Josh Richards NCWTS Nashville Superspeedway Advance
RACE: Lucas Deep Clean 200
TRACK: Nashville Superspeedway
TRUCK: No. 18Joy Mining Machinery Toyota Tundra
TEAM: Kyle Busch Motorsports
PRIMARY CHASSIS: KBM-8 BACKUP CHASSIS: KBM-2 MOTORS: Triad Racing Technologies BROADCAST: Friday, July 22, 7:30 p.m. ET SPEED/MRN/Sirius NASCAR 90
NOTES AND QUOTES
Richards Makes Music City Debut Two-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Josh Richards will make his Nashville Superspeedway debut and his second career start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) in Friday’s Lucas Deep Clean 200 in the No. 18 Joy Mining Machinery Toyota Tundra. Richards is also making his debut in the No. 18 Toyota Tundra, fielded by Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), having driven the No. 15 in his series debut at Kentucky Speedway. Joining forces with the reigning NCWTS owners’ champion, the 23-year-old West Virginia native is scheduled to compete in several races under the KBM and Joy Mining Machinery banners throughout the remainder of the 2011 NCWTS season.
While at Nashville Superspeedway, Richards will be part of the NCWTS and NNS autograph session hosted by the speedway. The autograph session is scheduled for Friday, July 22 at 1 p.m. CT in the Expo area located outside Gate 3 at Nashville Superspeedway.
KBM and Eric Phillips in Music City KBM and crew chief Eric Phillips have won two of the last three NCWTS races at Nashville Superspeedway. Phillips called the shots in April 2010 and 2011 when owner-driver Kyle Busch took the No. 18 Toyota Tundra to Victory Lane. KBM General Manager and Director of Competition, Rick Ren, called the shots for Ron Hornaday, Jr. when he went to Victory Lane in 2009. Driver Josh Richards on his Nashville Superspeedway Debut “I’m looking forward to getting back in the truck and for my first race at Nashville. I learn so much each time I get in the truck and I am very fortunate to have such a great team behind me. While we were at Kentucky, Kyle and Rick talked to me about the truck, about the track and what to expect.
“I am really looking forward to working with (crew chief) Eric (Phillips) this weekend, he’s won at Nashville two of the last three times he’s been there, and I know the experience he and Rick bring to the race track will really be beneficial.
“I went to Iowa last week and watched the race with the team and from the spotter’s stand with (spotter) Mike (Swaim). It gave me an opportunity to see the race from another perspective and to see the race from a new angle. I’m ready to take what I learned at Kentucky and what I learned last week at Iowa to Nashville.”
Crew Chief Eric Phillips on Josh Richards First Start at Nashville Superspeedway “Now that Josh has been in the truck once, I think he’ll be a little calmer at Nashville. I think obviously you get first race jitters and some of the rules and stuff he wasn’t aware of the first week, he knows now. It will be a tough day; we practice, qualify and race all in one day. It’s supposed to be really hot, and it’s a tricky racetrack. He’ll still have some challenges ahead, but so far he’s done a good job.
“Nashville is very line sensitive, you have to hit your marks every lap. I think that’s why you see Kyle and some of the Cup guys run so well there. Drivers have to be very disciplined and hit their marks every lap. With rookies, sometimes they spend a lot of time searching for where they need to be and don’t find a consistent line.
“Last week in Iowa Josh went up to the spotter stand with his spotter Mike Swaim. That experience should give him a new perspective, a completely different view of the racetrack. It’s always a good opportunity when a driver gets to see what the spotter sees, or when we get to go up there, it gives the driver a chance to see a lot more, understand sometimes when we’re trying to tell him something. It should help him to see just how the restarts are done and those kinds of things that he hasn’t been a part of since he’s new to the series.”
CHASSIS SELECTION Primary Chassis: KBM-8: Chassis 8, KBM’s newest Toyota Tundra, has been raced only twice including a victory from the sixth starting position at Charlotte in May and a sixth place finish from the 11th starting position at Kansas in June, both driven by owner, Kyle Busch in 2011.
ABOUT JOY MINING MACHINERY Joy Mining Machinery has over 90 years of experience as a global leader in the development, manufacture, distribution and service of underground mining machinery for the extraction of coal and other bedded materials. Headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, Joy Mining Machinery employs over 8,000 employees worldwide. For additional information, visit www.joy.com.
ABOUT KBM
Kyle Busch Motorsports has quickly established itself as one of the most successful teams in all of NASCAR. The reigning Camping World Truck Series owners’ champions prepare a fleet of race-winning Toyotas out of a 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C. Pending LEED certification, the facility’s state-of-the art equipment and innovative green initiatives make it unmatched among its peers. Fans can stay up-to-date with all the latest KBM news online at kylebuschmotorsports.com, by liking the team on Facebook (KyleBuschMS) and following the team on twitter (@KyleBuschMS).
For more information about Josh Richards and Joy Racing click on joyracing.net or follow on Twitter @joyracing.
