With the 2013 season approaching, Joe Gibbs Racing has many people picking them as a serious contender for the Sprint Cup Series championship.
While that is likely the case, JGR is perhaps best prepared for the team’s Nationwide Series effort for this upcoming season.
Thursday, the fourth and final day of the Sprint Media Tour, it was announced that Kyle Busch has re-signed with JGR in a multi-year deal. In the announcement, the team confirmed Busch would be a key player in the organization’s Nationwide Series plans for 2013.
Busch, who competed in the No. 54 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports last season in NASCAR’s second-tier series, will take the number and sponsor Monster Energy to Coach Gibbs’ racing operation for this season.
Busch, who is known in the Nationwide Series for his success with JGR, of course is going to be a major contender for multiple wins in the series this year. In total, he will compete in 25 races and he likely will be in victory lane for a good chunk of those events.
Adding to the lineup for JGR, the No. 18 Toyota will field the drivers of Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Michael McDowell and others in what will almost be a full time effort for the car.
In addition to the Cup drivers who are to participate in the entries, both Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers will compete full time for the championship with JGR.
In what has already been a stellar Nationwide Series effort – Joey Logano won nine races in the series last year – Joe Gibbs Racing has perhaps one of the best lineups for its program in quite some time.
Four car operations are quite unlikely in this series – even the Sprint Cup Series – so the depth of the team will likely benefit them in a great way for 2013. All the drivers in this lineup have proven to be very successful and their equipment is known to be some of the best there is.
If you think JGR wins often in the Nationwide Series already, you haven’t seen anything yet.
