Kyle Busch Motorsports

Kyle Busch Motorsports
Owner(s) Kyle Busch & Samantha Busch
Base Mooresville, North Carolina
Series Camping World Truck Series
Car numbers 4, 15, 18, 51, 54, 56, 77
Race drivers 4. Erik Jones
51. Kyle Busch
Daniel Suárez
Matt Tifft
54. Justin Boston
Sponsors 4. ToyotaCare
51. Arris Group (Suárez)
Dollar General
54. Zloop
BitPay (Daytona)
Career
Debut 2010 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
Latest race 2015 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Races competed 60 in Nationwide Series and 143 in Camping World Truck Series
Drivers' Championships 0
Race victories 40
Pole positions 21

Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and late model team that is owned and operated by Kyle Busch, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series driver. The team operates the No. 4 Toyota Tundra for Erik Jones, the No. 51 Tundra for Busch, Daniel Suárez, and Matt Tifft, and the No. 54 Zloop/Bitpay Toyota Tundra for Justin Boston in the Camping World Truck Series. The team formerly operated a team in the Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) before ending the Nationwide Series program at the end of the 2013 season.

History

KBM was founded after Busch purchased the remaining assets of Xpress Motorsports from J.B. Scott (father of driver Brian Scott) in late 2009 as well as purchasing trucks from Roush Fenway Racing, which had closed its Truck team the previous year. Rick Ren, the crew chief on Ron Hornaday, Jr.'s 2009 championship team, would be signed as the team's competition director. Busch had competed in the truck series for the 2008 and 2009 seasons in the #51 for Billy Ballew Motorsports with Miccosukee Indian Gaming as his primary sponsor, and had split the ride with Brian Ickler the previous year.[1]

Busch brought Ickler to the KBM stable, and signed Tayler Malsam away from Randy Moss Motorsports after he finished second in series Rookie of the Year standings to former Cup and Busch/Nationwide driver Johnny Sauter. The team ambitiously planned to run three trucks in its debut season: Busch and Ickler would split the primary truck (#18), Malsam was to drive a second truck for KBM, the No. 56 ActivWater/Talking Rain Tundra, and a third was to be fielded for 2008 series champion Johnny Benson if sponsorship could be found. The Miccosukee sponsorship was to carry over to Busch's primary truck as part of an agreement with Phoenix Racing.[1] On February 7, however, the Miccosukee tribe's new leadership pulled out of NASCAR altogether, leaving Busch's team and Phoenix's Cup and Nationwide series teams without sponsorship.[2] Benson would also be limited to a part-time schedule with KBM and Ballew,[3] and Malsam's team ceased operations after only seven races.[2][4]

After operating out of the former Xpress shop for most of its first season, the team opened its new $10 million facility in Mooresville, North Carolina on October 14, 2010.[5][6]

In 2011, KBM made its first foray into the then-Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) in conjunction with NEMCO Motorsports.[7] The team moved to full-time in 2012. On November 16, 2013, Busch announced that the team will not race in the Nationwide Series in 2014 due to lack of funding.[8]

In December 2014, former competition director Rick Ren (released after 2013) filed suit against the team for breach of contract, claiming the team failed to pay him a contractual bonus and 10% commissions for two sponsorship deals Ren claimed to have procured for the team, totaling USD$355,000. The sponsorships in question — Central Kentucky Angus Sales for driver Parker Kligerman and Sabala Whitetail for driver Brian Scott (owned by Scott's father J.B. Scott) — had prior associations with the drivers.[9]

Nationwide Series

In May 2011, Kimi Raikkonen made his Nationwide Series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the number 87 Perky Jerky Toyota Camry. The car was fielded in an alliance between KBM and NEMCO Motorsports, guaranteeing Raikkonen a spot in the field. Raikkonen started 22nd and finished 27th, four laps down.[7][10]

Car No. 54 History

For the operations of the #54 team after 2012, see Joe Gibbs Racing

Kurt Busch in 2012.
Parker Kligerman in 2013

For 2012, KBM added a full-time Nationwide team, the #54. The car was split by both Kyle Busch and older brother Kurt Busch, both with sponsorship from Monster Energy.[11] Kyle ran 17 races while Kurt ran 16. The team struggled in its initial year, winning only one race with Kurt at Richmond.[12] This was the first time in his Nationwide Series career that Kyle Busch did not score a victory over the course of a season, leading him to return to Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide program for 2013, bringing the #54 and Monster Energy with him.

Car No. 77 History

For 2013 22-year-old Parker Kligerman, a former development driver for Penske Racing, was signed to run his first full Nationwide Series schedule in the #77, with sponsorship from Toyota and Bandit Chippers.[12] Despite finishing 9th in the standings, Busch announced after the Ford EcoBoost 200 that he would be shutting down the Nationwide team due to a lack of funding.

Camping World Truck Series

Truck No. 4 History

Jason Leffler in 2012.

The 4 truck began as the #18 truck (Kyle Busch's Sprint Cup Series number), the primary entry of KBM during their debut 2010 season, with Kyle Busch running a partial schedule and Brian Ickler running non-companion races.[1] The team would lose its Miccosukee sponsorship prior to the season,[2] replaced by Toyota, M&M's, Interstate Batteries, Dollar General, and Traxxas. In the first seven races of the season, Busch made five starts and won twice, while Ickler finished in the top ten both of his starts. KBM lost Ickler in May when he was signed by Roush Fenway Racing to drive its No. 6 and 16 Nationwide Series cars on a part-time basis as part of an extended tryout with the organization. Busch announced shortly thereafter that he would split the driving duties of the No. 18 with Johnny Benson for the remainder of the year. Kyle Busch won 8 races in 16 starts, and the 18 truck won the owners championship in its first full-time season.

Both Ickler and Busch returned for 2011, with Kyle running 16 races and Ickler running 4. Kasey Kahne drove a single race the 18 with sponsorship from Automotive Service Excellence, winning at Darlington. Josh Richards drove two races with Joy Mining Equipment. Kyle Busch scored 6 races over the course of the season.[13]

For 2012, veteran Jason Leffler was signed to be the primary driver of the No. 18 Toyota Tundra. The team secured sponsorship from Dollar General for 14 races.[14] After nine starts and with a lone top-five finish to his credit, Leffler was released.[15] Finishing the season in the truck were Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Brian Scott (five races), Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch (3 races), along with Kurt Busch and Drew Herring.[15] Busch had previously abstained from driving in the Truck Series per a request from JGR co-owner J.D. Gibbs, following an incident the previous season.[16] Hamlin and Scott scored the team's only wins of the season at Martinsville and Phoenix. Kyle didn't win a race for the first time in his Camping World Truck Series career.

For 2013, Busch hired former Richard Childress Racing driver Joey Coulter to drive the No. 18.[17] Coulter and Busch had a previous on-track altercation in 2011, leading to a physical encounter between Busch and team owner Richard Childress.[18] Coulter struggled, with only five top tens and a 15th place points finish. With Coulter moving to GMS Racing, the 18 team did not run in 2014.[19]

Erik Jones will run full-time in 2015 after running the 51 part-time in 2013 and 2014. In December 2014, it was announced that the truck would be number 4.[20][21]

Truck No. 15 History

In April 2011, KBM signed 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen to run a limited schedule in the Camping World Truck Series. Räikkönen and Busch planned three to five races beginning at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.[22] The efforts were sponsored by Perky Jerky,[23] and the team used the owners points of Billy Ballew Motorsports' 15 team. In his debut, Räikkönen started 31st but finished a solid 15th. The deal ended due to lack of sponsorship beyond the Charlotte race.[24] Dirt late model driver Josh Richards signed to run 11 races with KBM and sponsor Joy Mining Machinery, making his debut in the 15 at Kentucky Speedway.[25] Richards finished 29th in his debut, then 21st at Atlanta.

Truck No. 51 History

Erik Jones driving the #51 truck at Rockingham

The 51 was previously used by Busch at Billy Ballew Motorsports, a reverse of the team's #15 and a tribute to both the late Bobby Hamilton and the film Days of Thunder. In 2011, NASCAR Corona Series champion Germán Quiroga made his first Truck Series start in the number 51 with Telcel as a sponsor at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the New England 175. Quiroga finished a solid 16th, but 3 laps down. He would run the truck again in the season finale at Homestead, finishing 26th. Josh Richards ran four races in the 51 with Joy Mining Equipment, scoring a best finish of 13th at Talladega.

In July 2012, the team announced that Quiroga would return to the 51 truck for four races: Talladega Superspeedway on October 6, Texas Motor Speedway on November 2, Phoenix International Raceway on November 9 and Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16, with sponship from Net10 Wireless.[26] Denny Hamlin drove the truck at Martinsville Speedway on October 27, 2012 with sponsorship from Toyota and earned Kyle Busch Motorsports their first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win of the 2012 season. In 2013, the 51 became a full-time team, with owner Kyle Busch running 10 races. 16-year-old driver Erik Jones ran 5 races, while Scott Bloomquist ran the Mudsummer Classic.[27] On November 8, 2013, Jones won the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway, the youngest winner of a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at 17 years, 5 months, and 9 days. Busch would go on to win the season finale Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway the next week. The 51 would win the 2013 Camping World Truck Series owner's title, barely edging the ThorSport Racing 88 team of driver's champion Matt Crafton. It was the second owner's championship for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

In 2014, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones split the 51 truck, with Busch driving 10 races and Jones driving 12 races. Eric Phillips served as the crew chief.[28] Dollar General sponsored the truck at Kentucky, Bristol, and Chicagoland with Busch driving and at Phoenix with Jones driving.[29] Busch won the season-opener at Daytona along with his next four starts in the 51 truck at Kansas, Charlotte, Dover, and Kentucky. Erik Jones won at Iowa and Phoenix. The team won its second consecutive owner's championship, with 10 wins among the two drivers.

For 2015, Busch will share the ride with JGR Xfinity Series driver Daniel Suárez and ARCA Racing Series driver Matt Tifft, while Jones will move into a third full-time ride (#4).[21][30]

Truck No. 54 History

Wallace's 2013 truck

In 2013, Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Darrell "Bubba" Wallace, Jr. ran the full season in the No. 54 Toyota with sponsorship from ToyotaCare and Camping World/Good Sam Club. Wallace won his first race at Martinsville Speedway in the Kroger 200, and would finish 8th in points.[31]

In 2014, Wallace ran his second full-time season in the No. 54. In June, Wallace won the Drivin' for Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park. Three weeks later, he battled Kyle Larson and Ron Hornaday, Jr. for the win at Eldora Speedway. Wallace, Jr. held off a hard charging Larson, who wrecked his car trying to catch him, and beat Hornaday by a 5.489 second margin to win the second annual Mudsummer Classic.[32] Wallace switched to the No. 34 for the Kroger 200 at Martinsville in tribute to Wendell Scott,[33] and led the most laps en route to his second straight victory in the race. Wallace won his final race with KBM, the season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway, beating Larson again to earn his first non-short track victory.[34] Wallace's four wins along with nine top fives and 14 top tens led to a third place finish in points.[31]

Former ARCA Racing Series rookie of the year and Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Justin Boston will run the full 2015 season in the 54, with sponsorship from Zloop Electronic Recycling.[21][35]

Truck No. 56 History

The 2010 season started out with Tayler Malsam in the #56. Early in the season after seven races. it was announced that Malsam was signed by Braun Racing to take over in their No. 10 Toyota in the Nationwide Series. With no driver or sponsorship, the No. 56 team shut down immediately.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Leone, Christopher (December 13, 2009). "Kyle Busch Motorsports: Huge Risk, Huge Reward?". Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Broomberg, Nick. "Kyle Busch says that he needs a sponsor to run his truck team in 2011". Yahoo!. Yahoo!. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Kaminski, Steve (June 12, 2010). "Johnny Benson finds himself on sidelines for Trucks race at Michigan International Speedway". mlive.com. Booth Newspapers, Advance Publications. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Papaserge, Ryan (September 3, 2010). "Why A New Concept Could Save NASCAR's Truck Series". Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Grand Opening Set for Oct. 14". Kyle Busch Motorsports. Kyle Busch Motorsports. October 6, 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Elkins, Ken (November 11, 2009). "Kyle Busch builds place of his own". bizjournals.com. Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Newton, David (May 23, 2011). "Kimi Raikkonen set for Nationwide debut". espn.go.com. Concord, North Carolina: ESPN. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Spencer, Lee (November 16, 2013). "KBM shuts down Nationwide teams". Fox Sports. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  9. ↑ Gluck, Jeff (January 22, 2015). "Kyle Busch Motorsports: Former GM made 'fraudulent' claims". USA Today. Statesville, North Carolina: USA Today. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  10. ↑ Gluck, Jeff (May 28, 2011). "Kimi Raikkonen's NASCAR Nationwide Series Debut At Charlotte Doesn't Go As Planned". SB Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  11. ↑ Associated Press (January 19, 2012). "Kyle Busch signs brother Kurt Busch". espn.go.com. Mooresville, North Carolina: ESPN. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Gluck, Jeff (December 18, 2012). "Parker Kligerman moves up to NASCAR Nationwide Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports". SB Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  13. ↑ http://kylebuschmotorsports.com/news/entry.php?nid=133
  14. ↑ "Leffler joins Kyle Busch's truck team". Fox Sports. Fox Sports. January 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Gluck, Jeff (August 14, 2012). "Jason Leffler Released From Kyle Busch Motorsports". SB Nation. SB Nation. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  16. ↑ Bonkowski, Jerry (April 23, 2012). "What happened to Kyle Busch?". motorsport.com. motorsport.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Sporting News staff (November 7, 2012). "Kyle Busch hires Joey Coulter for Truck Series team". Sporting News. Sporting News. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  18. ↑ Pockrass, Bob (November 8, 2012). "Joey Coulter recognizes irony of driving for Kyle Busch". Sporting News. Sporting News. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Coulter Joins GMS Truck Operation". National Speed Sport News. January 13, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  20. ↑ Turner, Jared (November 6, 2014). "Erik Jones to drive full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2015". Fox Sports. Avondale, Arizona: Fox Sports. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "KBM sets crew chiefs, truck numbers for 2015 lineup". nascar.com. NASCAR. December 11, 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  22. ↑ Newton, David (April 2, 2011). "Kimi Raikkonen joins Kyle Busch team". espn.go.com. Martinsville, Virginia: ESPN. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "Perky Jerky Partners with Former Formula One Champion Kimi Raikkonen in NASCAR Transition". Business Wire. Denver: Business Wire. April 6, 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  24. ↑ Newton, Dave (May 28, 2011). "Kimi Raikkonen says he's paid up". espn.go.com. Concord, North Carolina: ESPN. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  25. ↑ Pockrass, Bob (July 8, 2011). "Dirt Late Model champion Josh Richards ready to embark on 11-race schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports". Sporting News. Sporting News. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "Three-Time NASCAR Mexico Series Champion Quiroga to Pilot Net10 Tundra in Four Races for KBM". Kyle Busch Motorsports. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  27. ↑ Gibson, John (January 30, 2013). "Sources Confirming Bloomquist To Drive Truck For Busch At Eldora". OneDirt. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Erik Jones and Kyle Busch to Share Driving Duties for the Defending Truck Series Owner’s Champions". Kyle Busch Motosports. January 23, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Dollar General to Sponsor Four Races on No. 51 Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series". Kyle Busch Motosports. March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  30. ↑ Bruce, Kenny (November 14, 2014). "WALLACE DONE WITH KBM AS TEAM ANNOUNCES 2015 LINEUP". nascar.com. Homestead, Florida: NASCAR. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Pockrass, Bob (December 8, 2014). "Darrell Wallace Jr. granted release from Joe Gibbs Racing". Sporting News. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  32. ↑ Pockrass, Bob (July 24, 2014). "Darrell Wallace Jr. wins at Eldora as Kyle Larson bangs the wall". Sporting News. Rossburg, Ohio: Sporting News. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  33. ↑ Richter, Josh (September 17, 2014). "David Ragan, 'Bubba' Wallace to honor HOF inductee Wendell Scott". Foxsports.com. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  34. ↑ Spencer, Reid (November 14, 2014). "DARRELL WALLACE JR. WINS HOMESTEAD-MIAMI TRUCK RACE". nascar.com. Homestead, Florida: NASCAR. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  35. ↑ DeGroot, Nick (November 14, 2014). "Justin Boston to compete full-time for KBM in 2015". Motorsport.com. Miami: motorsport.com. Retrieved 14 November 2014.

External links