got a long career ahead of me still. We don't need to rush anything too crazily." On May 12, 2015, Busch announced on Twitter that he would return to

NASCAR at the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte on May 16. On June 13, nearly four months after his injury, he won the Xfinity Series race at Michigan in his second start of the season. In order to make the Chase in 2015, Busch needed to be in the Top 30 in points and have one win in the Cup Series. At Sonoma, Busch won after a late race caution shuffled Jimmie Johnson out of contention because he did not pit and Busch had fresher tires. A few laps later, Busch was leading over brother Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer. Their race against each other for second place allowed Busch to keep enough distance to hold first place. He had built up just enough time to come in first knowing that his brother had passed Bowyer and was quickly gaining on him. On July 11, 2015, Busch won at Kentucky,

making him only 87 points from breaking the top 30 in points, and be eligible to enter the Chase. Busch finished 17th at Daytona the next event; then went on a tear winning the next three races in a row and moving himself into the top 30 in points in the process; and guaranteeing himself a spot in the Chase with one car to go before the cut off. Busch used two Top 10s during the first round of the Chase advanced to round two. However, his hopes to advance to the next round took a heavy hit during the race at Charlotte. After running second to team mate Matt Kenseth for most of

the race, Busch and Kyle Larson collided while entering pit road, spinning Larson and eliminating both from contention for the race win. Busch hit the wall several times during the final 50 laps due to oil on the race-track from the #51 driven by Justin Allgaier who had lost a transmission after an on-track collision. After the race Busch and several other competitors such as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. criticized NASCAR for allowing the drivers to race in oil during the final 50 laps. On November 15, 2015, Busch clinched a spot to stay in contention as the Championship 4 for the final Chase at Homestead. On November 20, Kyle Busch Motorsports's Erik Jones won the Camping World Truck Series championship, making Busch the Owners

Champion. On November 22, 2015; Busch won the Ford EcoBoost 400 to win his first ever Cup Series championship. Busch ended the season with five wins, twelve Top 5s, and sixteen Top 10's, despite racing in only Busch the owners champion. On November 22, 2015; Busch won the Ford EcoBoost 400 to win his first ever Cup Series championship. Busch ended the season with five wins, twelve Top 5s, and sixteen Top 10's, despite racing in only 25 of 36 races. Before the 2016 season started, Busch announced that he would no longer race in Xfinity or Truck Series restrictor plate races any more because of his Daytona crash in 2015. He would claim four Cup series wins this season and again make it to the final race to compete for the Championship. He would end up third in

points when the checkered flag flew. He won 10 Xfinity series races and added two Truck series wins. Jimmie Johnson would pull out a last minute upset victory after struggling all day to run in the top ten to claim his record tying seventh Cup Championship. 2017 saw Busch once again racing for Joe Gibbs; an owner he has raced with since 2008. Busch got off to a slow start not breaking into victory lane until the 21st race of the season (Pocono); but he followed that up quickly winning three of the next races. His win propelled him through each round of the Chase and

he had a chance to win the Championship once again. In the final race at Homestead Busch led some laps and had a strong car; but Martin Truex was the class of the field as he won the 2017 Championship - Busch would finish second. NASCAR implemented a new rule for 2017 that limited the number of races a Cup Series driver could race in the lower series; so no doubt the amount of wins Busch collected in the Xfinity and Truck diminished because of that; however he was still able to get five Xfinity Series wins in only ten starts; while he also collected three wins in seven starts in the Truck Series. In 2018 Busch won the Coke 600 for his first race win at Charlotte. With that win he became the first driver in the history of NASCAR to post at win at every active track on the circuit. Kyle had an outstanding season driving for Joe Gibbs. He posted eight wins including three in a row early in the season; and also won the Coke 600. Along with his eight wins he also posted 22 Top 5 and 28 Top 10 finishes. He made it to the

Championship race at Homestead and it was a battle between the top four all throughout the race. Those that qualified for the Chase all finished in the top four spots with Busch being fourth. Busch stayed with JGR in 2019 and it was another good year for Busch. He started off on fire with three wins in the first eight races. He also had eleven Top 10 finishes in the first eleven races. He won again at Pocono and then hit a dry spell. He ran well but it was a struggle to finish in the top five. Meanwhile his Joe Gibbs Racing team mates were racking up wins also. Martin Truex claimed seven wins; while Denny Hamlin added six more. Erik Jones even pitched in a win for JGR. In all the drivers claimed 19 of the season's 36 wins. It was a totally dominant performance for the JGR team. All three of the JGR drivers made the final race for the

Championship. Truex led almost 100 laps before half way. Kyle Busch didn't lead until lap 87; but between that point and the end of the race he led 120 laps and out ran Truex to claim his second Cup Championship. JGR cars claimed the top three spots as Truex was second and Jones third. Busch was also dominate in NASCAR's two other premier divisions. He made five starts in the Truck series and claimed the checkered flag every time. He also made seven starts in the Xfinity Series and won four times. In 2020, Busch had a dreadful year for him. The 2019 Champion had won

at least four races every season for the past five years. But things just seemed to go wrong all year and he just couldn't manage to find victory lane. He finished second at Fontana CA and added a third place at Phoenix before the pandemic hit. After that he managed to finish second at Darlington (race #6) and again at Atlanta (race #10). After that, most results landed him in the top ten; but never in contention for a win. He made the Chase via points and grabbed another second place finish at Bristol. A bad finish at Talladega and the Roval eliminated him from Championship contention at the end of round two. He did manage to salvage his season at Texas when he broke through and got the win there. Since Busch started Cup racing in 2005; he has won at least one race every year. This win kept that streak alive and gives him a chance

to catch Richard Petty who holds the record with 18 consecutive seasons. Kyle did also run five races in both the Xfinity Series and the Truck series. He got one win in the Xfinity series and three in the Trucks. Joe Gibbs Racing has announced a crew chief swap for 2021 as Adam Stevens would leave Busch to go head up the efforts of team mate Christopher Bell; and Ben Beshore would be the lead wrench for Busch. In 2021, Busch had an up and down year. Not having practice and qualifying seemed to hurt Busch’s runs in the race. He got his first win at Kansas (race 11) and won again at Pocono (race 19). He also had three second place finishes; and 14 Top 5 results. He got knocked out in the final round before the Chase, and ended up ninth in the points. With his win this season, he is still in pursuit of tying Richard Petty’s streak

of wins in consecutive years. If he wins in 2022, they will be tied. He will be back with JGR next season; and Ben Beshore will remain as crew chief. NASCAR is scheduled to go back to having practice and qualifying so that should increase his chance of winning. In the Xfinity Series; he ran five races; and won all five times; pushing him past 100 wins in the series. He had announced earlier that when he reached 100 wins in the series that he would not compete in it any more. The Trucks also saw him race five times and get two wins and five Top 5’s. Busch's 2022 season was

more notable for more of what happened off the track rather than on it. In December 2021, it was announced that M&M/Mars was leaving Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing as primary sponsor at the end of the 2022 season. It was a major announcement as M&M / Mars had been Busch's sponsor since coming to Joe Gibbs Racing way back in 2008. Folks assume that Gibbs would land a new sponsor and things would continue on their merry way. Busch has always said he had wanted to run the rest of his career for JGR; and Gibbs had always said he was "family" and wanted him racing there. However, as the year dragged on, no sponsor was found. Then when Kurt Busch got hurt and had to miss seat time; Gibb's grandson Ty Gibbs was picked to replace Kurt. Gibbs was in the Xfinity series full time driving for JGR, and Kurt Busch drove for 23XI racing; a satellite team of JGR. When Kurt crashed in qualifying at Pocono; Ty was tabbed to be his replace for the race. Gibbs had no laps in a Cup car; didn't get to practice the car or qualify it. He was going into the race a cold as it

gets. He was told to just run safe; try and stay on the lead lap if possible; and bring the car home in one piece. He managed to stay on the lead lap during the first two stages thanks to some yellows that bunched the field back up. After 200 miles under his belt; the crew chief loosened the reins a little bit and told Ty to be a bit more aggressive. When the checkered flag flew he had finished 16th on the lead lap. The next race at Indianapolis he was 17th, and the following week he got his first top ten at Michigan. The rest of the season he consistently finished from around 15th to 22nd. Still no sponsor was found for Busch. Rumors began to surface that with grandson Ty running so well; maybe Gibbs wasn't looking too hard to "find" a sponsor. The thinking being Gibbs would just put Ty in the car. Things dragged out. Tyler Reddick threw a monkey wrench into things also. Reddick got his first Cup win at

Road America in July. About a week later Reddick announced he would be leaving Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2024 season. The announcement was a surprise to Childress, and he was upset as he had been left out of the loop. Interestingly enough, Reddick was going to drive for 23XI Racing. Busch showed great patience while Gibbs was "looking" for a sponsor for Busch; but said they was not having any luck. Finally, Kyle had to make a decision on his future; and he signed to drive for RCR in 2023 in the #8 car. Childress assured Reddick would have a ride in 2023; but

when it was all said and done; it was a big game of musical chairs. In October, 23XI announced they had bought out the remainder of Reddick's contract so he would drive for them in 2023; Busch would be at RCR, and in November it was announced that Ty Gibbs would drive full time in the Cup Series for JGR. As far as the racing part of Busch's season; it was rather disappointing. He seemed snake bit all year. Whatever could go wrong; did go wrong. It was a very un-Kyle Busch type year. The lone bright spot came at Bristol on the dirt. He was running third as the white flag waved; and in the final turn as Tyler Reddick could see the checkers in sight; Chase Briscoe tried to pass him and the two tangled. Both spun, and Busch drove through for

his only win of the year. This turned out to be important as it kept alive his consecutive year winning streak alive; tying him with Richard Petty at 18 years in a row. For most years Busch's year would be considered a success. A win; eight top five and 17 top tens finishes is nothing to sneeze at; but it was far from the standards Busch was used to. We'll see what he can do at RCR in 2023. By Tyler Reddick winning three times for RCR in 2023; it shows they have a program capable of running up front. Busch did make five starts in the truck series. Of those he won once. His five runs saw him garner a second at Las Vegas; thirds at COTA and Martinsville; a seventh at Charlotte and the win came at Sonoma. True to his word from the previous season;

Busch did not run any Xfinity series events since had had topped the 100 win make in that series. In 2023, Busch was once again active in all of NASCAR’s top three series. Everyone was curious how he would do after leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to go to race for Richard Childress. After a crash in the season opening race at Daytona; Busch parked his #8 Chevy in victory circle the second race of the year at Fontana. He led 27 laps and outran Chase Elliott by three seconds. Busch remained competitive on various tracks and the season gained steam. He was eighth at Phoenix; posted a runner up finish at the road course of COTA; and

won again at Talladega. He would win again at St Louis and finish second the next week at Sonoma. As the regular season was nearing it’s end; Busch’s performance seemed to stall. He easily made it through the first round of the Chase; but finishes of 34th, 25th and third prevented him to advancing to the Round of Eight. He ended up 14th in the season points. So, we will see how things go when 2024 kicks off. Busch also posted a couple wins in the Truck series. He made five starts and went to the winners circle at Las Vegas and Pocono. He finished second at COTA and Martinsville and had a seventh at Kansas. Busch had stated that after he reached 100 wins in the Xfinity series he would not compete in it any more; but Kaulig Racing owner Matt Kaulig, asked him to drive one of their cars to help make their cars better. Busch drove the #10

Chevy four times with a best finish of fourth; and added two ninths at Phoenix and Darlington. Near the end of the season, he sold his race team (Kyle Busch Motorsports) to Spire Motorsports; but has an agreement to over-see the operation as an advisor as they get going; and to drive five races in the Truck series in 2024. He will be back with RCR in the Cup series in 2024. For his career Busch has ran 678 Cup races and collected 63 wins. In the Xfinity Series he has 366 starts with 102 wins. In the Truck Series he made 170 starts; and has 64 wins. He has 224 wins in NASCAR’s top three series. While driving Busch is also a NASCAR team Owner fielding vehicles in both the Xfinity and Truck Series. For more info see look under Car Owners, "Kyle Busch Motorsports" link. Some info from Wikipedia.

Fantasy NASCAR Racing

KYLE THOMAS "ROWDY" BUSCH - 05/02/1985