KYLE BUSCH
Home Cookin’
HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (Oct. 11, 2022) – The last time Kyle Busch visited Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the laps were winding down during its 400-mile NASCAR Cup Series race in March, and it looked like the Las Vegas native was on his way to his second Cup Series win at his hometown track. But a caution as he was leading the field to the white flag sent Busch and the lead pack to the pits for tires. Busch took four while others gambled with two-tire stops and exited pit lane ahead of him. Busch was unable to regain the lead during the green-white-checkered finish and had to settle for a fourth-place finish on a day that looked to be his.
The driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry TRD for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) returns to Las Vegas this weekend hoping he can repeat his strong run from the spring there, but this time he hopes to be the one celebrating in victory lane in his old stomping grounds following Sunday’s South Point 400.
Aside from NASCAR’s biggest events like the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, a win at the hometown racetrack is always high on the priority list for most Cup Series drivers. Busch crossed that all-important hometown win off his list when he won in just his fifth Las Vegas Cup Series start in 2009.
The 2002 honors graduate of Durango High School in Las Vegas would like to double his number of Cup Series wins at the desert track after having brought home that emotional first win there 13 years ago.
Driving the yellow M&M’S Toyota that day, Busch qualified on the pole but was forced to start at the rear of the field because the team needed to make an engine change during Friday practice. Unfazed, Busch remained patient on race day as he and the M&M’S team worked their way to the front of the field by the 54th lap. He went on to lead three times for 51 laps en route to claiming what he called at the time the biggest win of his young career.
While Busch has NASCAR Xfinity Series wins in 2016 and 2019 and Camping World Truck Series wins in 2018, 2019, and 2020 to go with his 2009 Cup Series win on the 1.5-mile oval, he already was no stranger to winning on Las Vegas Motor Speedway property. From 1999 to 2001, he earned more than 65 wins in Legends cars while racking up two track championships at the Bullring, which existed for several years before the NASCAR track was built. When Busch moved up to Late Models, his winning ways continued with 10 victories at the Bullring in 2001.
So as the series heads back to Las Vegas for the second time this season with just four races remaining in the marathon Cup Series schedule, Busch hopes to use some home cooking to earn another win at his hometown track.
KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:
Is there more pressure to go out there and win at your hometown track than anywhere else?
“I used to put more stress on myself to win there, no doubt. I never knew if winning there would happen for me and it’s neat I’ve been able to win in all three series at Vegas. There is stress going into those events. For myself, I was able to get that done in 2009 there at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, to get into victory lane. That felt good. To be able to go back there years after and go out there and race, and not have to worry about the stress of winning that race, you still want to win. We want to win every single one of them. That’s a fact. Overall, when you come into your hometown, and we watched the track get built from nothing, it means that much more to you and it would be great if we could get back to victory lane this weekend with our M&M’S Camry. We were so close there in the spring and things just didn’t work out in our favor, unfortunately.”
Being from Las Vegas, is there always more pressure to perform when you’re at that racetrack?
“Yeah, certainly, you always want to do well. I’ve won that race before and just the huge sense of relief that kind of comes off your shoulders when you’re able to do that and win at your home track. It was pretty awesome. Kurt (Busch) was just able to finally get it done a few years ago, so that was really awesome to see. I remember mine. It’s been a long time. Back at that time, it felt like winning the Daytona 500. I hadn’t won as many big races as I have now, or won as often as I have now. So a lot of guys look at the Daytona 500, everybody puts extra emphasis on the Daytona 500 because it is our sport’s biggest race, right? Then you’ve got the guys who all go to their home tracks, and those guys put extra emphasis on their home track and they want to do well there. So it’s just kind of that same philosophy, I think.”
What does it mean to your family to race in Las Vegas again?
“It’s cool to be able to come back home and to have the notoriety, I guess, that we have now. When we went out there back in those days, there were many other drivers who were way bigger than us and way more popular than us. Now that we’ve been here for a while and those other drivers aren’t there anymore, we’ve kind of upped ourselves on the ladder of that and it’s cool. One of these days, hopefully, there might be a road out there named after us, or a grandstand or something of that nature. Don’t get too far ahead of yourselves because that just means I get closer to retirement if they start doing that, I guess.”
What was it like to bring home a Cup Series win in your hometown in 2009?
“It was cool. To go out there and to run a smooth race and to have a shot at winning at the end of the race, that’s what it’s all about. I watched Vegas being built from the ground up, and I remember when it wasn’t anything but a gleam in the eye of Richie Clyne (founder of Las Vegas Motor Speedway) – all those guys who made that place happen.”
What is your fondest racing memory of growing up in Las Vegas?
“My fondest racing memory is probably my first Late Model race. I started about eighth or 10th and ended up winning it. My first-ever start, I won. So that is definitely a great memory to have.”
Event Overview:
● Event: South Point 400 (Round 33 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Oct. 16
● Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 267 laps, 400.5 miles
● Format: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Meet the No. 18 M&M’S / Joe Gibbs Racing Team
Primary Team Members:
Driver: Kyle Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas
Crew Chief: Ben Beshore
Hometown: York, Pennsylvania
Car Chief: Nate Bellows
Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont
Spotter: Tony Hirschman
Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania
Race Engineer: Seth Chavka
Hometown: Soldotna, Alaska
Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy
Hometown: Blockville, New York
Over-The-Wall Crew Members:
Gas Man: Justin White
Hometown: Lynnville, Tennessee
Front Tire Changer: Blake Houston
Hometown: China Grove, North Carolina
Jackman: Derrell Edwards
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Tire Carrier: Jake Holmes
Hometown: Westborough, Massachusetts
Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks
Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island
Road Crew Members:
Engine Tuner: Dan Bajek
Hometown: Camden, New York
Truck Driver: Chris Miko
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Truck Driver: Eloy Trevino
Hometown: Adrian, Michigan
Mechanic/Tire Specialist: Justin Peiffer
Hometown: Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Mechanic: Scott Eldridge
Hometown: Warsaw, Indiana
Mechanic: Tony Hamm
Hometown: Walla, Walla, Washington
Notes of Interest:
● All in the Stats: Busch has one win, 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes and has led a total of 311 laps in 22 career Cup Series starts at Las Vegas. Busch’s average Las Vegas finish is 11.2.
● Family Ties: Kurt Busch joined younger brother Kyle as a winner at their hometown Las Vegas Motor Speedway with his victory there in September of 2020. Other noteworthy brother combos who have brought home Cup Series wins at their hometown tracks include Hueytown, Alabama, natives Bobby Allison (four wins) and Donnie Allison (two wins), who both brought home victories at their home track, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
● Looking Closer: The record books show Busch won the 2009 Shelby 427, his first win at his hometown track, from the pole. But, because of an engine change during the Friday practice session, Busch had to do it by starting at the rear of the field and storming to the front. It was an emotional win in the city where he grew up.
● Home Sweet Home: From 1999 to 2001, Busch earned more than 65 wins in Legends cars while racking up two track championships at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway “Bullring” before moving up to Late Model Stock cars. Winning seemed to come naturally no matter what Busch drove as he captured 10 victories in Late Model competition at the Bullring in 2001.
● Cap and Gown: Busch graduated with honors from Durango High School in Las Vegas – one year ahead of schedule.
● Drivers Training: In 2001, at age 16, Busch made his debut on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval with a solid ninth in the Orleans 350 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Just a few weeks later, Busch was set for another Truck Series start at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, but NASCAR officials were forced to pull him from the event because of a conflict between his age and the weekend’s open-wheel race that featured cigarette sponsorship. The unexpected ruling by NASCAR put new age limitations for competitors and sidelined Busch from NASCAR competition until his 18th birthday.
● 224 and Counting: Busch will be aiming to add to his record 224 overall wins among NASCAR’s top three series this weekend at Las Vegas. In addition to his 60 Cup Series wins and 102 in the Xfinity Series, Busch has 62 wins in the Camping World Truck Series.
