Kyle Busch: Driver, No. 51 Zariz Transport Chevrolet
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Overview:
Event: CRC Brakleen 150, Race 15 of 23, 60 Laps – 15/15/30; 150 Miles
Location: Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: July 22, 2023, at noon ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
The Report on ‘Rowdy’:
KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch makes his fifth and final Craftsman Truck Series start of 2023 behind the wheel of the No. 51 Zariz Transport Silverado in Saturday’s 60-lap event at Pocono Raceway. Busch opened his 2023 Truck Series schedule with a dominant victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and has two runner-up finishes this season. In his most recent start, he finished seventh at Kansas Speedway in May. Including his 2023 results, Busch has an average finish of 3.16 over his last 30 Truck Series starts while recording 15 wins and nine runner-up finishes during that span.
The Las Vegas native has two victories (2015 and 2018) across five career starts in Truck Series action at “The Tricky Triangle.” In his most recent Truck Series start at the 2.5-mile tri-oval he finished second to his KBM teammate John Hunter Nemechek in the 2021 event. Starting with Busch’s win in 2015, a KBM driver has won seven of the last eight Truck Series events at Pocono, including Chandler Smith’s victory last year. Busch also has four Cup Series wins (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021) and one Xfinity Series triumph (2018) at Pocono.
Busch’s Vegas victory was 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).
‘Rowdy’ has won 37.3% (63/169) of the Truck Series races he has entered in his career and has finished first or second in 56.8% (96/169). 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 (6.4) and is second in laps led (7,780).
Busch, who claimed 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 Saturday. His Las Vegas win in March 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. Seven of KBM’s wins have come at Pocono, including two by Busch.
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. Saturday will be Pattie’s first time calling a Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway. His best result across 28 Cup Series starts was a second-place finish with Juan Pablo Montoya in 2009.
The No. 51 team currently ranks seventh in the Craftsman Truck Series owner’s point standings. Across 14 starts in 2023, the team has recorded one win, one pole, 163 laps led, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 11.7. With two races remaining in the regular season, they sit 39 points above the cutoff line for making the owner’s playoffs.
Zariz Transport, a fast growing intermodal drayage company specializing in transporting containers from the ports, has served as the primary sponsor on Busch’s Silverado for all five of his races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this year. Billy Ballew Motorsports will serve as an associate sponsor on the No. 51 Saturday at Pocono. You can find the lowest prices on used Cars, Trucks and SUV’s at www.BillyBallewMotorsports.com.
Matt Mills will make his KBM debut behind the wheel of the No. 51 J.F. Electric Chevrolet at Richmond Raceway next week.
Kyle Busch, Driver Q&A:
KBM has been very good at Pocono in recent years. How has your team been able to be so successful there?
“Pocono is a track that we put a lot of emphasis on in our early days. When the Craftsman Truck Series first started going there, we got our butt kicked by KHI the first couple years — really, really bad — and I wasn’t too thrilled about it. So, after that, we put a lot of emphasis on getting better there and focusing on that place. We went and tested there in 2015 when Rudy (Fugle) was the crew chief with Erik Jones, and I was able to go to the test and be there as well and ever since then we’ve been really good. We went back for the race a month later and I was able to bring home the win and I think we’ve won at Pocono every year except one year since then — even had a couple of KBM 1-2 finishes along the way. This will be our first time showing up with Team Chevy, so I’m looking forward to our Silverados being fast out there and of course me being behind the wheel of the Zariz Transport Silverado hoping that we can get another win for them to cap off their first year as sponsor in NASCAR on a high note. If we can do that, it’ll be KBM’s 100th — it’s been talked about way too long that we’ve been trying to bring home that monumental win, so hopefully we can knock that out of the way Saturday.”
Kyle Busch Craftsman Truck Series Career Highlights:
- Busch has a total of 169 Craftsman Truck Series starts and is ranked first all-time in wins (63), driver rating (123.7) and average finish (6.4).
- The 38-year-old driver has won 37.3% (63/169) of the NCTS races he has entered and finished first or second in 56.8% (96/169).
- Busch stands alone as the leader in all-time career wins in NASCAR’s national touring series with 228 total victories. He has earned 63 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-77: The No. 51 Zariz team will unload KBM-77 for Saturday’s race at Pocono Raceway. The Silverado made its debut at Darlington Raceway with William Byron where he led seven laps and brought home a fourth-place finish.
KBM-77 Performance Profile:
KBM Notes of Interest:
- Across 32 starts at Pocono, KBM drivers have earned seven wins, two poles, 325 laps led, 17 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 8.8 and an average finish of 8.5.
- Chandler Smith picked up the organization’s most recent win at Pocono last year. Busch has tallied two wins (2015 and 2018) at the 2.5-mile track while Smith (2022), John Hunter Nemechek (2021), Brandon Jones (2020), Christopher Bell (2017), and William Byron (2016) each have 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.
