Kyle Busch: Driver, No. 51 Zariz Transport Chevrolet
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:
Event: Long John Silver’s 200, Race 7 of 23, 200 Laps – 50/50/100; 105.2 Miles
Location: Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile oval)
Date/Broadcast: April 14, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
The Report on ‘Rowdy’:
KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch makes his third Craftsman Truck Series start of 2023 behind the wheel of the No. 51 Zariz Silverado in Friday’s race at Martinsville Speedway. In Busch’s last Truck Series start, an untimely caution spoiled his chance at going two-for-two in Truck Series action this season. ‘Rowdy’ was leading the race when teams had made it into their fuel window for making it to the end of the event. He decided to try and make it a few more laps beyond his competitors in an effort to have fresher tires for the end of the race, but his strategy was spoiled when a caution came out with 14 laps remaining. After making his final pit stop under caution, he would line up on the inside of row eight for the ensuing restart. He was only able to make it back up to the runner-up spot when the field took the checkered flag.
In his first start of 2023, Busch led a race-high 84 laps and crossed the stripe 4.981 seconds ahead of Zane Smith to pick up his record extending 63rd career Craftsman Truck Series victory. The win was the first for KBM under the Chevrolet banner, after collecting the first 98 with Toyota. For Busch, it was his first win in a Chevrolet truck since November of 2007 at Phoenix Raceway. With his win at Las Vegas, he extended his series-best streak of winning at least one race to 11 consecutive Truck Series seasons (2013-2023).
Busch has won 37.7% (63/167) of the Truck Series races he has entered in his career and has finished first or second in 56.8% (95/167). In addition to his Truck Series leading 63 wins, he also ranks first all-time among Truck Series drivers in driver rating (123.7), average finish (6.5) and is second in laps led (7,732). Over his last 28 Truck Series starts, Busch has an average finish of 3.07 while recording 15 wins and eight runner-up finishes.
Busch, who won KBM’s first Truck Series victory at Nashville Superspeedway in April of 2010, will be looking to collect his organization’s 100th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory on Friday. His Las Vegas win was KBM’s record-extending 99th-career victory leaving his organization one shy of the century mark. Overall, 18 different drivers have won at least one race behind the wheel of a KBM truck, led by Busch’s 47. Four drivers rank second on the list with seven victories: William Byron, Christopher Bell, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek.
Eight of KBM’s victories have come at Martinsville, including wins by Busch in 2016 and 2019. He also has two Cup Series victories at ‘The Paperclip’ (2016 and 2017).
Veteran crew chief Brian Pattie is calling the shots for the No. 51 team this year in his first season at KBM after spending the last 14 seasons atop the pit box in the NASCAR Cup Series. In the Cup Series, his drivers produced six wins, nine poles, 57 top-five and 131 top-10 finishes across 528 starts. In 2012, he guided Clint Bowyer to three victories and a runner-up finish in the Cup Series championship standings. In 2017, he guided Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to two wins and a berth in the playoffs. The Florida native has also recorded 11 wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and now has two wins as a crew chief in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Pattie’s lone event atop the pit box for a Truck Series race at Martinsville was a 33rd-place finish with Dario Franchitti in 2007.
The No. 51 team currently ranks fourth in the Craftsman Truck Series owner’s point standings after six races. Across six starts in 2023, the team has recorded one win, one pole, 98 laps led, three top-five and five top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 8.7.
Zariz Transport, a fast growing intermodal drayage company specializing in transporting containers from the ports, will be the primary sponsor on Busch’s Silverado for all five of his races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2023. The remaining two races on Busch’s schedule will be: Kansas Speedway on May 6 and Pocono Raceway on July 22. William Byron will return to the No. 51 HendrickCars.com Silverado May 12 at Darlington Raceway and May 20 at North Wilkesboro Speedway while Jack Wood will be behind the wheel May 26 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Kyle Busch, Driver Q&A:
What does it take to be successful in a truck at Martinsville?
“You have to have a truck that will turn the center without getting too loose in and too loose off. You also have to play the strategy right so that you can be up front at the end of the race and have enough tire left to hold people off. The last two truck races that I’ve won at Martinsville have been 250-lap races, with the race being 200 laps now things play out a little bit differently. With the new practice system, we’ll only have 20 minutes of practice to get our Zariz Silverado dialed in — that’s if the weather holds off. So, we’ll need to make sure we unload with a truck that is close because there isn’t much you can do to improve the handling with limited or no practice and then limited pit stops in the race. Last year we didn’t get a chance to practice or qualify and we didn’t do a good job of unloading close, so I had to drive way too hard just to run in the top five and used my stuff up and we were probably lucky to finish third. Hopefully, this year we’ll do a better job of unloading with a fast Zariz Silverado and we can go out and bring home KBM’s 100th win.”
Kyle Busch Craftsman Truck Series Career Highlights:
- Busch has a total of 167 Craftsman Truck Series starts and is ranked first all-time in wins (63), driver rating (123.7) and average finish (6.5).
- The 37-year-old driver has won 37.7% (63/167) of the NCTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 56.8% (95/167).
- Busch stands alone as the leader in all-time career wins in NASCAR’s national touring series with 226 total victories. He has earned 61 NASCAR Cup Series wins, 102 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, and 63 NCTS wins.
- In August of 2010, Busch made history when he won the NCTS, 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 Chevrolet Silverado RST:
KBM-62: The No. 51 Zariz team will unload KBM-62 for Friday’s race at Martinsville. This truck has finished inside the top 10 in each of its last four starts, including Busch’s third-place finish in last year’s race at Martinsville. The best finish that this chassis has achieved was a runner-up finish with Busch at Richmond Raceway in 2021.
KBM-62 Performance Profile:
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected eight wins, five poles, 990 laps led, 26 top-five and 41 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.1 across 63 starts at Martinsville. Todd Gilliland picked up the organization’s most recent victory at the 0.526-mile oval in October of 2019. Kyle Busch (2016 & 2019), Darrell Wallace Jr. (2013 & 2014), and Denny Hamlin (2011 & 2012) have all collected two victories at the Virginia track while Noah Gragson (2017) has one win.
- KBM holds the Craftsman Truck Series records for most career wins (99) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). With his victory at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway last year, Corey Heim became the 18th 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 41 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series fleet.
