Kyle Busch: Driver, No. 51 Cessna Toyota
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Overview:
Event: CRC Brakleen 150, Race 13 of 22, 60 Laps – 15/15/30; 150 Miles
Location: Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. (2.5-mile tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: June 26, 2021 at noon ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
The Report on ‘Rowdy’:
- Owner-driver Kyle Busch will make his fifth and final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of 2021 behind the wheel of the No. 51 Cessna Tundra at Pocono Raceway. ‘Rowdy’ picked up his 61st career victory in May at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City in his most recent start and also was victorious at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., in March. In his other two starts, Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway and Richmond (Va.) Raceway, he finished runner-up to Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) driver John Hunter Nemechek.
- Busch, the winningest driver in series history, enters Saturday’s event having won 38.3% (61/159) of the Truck Series races he has entered and finished first or second in 56.6% (90/159). Since the start of the 2018 season, ‘Rowdy’ has finished first (12) or second (five) in 17 of 19 Truck Series starts, resulting in average finish of 3.37 over that span.
- The 36-year-old driver has two wins (2015 and 2018), three top-five and three top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 7.3 across four Camping World Trucks starts at Pocono. In addition to his pair of truck wins, Busch has three NASCAR Cup Series victories (2017, 2018 and 2019) and one NASCAR Xfinity Series triumph (2018).
- After 12 events, the No. 51 sits fourth in the Camping World Truck Series owner standings, 126 tallies behind KBM’s No. 4 team. With four races remaining in the regular season, they are 88 points above the cutoff line for making the owner’s portion of the Truck Series playoffs. The No. 51 team ranks second in the series with three victories. Busch collected victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, while Martin Truex Jr. picked up first-ever Truck Series victory at the Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
- Mardy Lindley is in his first season as a crew chief at KBM. Before arriving at KBM, Lindley guided his drivers to 32 wins and four ARCA Menards Series East championships since 2013, including back-to-back titles with Sam Mayer the last two seasons. Additionally, he earned the ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown championship with Mayer in 2020. Behind the wheel, the second-generation driver won 11 races on the Pro Cup Series from 2000 to 2006 and was crowned the series champion in 2001. Lindley was atop the pit box for one ARCA Menards Series event at Pocono, a third-place finish with Sam Mayer last June.
- Since Textron Aviation became a partner in 2017, Busch has recorded 14 victories, 1,553 laps led and an average finish of 5.0 in 24 starts with the Cessna and Beechcraft brands adorning his Tundra.
- For more than 90 years, Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has empowered our collective talent across the Beechcraft, Cessna, and Hawker brands to design and deliver the best aviation experience for our customers. With a range that includes everything from business jets, turboprops, and high-performance pistons, to special mission, military trainer and defense products, Textron Aviation has the most versatile and comprehensive aviation product portfolio in the world and a workforce that has produced more than half of all general aviation aircraft worldwide. Customers in more than 170 countries rely on our legendary performance, reliability, and versatility, along with our trusted global customer service network, for affordable and flexible flight. For more information, visit www.txtav.com
- Rowdy Energy, the enhanced hydration formula energy drink created by Busch, and vendor partner Gopuff will adorn the bedtop of the No. 51 Tundra for Saturday’s race. Gopuff is the go-to solution for consumers’ everyday needs, fulfilling customer orders of cleaning and home products, over-the-counter medications, baby and pet products, food, drinks, and in some markets, alcohol – in just minutes. Gopuff currently carries two flavors of Rowdy Energy; Strawberry Lemonade and Chisled Ice. The company operates in more than 650 U.S. cities, to see if Gopuff delivers in your area, go to https://gopuff.com/go/delivery/cities
Kyle Busch, Driver Q&A:
You have 12 wins and 17 top-two finishes across your last 19 Truck Series starts. How tough is that to accomplish at any level of motorsports?
“Good numbers are good numbers and bad numbers are bad numbers. It feels good. Obviously, it’s a testament to what we’re doing. How many of those slipped through our fingers and could’ve, would’ve, should’ve been wins? Overall, that’s pretty awesome. I feel like it justifies what I’ve been telling people all along – KBM is a great place to race, we’ve got good stuff, we’ve got great people and John Hunter being able to add into our win total this year already and have good, solid top-five finishes is nice as well.”
How has the success of John Hunter Nemechek and Eric Phillips matched up with your expectations of them coming into the season?
“It’s matched up really well. Did I expect them to do what they’ve been doing? Absolutely. This was kind of the idea and the reason why we did what we did. Did I think they would have this many Playoff points by this point? Probably not that, but did I think that they would have three wins? Certainly. Did I think they would beat me twice? No. So we’ve got one more, I told them don’t screw it up. I got to win Pocono and then he can have the rest of the year. It’s all his.”
Kyle Busch Camping World Truck Series Career Highlights:
- Busch has a total of 159 Camping World Trucks starts and is ranked first all-time in wins (61) and average finish (6.7)
- The 36-year-old driver has won 38.4% (61/159) of the NCWTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 56.6% (90/159).
- Busch has a total of 106 top-five and 127 top-10 finishes.
- Busch stands alone as the leader in all-time career wins in NASCAR’s national touring series with 219 total victories. He has earned 58 NASCAR Cup Series wins, 100 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, and 61 NCWTS wins.
- In August of 2010, Busch made history when he won the NCWTS, NXS and NCS races at Bristol Motor Speedway, becoming the only driver to sweep all three of NASCAR’s top three series at one track on the same weekend. He then repeated the feat in August of 2017.
- Kyle Busch’s No. 51 Cessna Tundra:
- KBM-054: The No. 51 Cessna team will race KBM-054 for Saturday’s CRC Brakleen 150 at Pocono Raceway. Busch has won both of his starts driving this Tundra, including its maiden voyage at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. in July of 2018. Rowdy was victorious with it again in his most recent Camping World Trucks outing this year in May at Kansas Speedway.
- KBM Notes of Interest:
- Across 26 starts at Pocono Raceway, KBM drivers have earned five wins, two poles, 244 laps led, 12 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 8.1 and an average finish of 9.1.
- Brandon Jones picked up his first career Truck Series victory in last year’s race. Busch won in 2015 and 2018, William Byron was victorious in 2016, and Christopher Bell brought home the hardware in 2017.
- KBM holds the Camping World Truck Series records for most career wins (87) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Track, Martin Truex Jr. became the 16th different driver to win a Truck Series event for KBM. In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
- With 37 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series fleet.
