This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2011)

Richmond International Raceway

File:Richmondir.jpg Richmond International Raceway as seen from the stands.
Location	Henrico County, Virginia, United States
Time zone	GMT - 5
Coordinates	37°35′30″N 77°25′15″W / 37.59169°N 77.42091°W / 37.59169; -77.42091Coordinates: 37°35′30″N 77°25′15″W / 37.59169°N 77.42091°W / 37.59169; -77.42091
Capacity	97,912
Owner	International Speedway Corporation
Operator	International Speedway Corporation
Opened	1946
Former names	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway 1969–1988 Virginia State Fairgrounds 1964–1968 Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds 1955–1963 Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds 1946–1955
Major events	NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Capital City 400 Wonderful Pistachios 400 NASCAR Nationwide Series BUBBA Burger 250 Virginia 529 College Savings 250
D-shaped oval (1988-present)
Surface	Asphalt
Length	0.75 mi (1.2 km)
Turns	4
Banking	14° in turns 8° on frontstretch 2° on backstretch
Lap record	0:20.772 seconds (129.983 mph) (Brian Vickers, Hendrick Motorsports, 2004, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series)

NASCAR Cup racecars before the start on the 1/2 mile configuration in September, 1984.

The pits during a 1985 NASCAR Cup race

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series. "America's Premier Short Track" formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IZOD IndyCar Series race, and two United States Auto Club sprint car races.

Richmond International Raceway is one of a few race tracks to host all of its events under the lights. The track sold out 33 consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. The sellout streak ended in September 2008 partially due to the economic downturn, though the major factor in ticket sales was the impact of Tropical Storm Hanna.^[1]

Richmond has hosted the final "regular-season" race, leading up to the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, each year since the Chase concept was introduced in 2004. The race is often referred to as "One Last Race to Make The Chase."

In 2010, Richmond International Raceway introduced a state-of-the-art Video Scoring Tower that boasts more LED square footage than any other in the motorsports industry. The cap features four high definition LED screens that measure 38-feet wide by 24-feet high. The screens broadcast live race action and pre-produced video and graphics. The stem shows running order and has the ability to rotate through the entire field.

Richmond Raceway Complex[link]

Richmond International Raceway is located at the Richmond Raceway Complex, which is an 1,000-acre (4.0 km²), multi-purpose facility.

Richmond Raceway Complex also hosts the Intergalactic Bead Show, Virginia Golf Show, Bassarama, Richmond Home and Garden Show, RV and Camping Expo, Richmond Boat Show, Richmond Classic Sports Card Show, East Coast Sawmill and Logging Equipment Expo, Craftsmen Classic Spring and Christmas Shows, Bizarre Bazaar Spring and Christmas Shows and other various arts and craft events.

Outdoor festivals currently hosted by Richmond Raceway Complex include the 102.1 "The X" chili cook-off, the ACCA Temple Pork Festival and concerts featuring local and national recording artists.

Outdoor festivals that have been held there included the Virginia State Fair, Richmond Highland Games & Celtic Festival, March of Dimes Bikers for Babies, K95 Country Music Festival and the Virginia food festival.

The former name for RRC was Strawberry Hill until RIR bought out the Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1999. The Strawberry Hill Races, which are a series of steeplechase horse races were formerly held the third Saturday of April at the Richmond Raceway Complex. In 2001, the Races were moved to Colonial Downs in New Kent County, Virginia's first Thoroughbred racetrack.^[2]

NASCAR sanctioned races[link]

Richmond International Raceway is home to two NASCAR races on both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series.

There are a pair of spring races, usually held on the first weekend of May. The Nationwide race is currently 250 laps (187.5 miles) and is sponsored by Bubba Burger. The Sprint Cup race is currently 400 laps (300 miles). In 2012 Crown Royal dropped its sponsorship of the race, and it reverted back to its old name, the Capital City 400, for the first time since 1980.

There are a pair of fall races, usually held on the second weekend of September. The Nationwide race is currently 250 laps (187.5 miles) and is sponsored by Virginia 529 College Savings Plan. It is named the "Virginia 529 College Savings 250".^[3] The Fall cup race is currently 400 laps (300 miles). It is currently sponsored by Wonderful Pistachios and is named the Wonderful Pistachios 400.^[4]

Until 2005, RIR was home to a fall Camping World Truck Series race. Starting with the 2006 schedule, that date was transferred to Talladega Superspeedway. Until 2009, RIR was also home to a June Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race. In July 2009, it was announced that the IRL would not return to RIR in 2010

Statistics[link]

• October 12, 1946 Driving an open-wheel car, Ted Horn wins the first race at Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds over a ½-mile dirt track.
• April 19, 1953 Lee Petty wins the first NASCAR "Grand National Division" race with an average of 45.535 mph (73.281 km/h) at “Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds.
• 1955 Paul Sawyer and legendary racer Joe Weatherly buy the property. Track is known as “Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds.”
• March 10, 1964 race run under temporary lights
• The track operated as a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) oval through the spring race of 1988. During the spring and summer of 1988, the track was reconfigured to its current layout of 0.75 miles (1.21 km). The first race under the new configuration was in September 1988. Lights were added for the fall 1991 race.
• The track was previously called Strawberry Hill,^[2] Virginia State Fairgrounds, and Richmond Fairgrounds Speedway, the annual fair made the track a popular venue.
• Richard Petty holds the record of most wins at Richmond with 13 victories, Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace are tied with six.
• Richmond is the site of the famous battle between Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip in 1986. Earnhardt tapped Waltrip in turn 4 and both drivers hit the wall, handing the win to Kyle Petty who avoided the crash and won.
• RIR hosted an International Race of Champions event in 2004 and 2005, won by Matt Kenseth in 2004 and Mark Martin in 2005. The series has folded as of the 2008 Season
• Site of Kasey Kahne's first career Sprint Cup Series win in 2005.
• Site of Tony Stewart's first career Sprint Cup Series win in 1999.

Current races[link]

• Sprint Cup Series – Capital City 400
• Sprint Cup Series – Wonderful Pistachios 400
• Nationwide Series – BUBBA burger 250
• Nationwide Series – Virginia 529 College Savings 250

Previous races[link]

• Indy Racing League – SunTrust Indy Challenge
• Camping World Truck Series

Records[link]

• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying: Brian Vickers, 20.772 sec. (129.983 mph, 209.187 km/h); 2004
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race: Dale Jarrett, 2 hrs. 45 min. 4 sec. (109.047 mph, 175.494 km/h); 1997
• NASCAR Nationwide Series Qualifying: Kyle Busch, 20.874 sec. (129.348 mph 208.165 km/h); 2004
• NASCAR Nationwide Series Race: Dale Jarrett, 1 hr. 47 min. 13 sec. (104.928 mph, 168.685 km/h); 1995
• Indy Racing League IndyCar Series Qualifying: Sam Hornish Jr., 15.3197 sec. (176.244 mph, 283.637 km/h); 2005

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series records[link]

(As of 9/10/11)

* from minimum 10 starts.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richmond International Raceway

• Richmond International Raceway Official Site
• Richmond International Raceway Page on NASCAR.com
• RacewayReport.com: Richmond International Raceway Page – Local area information, track specs, mapping, news and more.
• Jayski's Richmond International Raceway Page – Current and Past RIR News
• RIR visitor's guide
• Richmond Raceway Complex website
• richmond.com article on Strawbery hill
• Winston-Salem Journal Op-ed piece on the history of RIR
• Super High Resolution image from Windows Live Local

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (June 2011)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Bradley Keselowski
Born	(1984-02-12) February 12, 1984 (age 28) Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States
Achievements	2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion
Awards	2008, 2009, 2010 Nationwide Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
101 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 2 (Penske Racing)
2011 position	5th
Best finish	5th - 2011
First race	2008 Dickies 500 (Texas)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2009 Aaron's 499 (Talladega)
Last win	2012 Aaron's 499 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 6 26 2
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
178 race(s) run over 7 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 22 (Penske Racing)
2011 position	91st
Best finish	1st – 2010
First race	2006 Ameriquest 300 (Fontana)
Last race	2012 History 300 (Charlotte)
First win	2008 Federated Auto Parts 300 (Nashville)
Last win	2012 History 300 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 18 109 12
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
51 race(s) run over 8 year(s)
Truck no., team	No. 19 (Brad Keselowski Racing)
Best finish	21st – 2005
First race	2004 Kroger 250 (Martinsville)
Last race	2012 North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 6 1
Statistics current as of May 27, 2012.

Bradley Keselowski (born February 12, 1984) is an American auto racing driver and team owner currently competing in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in the Sprint Cup Series and the #22 Discount Tire Company/Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing. He was previously a driver for JR Motorsports from 2007 to 2009 in the Nationwide Series and for Phoenix Racing and Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series. He won his first championship in the 2010 Nationwide Series; the first championship for both Brad and Penske Racing. Keselowski also owns a Camping World Truck Series team, Brad Keselowski Racing.

He is the son of Bob Keselowski and the nephew of Ron Keselowski. His older brother Brian competes part-time in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Sprint Cup Series.

NASCAR[link]

2004–2006[link]

Keselowski began his NASCAR career in the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series season, as the driver of the #29 for his family-owned K Automotive Racing team. He made his debut at Martinsville Speedway, where he started 26th and finished 33rd. He made seven more starts that season, his best finish coming at Mansfield, where he finished 16th.

In 2005, Keselowski began competing in the Truck Series full-time with backing from SUBcrews.com and Samson Stone. He opened the season with a career-best seventh-place finish at the Florida Dodge Dealers 250. Running every race that season, he finished 21st in points. He ran the first two races of 2006 for K-Automotive, finishing sixteenth at California Speedway, before a lack of sponsorship caused the team to temporarily suspend operations. Keselowski then drove a pair of races filling in for the injured Kelly Sutton, where he had a seventh-place start at Memphis Motorsports Park. He returned to the Trucks in August, where he finished 33rd at Bristol Motor Speedway driving the #63 for MB Motorsports.

2007–2009[link]

In 2007, Keselowski began running in the NASCAR Busch series full time and for Rookie of the Year honors with Keith Coleman Racing, but the team suspended operations in July. During the 2007 racing season, Keselowski was tabbed by Germain Racing to replace Ted Musgrave at Memphis Motorsports Park after Musgrave was suspended for an in race scuffle with another driver in Milwaukee. He qualified first for the Saturday night race, and led a majority of the race, but got bumped by Travis Kvapil with about nine laps to go. Keselowski finished 16th. Shortly afterwards, he was called by car owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr to drive his #88 United States Navy Chevrolet for JR Motorsports for the rest of the year in the Busch Series, posting five top-ten finishes.

Keselowski re-signed with JR in 2008, and got his first win came June 7, 2008 at Nashville Superspeedway, overcoming Clint Bowyer after the final caution in the closing laps of the race. His second Nationwide career win came in the same fashion at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 22, 2008. He ended the season third in the points standings, the highest finish by a full-time Nationwide Series-only driver. Late in the season, Keselowski was hired to drive the #25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for two races with Hendrick Motorsports.^{[citation needed]} Keselowski was on stand-by for an ill Jeff Gordon in Kansas and for expectant father Casey Mears at Talladega that season as well. Keselowski made his Cup series debut at Texas after failing to qualify once due to a rainout. He finished the Dickies 500 in 19th position, and 23rd in the season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway.

Keselowski continued driving the 88 for JR in 2009 as well as competing in a limited Cup schedule. He will drive the #25 in seven races, and is scheduled to drive the #09 Phoenix Racing in ten races. He won the Aarons 499 in just his fifth career Cup start.

Keselowski pulled off an upset and earned his first Sprint Cup win during the 2009 Aaron's 499 at Talladega. In the pass through the tri-oval, Brad went high to try to fake Carl Edwards out. When Edwards went high to block, Brad went low to pass. Edwards went to block. However, Keselowski made contact with Edwards left rear quarterpanel, making him lose control of his car in a crash that sent Edwards back into the path of Ryan Newman. Edwards' car bounced off of Ryan Newman's hood and then up into the catch fence, injuring eight fans. Brad Keselowski did not go down below the yellow line due to the circumstances at the race last year involving Regan Smith and the yellow line (Smith passed Tony Stewart below the yellow line to finish first, but lost the win, even when there was controversy over whether he was forced to move below the yellow line). Keselowski won in his fifth career start (third start in 2009) and led his first career Sprint Cup lap, Lap 188 (in fact the only lap he led the entire race). It was the first time since May 2007 a driver had won his first career win in a major, and the first win in the Aaron's 499 by a first-time driver since Phil Parsons in 1988. It was also the first time a driver's first ever lap led was to win the race.

2010–2011[link]

It appears that his win in Talladega has earned him more seat time in the James Finch-owned Chevy. Originally scheduled to appear next in the 18th race of the season, at Daytona International Speedway, was then scheduled to appear in the upcoming race at Richmond International Raceway. Keselowski raced the Sprint All-Star Race as well.^{[citation needed]} He was forced to pull out of the Richmond race due to commitments to his Nationwide series team.

2009 #88 Nationwide car

Keselowski got his third Nationwide victory at Dover. Kyle Busch cut a tire on the restart, second-place Joey Logano rammed Busch and Keselowski passed them both.

After taking a gamble and staying out past his "pit-window," Keselowski garnered his fourth win at the first ever Nationwide race at Iowa Speedway after battling Kyle Busch to take over and maintain first position. Keselowski finishing first over Kyle Busch made Busch tie his record of nine consecutive top 2 finishes.

Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch dominated Michigan, but Keselowski came on top when momentum broke between the two, allowing Keselowski to pick up a victory in his home state.

In 2010, Keselowski joined Penske Racing in the NNS (NASCAR Nationwide Series) and NSCS (NASCAR Sprint Cup Series). Keselowski scored his first win in the NNS in 2010 at Talladega on April 25 and then went on to win five more races at Richmond, Nashville, Michigan, Charlotte, and Gateway. He also collected five poles, 26 top 5s, and 29 top 10s. With the 26 top 5s, he beaten Kyle Busch's record with 25 top 5s. With crew chief Paul Wolfe, Keselowski won his first ever NASCAR Nationwide Series title. But in the NSCS it was a different story. Keselowski finished 25th in the final Sprint Cup standings and recorded one pole, zero wins, 0 top 5s, and 2 top 10s.

In 2011, Keselowski will drive the #2 Miller Lite Dodge. Keselowski's current #12 Dodge team will become the #2 Miller Lite Dodge team. Kurt Busch and the current #2 team will become the #22 Shell Penzoil Dodge for 2011. Shell as a stipulation of sponsorship wanted Kurt Busch as their driver feeling that he is more established then Brad Keselowski. Paul Wolfe will replace Jay Guy as crew chief of Brad Keselowski's #2 Miller Lite Dodge. Todd Gordon will be Keselowski's crew chief in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He won the pole for the 2011 Coca Cola 600, and the following week, he was able to get the lead with 9 laps to go and hold off a charging Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to win the 2011 STP 400 at Kansas Speedway on fuel mileage. During his victory celebration, he ran out of fuel.

Keselowski had a violent accident at the Road Atlanta circuit which left him with a broken ankle. However, he took the lead with 16 laps to go from Kyle Busch and won the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono Raceway, notable for being one of the most tricky tracks in the series. This win, happened 3 or 4 days after the violent crash.

The next week, Keselowski gave a valiant 2nd place effort at Watkins Glen International, leading with 2 laps to go but getting passed by Marcos Ambrose in turn five. He followed that with a 3rd place finish at Michigan International Speedway. The next week, Keselowski got his third win of the year at Bristol by holding off Martin Truex, Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

That win virtually assured Keselowski a spot in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, given NASCAR's rule change designating the final two Chase spots as wild card slots for drivers ranked 11th through 20th in the points with the most wins. Keselowski finished the "regular season" 11th in points, using his three wins to qualify for his first career Chase.

Keselowski was a factor for much of the Chase, before a late spin at Martinsville derailed his championship hopes. Still, Keselowski finished his second full Cup season fifth in the point standings, 84 points behind champion Tony Stewart. Keselowski finished the season with more wins than teammate Kurt Busch (three to two) and with a better points finish.

2012[link]

In addition to continuing running in the Sprint Cup Series and a limited Nationwide Series schedule for Penske Racing, Keselowski will compete in a limited number of Camping World Truck Series races for his own team, Brad Keselowski Racing, as a teammate to Parker Kligerman.^[1] On March 18, 2012 he won the Food City 500 at Bristol. He also won the Aaron's 499 at Talladega from a late race restart and a push from Kyle Busch. It was the first time since Dave Marcis in 1976 that Dodge won a Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega and only the fourth win at the track for the automaker.

Complete Sprint Cup Series results[link]

Note:This list does not include exhibition races.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Brad Keselowski Racing[link]

Keselowski formed his own race team in 2007. The team began competing in the Truck Series in 2008. Brad drove the #29 Chevy himself and earned the team's first Top 10 finish.

In 2011, Brad will have young prospect Parker Kligerman drive his #29 Dodge Ram for all 25 races, attempting to win Rookie of the Year, and possibly even the Championship. Currently Kligerman is 3rd in the Rookie Standings and 8th in the Championship Standings.

Kligerman actually did fairly well for Brad. "Klig" got two 2nd-place finishes for BKR, finishing 11th in the final point standings, and acquired additional sponsorship from Cooper Standard who will sponsor the duo for another full-season in 2012.

Images[link]

• 

  2010 Nationwide car

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brad Keselowski

• Official website
• Brad Keselowski at Racing Reference
• Keselowski Family Website

Kyle Thomas Busch
Born	(1985-05-02) May 2, 1985 (age 27) Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Achievements	2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion 2008 Southern 500 Winner 2012 Budweiser Shootout Winner 2009 Snowball Derby Winner
Awards	2004 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
269 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 18 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2011 position	12th
Best finish	5th – 2007
First race	2004 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 (Las Vegas)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	2005 Sony HD 500 (California)
Last win	2012 Capital City 400 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 24 128 8
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
229 race(s) run over 10 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 54 (Kyle Busch Motorsports)
2011 position	90th
Best finish	1st – 2009
First race	2003 Carquest Auto Parts 300 (Charlotte)
Last race	2012 History 300 (Charlotte)
First win	2004 Funai 250 (Richmond)
Last win	2011 Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 51 152 23
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
101 race(s) run over 9 year(s)
2011 position	81st
Best finish	14th – 2008/2010
First race	2001 Power Stroke Diesel 200 (Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis)
Last race	2011 WinStar World Casino 350K (Texas)
First win	2005 Quaker Steak and Lube 200 (Charlotte)
Last win	2011 New Hampshire 175 (New Hampshire)
Wins Top tens Poles 30 78 12
Statistics current as of May 27, 2012.

Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars, Inc./Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series and owns Kyle Busch Motorsports, which runs the #54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry for Kyle and his brother Kurt in the Nationwide Series and the #18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra for Jason Leffler in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

He currently holds the modern-era record for most race wins in a season across the top three NASCAR series with twenty-four wins, which he accomplished in 2010. On August 21, 2010, Busch became the first driver to win in all three of NASCAR's top three touring series in the same weekend (Bristol). Busch became the first driver in Nationwide series history to lead more than 10,000 laps.^[1] Busch also holds the record for the most NASCAR Nationwide Series wins with 51, surpassing Mark Martin's 49.

Busch is also only the second driver to ever win on his birthday, winning the 2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russell Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway, which was run on his 24th birthday. Cale Yarborough was the first.

Kyle Busch married Samantha Sarcinella on December 31, 2010 in Chicago. Sarcinella is a native of St. John, Indiana and a graduate of Purdue University.

He is the younger brother of 2004 Nextel Cup Series champion Kurt Busch.

Early life[link]

Kyle Busch's first driving lessons came at the age of 6 when he drove around the cul-de-sac of his family's Las Vegas neighborhood in a makeshift go-kart. Although he was too small to reach the throttle, Busch still was able to pick up the basics from his father Tom, who controlled the gas pedal as his young son steered the kart. Throughout his childhood, Busch spent many hours as an apprentice to his father and older brother Kurt in the family garage learning to build and repair race cars. By the age of 10, he was a full-fledged mechanic and served as crew chief of his older brother's dwarf car team. In addition to working on cars, Busch enjoyed forms of martial arts, including karate.

In 1998, shortly after his 13th birthday, Busch's driving career officially began. From 1999 through 2001, Busch earned more than 65 wins in legends car racing as he racked up two track championships at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's "Bullring" before moving to late models. He captured 10 victories in late model competition at the Bullring in 2001.^[2]

Early career[link]

At the age of 16, Busch began competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series) for Roush Racing as a replacement for Nathan Haseleu and Chuck Hossfeld, who were released midway in the 2001 season. He made his debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park, impressing many people with a 9th place finish. In his second race at Chicago Motor Speedway, he was leading with less than 20 laps to go until his truck ran out of fuel with 12 laps to go.

Busch was the fastest in practice for a 2001 Craftsman Truck Series race at California Speedway in Fontana, CA, when he was ejected from the track by CART officials because the American Racing Wheels 200 was part of a CART weekend featuring the Marlboro 500 CART FedEx Championship Series event.^[3] Marlboro threw Busch out of the garage because of an interpretation of the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, prohibiting people under 18 years of age in participating in events sponsored by tobacco companies. He earned two top-10 finishes in six starts in the #99 Eldon Ford F-150 in what had been scheduled to be a full-season campaign for 2002.

Six weeks after the incident, NASCAR imposed a minimum age of 18 years starting in 2002 to prevent future incidents from happening again, because Winston was the premier series sponsor at the time. When the age requirements were put in place, Busch switched from NASCAR to the American Speed Association (ASA) series, finishing 8th in points.

In 2002, Busch graduated a year early with honors from Durango High School in Las Vegas, Nevada to focus on his driving career. That same year, he made his debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway, finishing twelfth in the #22 WP Motorsports Chevrolet.

In 2003, Busch signed a driver development contract with Hendrick Motorsports, and drove seven ARCA races in their #87 ditech entry. He won his first two races at Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway, and won his most recent ARCA race the following year at Daytona.

He is often nicknamed "Shrub", since he is the younger brother of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch and a small bush is called a shrub.^[4]

NASCAR career[link]

2003–2007[link]

Upon turning 18, Busch partnered with Hendrick Motorsports to run six NASCAR Busch Series races at selected tracks, running the #87 Ditech.com Chevrolet Monte Carlo for NEMCO Motorsports. During his seat time in that ride, Busch finished a Busch Series career-high second in his first NASCAR Busch Series race at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in May 2003.

Busch's first full-time season began in 2004, as he competed in the Lowe's car vacated by Brian Vickers, who had moved up to the NEXTEL Cup series. Busch clinched Rookie of the Year honors in the series, receiving his first top-10 finish of the season at the second race in Rockingham, won his first pole of the season in the fifth race, and claimed his first victory at the Richmond International Raceway at the Funai 250 in May.^[5] Busch went on to claim five wins in 2004, making him the record holder of most races won by a driver in their rookie season,^[6] and finished second to Martin Truex, Jr. in the overall points. Busch also qualified for six Nextel Cup races out of nine attempts in 2004 in the #84 Carquest Chevrolet for Hendrick, his highest finish being 24th at California Speedway.

After the announcement that long time Hendrick NEXTEL Cup series driver Terry Labonte would be running a limited schedule in 2005 and 2006, Busch was picked to take over the #5 Kellogg's/Carquest Auto Parts Chevrolet Monte Carlo, crew chiefed by Alan Gustafson. He won his first career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race on September 4 in the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway,^[7] driving for Rick Hendrick. At the end of the season Busch won the 2005 Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year with 2 wins and a 20th place points finish.^[8] The earlier win at Fontana made Busch eligible to become a part of the 20 NASCAR Triple Threats, a group of drivers who have won a race in NASCAR's top three divisions. At the time, he was the youngest-ever winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, at 20 years, 125 days, a mark that has since been eclipsed by current teammate Joey Logano. He also became the youngest pole sitter in NEXTEL Cup history after winning the pole for the 2005 Auto Club 500.^[9]

Kyle Busch speeds out of the garage at Phoenix International Raceway

Busch returned to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2005 for a limited number of races in Billy Ballew Motorsports's Chevrolets, winning his first career truck series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 20, 2005, becoming the youngest driver to win a Truck Series race, at 20 years 19 days.^[10] He would also win the truck race at Dover International Speedway, and the fall race in Atlanta Motor Speedway, both 200-mile races. In addition, he ran a limited schedule in the Busch Series driving the #5 and #57 for Hendrick. He won at Lowe's Motor Speedway; but did not qualify for the race at Texas Motor Speedway, a track he had won the pole at one year earlier.

In 2006, he took the victory in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, and qualified for the Chase for the Cup during the last race before the 2006 Chase at Richmond International Raceway, in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, where he finished second after leading the most laps. He entered the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup fourth in Cup points. Busch started the first race of the Chase mid-pack in the 43 car field at the New Hampshire International Speedway but got caught up in an incident on lap four when he and the #66 Best Buy Chevrolet of Jeff Green made contact, knocking his front suspension out of line, and eventually spun out and wrecked the car. Busch followed up the next week at Dover International Speedway with an initially strong run before an engine failure took him out of the race. Busch then went to the Kansas Speedway and led several laps before being caught for speeding on pit road and finished in the bottom half of the top-ten. He finished the season in tenth place in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup standings, 448 points behind champion Jimmie Johnson. His winnings for the 2006 season sum up to $5,537,337. Busch is currently the youngest driver to make the NASCAR NEXTEL Chase for the Cup.

Busch repeated his Lowe's victory in 2006 in a truck painted to resemble the Rowdy Burns car from Days of Thunder, in a tribute to Bobby Hamilton (who was the stunt driver for the character), who was in the midst of a cancer battle which would later take his life. In addition, he ran nearly the entire 2006 season in the #5 Lowe's/Shop-Vac Chevy, winning one race and finishing seventh in points despite skipping one race.

Busch became the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver to win in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at the 2007 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also scored Hendrick Motorsports their 200th NASCAR win (in all series), and also scored Chevrolet's 600th NASCAR victory, the first by the Chevrolet Impala since Wendell Scott's 1963 win in Jacksonville, Florida.^[11] At the Aaron's 312 Busch Race at Talladega, Busch went on a wild ride down the backstretch when he got turned into teammate Casey Mears' car by Tony Stewart. The car spun towards the outside wall and flipped onto its roof. The car then slid down the track and hit the turn 3 grass, flipping side over side. The car flipped a total of seven times, but Busch walked away unscathed. In the Nextel All-Star Challenge at the Lowe's Motor Speedway, he and older brother Kurt Busch got together, knocking them both out of the race. In June 2007, Busch announced his plans to leave Hendrick Motorsports after the 2007 season. The two sides had been working on a contract extension but eventually agreed mutually to part ways.^[12] It was announced the same day that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be replacing him at Hendrick Motorsports. However, days later Busch stated that he had no idea he was going to be released.^[13] It was announced two months later that Busch had chosen Joe Gibbs Racing for his team in the 2008 season. He replaced J. J. Yeley in the #18 Toyota Camry, with M&M's coming over from Yates Racing as the primary sponsor. In the Busch Series, he ran nineteen races and won four times, garnering a sixteenth-place points finish. He also made eleven starts in the Craftsman Truck Series for Billy Ballew in the #51 Flanders Beef Patties truck, winning 3 times.^[14]

2008–2011[link]

Kyle Busch's 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Car

Busch's tenure with Joe Gibbs started off with leading the most laps (86) in the 50th Annual Daytona 500 before finishing 4th. He followed that with another 4th place finish in the Auto Club 500. As a result, he took the lead in the points standings for the first time in his career. Busch led 173 of the 325 laps and won the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was the 5th career win for Busch, and the first Sprint Cup points race victory for Toyota.

On August 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards tapped Busch's rear bumper on lap 470/500 to take the lead Busch had owned for most of the race. After the race, Busch pulled alongside to bump into Edwards repeatedly, to "let him know I didn't appreciate the way he passed me."^[15] Edwards responded by spinning out Busch. The following week, NASCAR announced that both Edwards and Busch were being placed on probation for the off-track argument.^[16]

Busch's hopes for his first championship were dashed by two consecutive DNF's at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway, wiping out his 20-point lead and dropping him to 12th in points. However, Busch ralled back with top fives and gained two more spots to close out his first season with JGR 10th in points. Busch had a career-high eight wins and twenty-one top-tens that season.

Busch also ran 30 Nationwide races, and along with Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart helped win the 2008 Nationwide series Owners Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing for the number 20 car. He ran in the series for three different teams and in 4 different numbers, running Braun Racing's number 32 with Beringer and Dollar General sponsorship, the 92 Toyota with Zippo BLU sponsorship for D'Hondt Motorsports in the Zippo 200, and for Joe Gibbs Racing in the number 18 with sponsorship from Interstate Batteries, DLP, Z-Line Designs and Southern Farm Bureau Insurance and the number 20 with Doosan Infracore, Farm Bureau and Z-Line as sponsors.

Busch accumulated 4 poles, 20 top tens and 18 top fives in his partial season, and won 10 races which tied the Nationwide series record for most wins in a season with Sam Ard, who had accomplished the feat some 24 years earlier. In the Craftsman Truck Series, Busch finished second in the Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway, and followed it up a week later with a win in the San Bernardino County 200 at the newly named Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Two weeks later at Atlanta, he raced to another win in the American Commercial Lines 200. Busch acquired his 2nd Craftsman Truck Series pole in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.^[17] His 3rd win of the 2008 truck series season was at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Kyle Busch on pit road at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

On February 12 2009, Busch won the second Gatorade Duel at Daytona. This was the first qualifying race win for Busch, allowing him to start fourth in the 51st Daytona 500. Busch led 88 laps, leading the most for the second year in a row. However, he was taken out on lap 125 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned into Brian Vickers' car, starting a chain reaction crash that sent Vickers into Busch's car, wrecking it, and several other lead lap cars. The following week, Busch made NASCAR history, becoming the first person in the history of the sport to win races in two of NASCAR's touring series in the same day by winning the San Bernardino County 200 in the afternoon and the Stater Brothers 300 in the evening. The next week, he won the 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his hometown. After the race, he and his brother exchanged a long, passionate hug, perhaps signaling the end of their feud. Darrell Waltrip was quoted as saying it was the "sweetest thing he had ever seen".^[18] Busch was the first to win three Cup races in 2009, collecting his third win at Richmond International Raceway. With his win in the 2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400, Busch joined Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win on their birthday.

Busch was involved in a violent wreck at the end of the 2009 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway. While leading on the final lap, only yards from the finish line, Tony Stewart and Busch made contact, sending Busch spinning hard into the outside wall, his car nearly flipping over, which was then hit by Kasey Kahne, sending the car up on its nose. Busch took another hard hit in the driver's side from teammate Joey Logano before spinning to a stop in the infield. Stewart won the race.^[19]

Busch would finsh 5th at Richmond, but he missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup by 8 points. Brian Vickers would get the last spot.

2009 Nationwide championship car at Milwaukee

In the Nationwide Series on November 21, 2009, Kyle Busch won both the Nationwide Series finale and his first NASCAR Championship, becoming the first driver since Sam Ard in 1983 to win the season finale and the championship in the same year.^[20][21][22] Busch finished the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season with 9 wins, 25 top 5's, and 30 top 10's.

Busch's 2009 season in the newly-renamed Camping World Truck Series started off much like the 2008 season had. Finishing second in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway to Todd Bodine, as they had finished in 2008, Busch then dominated the San Bernardino County 200 a week later at Auto Club Speedway, winning the pole and leading 95 of 100 laps. Bodine finished second – again, the same as the two had finished in this race the year before. The following race, the American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Busch again won the pole, and overcame an ill-handling truck as well as transmission problems to take the lead in the closing laps. Busch was able to hold off Kevin Harvick to win the race for the second year in a row. It was his fourth win in five Truck Series starts at Atlanta.

On December 11, 2009, Kyle Busch announced the formation of Kyle Busch Motorsports that will field two teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010. KBM will have two truck teams running in the series.^[23] The #18 Toyota Tundra was to be driven by Busch part time, with the remainder of races to be driven by Brian Ickler. The second truck, the #56 Toyota Tundra, was to be driven by Tayler Malsam. However, after both Ickler and Malsam accepted jobs to drive in the Nationwide Series, and while suffering financial troubles due to lack of sponsorship, Busch withdrew the #56 from competition and has hired various drivers such as Johnny Benson and Kasey Kahne as well as Brian Ickler to fill in on #18 when Busch wasn't driving it himself.

On August 21, 2010, Kyle Busch became the first driver in NASCAR history to win all 3 NASCAR tour events in one weekend. This was achieved at Bristol with a win for the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, and the Sprint Cup Series. Busch started 19th in his Doublemint Toyota. He worked his way to the front, but Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart led him until a caution came out. Stewart checked up, allowing Tony Raines in the #37 car to hit his rear bumper, losing him the lead and the race. On the restart, Busch passed Johnson for the lead, but soon after Johnson was turned into the wall by Juan Pablo Montoya. Kyle Busch continued on to win the race leading the most laps and setting yet another record. Now Kyle is one of the most dominant forces in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Series. In the Nationwide series he won 11 races in 2010, breaking the all-time record for most Nationwide Series wins in a season previously held by Sam Ard with 10. On October 30, 2010, Busch scored a controversial victory in the Camping World Truck Series Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, which saw Busch's truck wiggle below the track's double-yellow "out-of-bounds" line as Busch made the winning pass on second-place finisher Aric Almirola at the finish line.

For 2011, Busch's Speedweeks started off on a low note, as he crashed out of the Budweiser Shootout along with teammate Joey Logano. Busch also raced in all 3 NASCAR events at Daytona, finishing 5th in the Truck Race, 7th in the Nationwide race, and 8th in the Daytona 500. The next week at Phoenix, Busch dominated the Truck race and led every single lap in the Bashas' Supermarkets 200. Kyle Would also Sweep the weekend at Bristol in the Nationwide and Cup Series on the March 19th and March 20 Race Weekend at Thunder Valley. On April 30, 2011, Kyle won at Richmond International Raceway, capturing his 2nd win in the 2011 season. Following an on-track incident with Kevin Harvick during and after the Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway, Kyle was fined $25,000 and put on probation for 4 races (plus the All-Star Race).^[24]

Following the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, pit reporter Ray Dunlap tweeted, “Hot news from the track. Grandpa Childress put a whipping on Kyle Busch in the truck garage". Dunlap mistakenly referred to him as "kubu", which is Twitter shorthand for Kurt Busch, who was not involved.

It is believed that Kyle Busch's post-race bump of Joey Coulter, who drove the #22 Richard Childress Racing-owned Chevrolet Silverado, was in response to Coulter passing Busch on the final lap. About 30 minutes after the race, witnesses say that Childress came up to Busch, put him in a head lock and started punching him. Busch, who was still on probation at the time of the incident, did not violate his probation. Childress, however, was fined $150,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until December 31, 2011. Busch said in an interview that he did not hit Coulter's truck intentionally and that it was a congratulatory bump. He also said that he would pay Childress for the damage on Coulter's truck.^[25]

On August 21, 2011, Busch won the Pure Michigan 400 for his 4th victory of the 2011 season and became the first man to clinch a spot in the Chase. Jeff Gordon was the class of the field late, but after a late race debris caution, Busch beat Gordon and Matt Kenseth out of the pits and held off Jimmie Johnson for the win.

On August 26, 2011 Busch won the Nationwide Series at Bristol Motor Speedway surpassing Mark Martin for the most Nationwide series wins ever, with 50, and also simultaneously became the first driver to win three consecutive races at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Nationwide Series. He also won this race in one of the closest finishes in series history, as he won the race by 0.019 seconds over teammate Joey Logano.

On November 4, 2011, Busch was involved in an incident during the 2011 WinStar World Casino 350K at Texas Motor Speedway. After a racing incident with series regular and championship contender Ron Hornaday, Busch deliberately turned him into the outside wall under caution, ending Hornaday's title hopes. NASCAR black-flagged Busch for the rest of the race. The next morning, NASCAR announced that Busch would remain parked for the remainder of the weekend, including the 2011 O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge and the 2011 AAA Texas 500. NASCAR took this action under rules that allow it to park a driver in order to ensure the "orderly conduct of the event," an action which is not appealable. Denny Hamlin and Michael McDowell stepped up to replace Busch in both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup series races. It was the first time since what is now the Camping World Truck Series was launched in 1995 that NASCAR has parked a driver across all three national series, and only the third cross-series sanction in NASCAR's 64-year history.^[26] NASCAR's action mathematically eliminated Busch from contention for the Sprint Cup, though any realistic chance of him winning it ended earlier in the Chase.

Later that day, Busch issued an apology to his fans, sponsors and teammates, saying that the Texas incident was "certainly a step backward."^[27]

On November 7, NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 for "actions detrimental to stock car racing." While it lifted the parking directive, it placed Busch on probation for the rest of the year, saying that he will be suspended indefinitely if he commits another offense detrimental to stock car racing or disrupts the orderly conduct of a NASCAR event.^[28]

On November 10, ESPN's David Newton reported that M&M's, the primary sponsor for Busch's Sprint Cup team, wanted its name off the car for the last two races of the 2011 season. M&M's maker, Mars, Incorporated, had harshly criticized Busch's behavior in Texas. Newton said that this has led Joe Gibbs Racing to open talks with Aric Almirola about taking over for Busch for the last two Sprint Cup races.^[29] Earlier, Z-Line Designs asked that Hamlin take over as the driver for Busch's Nationwide Series team.^[30] Later that night, however, it was decided that Busch would remain as the driver for the Sprint Cup team, but secondary sponsor Interstate Batteries will be the sole sponsor for the final two races of 2011. M&M's would return as sponsor for the 2012 season.^[31]

2012[link]

Recovering from a disastrous 2011, Busch and the #18 team started off their 2012 season on a high note by winning their first Budweiser Shootout, and for 2012, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that they would also race in the Nationwide Series, alongside his brother, Kurt Busch, driving the #54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, but for only fourteen events in the series for him. Kyle Busch won the Richmond 400 on April 28, 2012, for the fourth year in a row.

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Statistics[link]

(Data current as of November 5, 2011)^[32]

Formula One[link]

Busch was one of three American drivers under consideration to drive for the US-based Formula One team US F1, along with Alexander Rossi and Jonathan Summerton before the team folded due to economic issues. Busch was scheduled to test drive a Toyota F1 car at the end of 2008 season, but could not make it in the end because of a commitment to the Nationwide Series banquet.

Kyle Busch Foundation[link]

According to the KBFoundation Mission Statement, The Kyle Busch Foundation is dedicated to providing essential tools for less fortunate children throughout the country. KBF will concentrate its efforts on assisting organizations in fostering a safe environment for children to live, learn and challenge themselves as well as seeing that day to day needs are met.^[33] His foundation sponsors his #51 late model which is driven by Alex Haase. Busch also has personal sponsorship deals in place with Monster Energy and Electric Visual, with both appearing on his late model at one time or another.

During the 2008 season, Busch announced the "Kyle's Miles" program, inviting consumers to go to www.dogsrule.com.^[34] Kyle's Miles is a team-up with Pedigree to help dogs in shelters and breed rescue organizations.

Legal troubles[link]

On May 24, 2011, Busch was cited for reckless driving and speeding in Troutman, North Carolina, driving 128 mph (206 km/h) in a 45 mph (72 km/h) speed limit zone.^[35] He claims he got carried away test driving a Lexus LFA and issued a public apology. On August 23, 2011, he received a $1,000 fine and had his license suspended for 45 days after he pleaded guilty to speeding. Busch also will have to serve 30 hours of community service and 1 year of unsupervised probation.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Kyle Busch at Racing Reference