9781422270806

BUBBA WALLACE CHASE ELLIOTT DENNY HAMLIN KEVIN HARVICK KYLE BUSCH KYLE LARSON RYAN BLANEY

Stock Car Racing ’ s Best Drivers

Jeremy Pike

MASON CREST MIAMI

PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2024 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4742-6 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4737-2 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7080-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Pike, Jeremy (Sportswriter), author. Title: Kyle Busch / Jeremy Pike.

Description: Hollywood, FL : Mason Crest, [2024] | Series: Superstars of the speedway : Stock car racing’s best drivers | Includes QR codes and links to third-party content. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023010942 | ISBN 9781422247426 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422247372 (series) | ISBN 9781422270806 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Busch, Kyle,--Juvenile literature. | Automobile racing drivers--Biography--Juvenile literature. | Stock car racing--Juvenile literature. | NASCAR (Association)--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC GV1032.B89 P55 2024 | DDC 796.72092 [B]--dc23/eng/20230518 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023010942

Developed and Produced by National Highlights, Inc. Editor: Andrew Luke Production: Crafted Content, LLC (www.craftedcontentllc.com)

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CONTENTS Chapter 1: Greatest Moments --------------------------------- 07 Chapter 2: The Road to the Top ------------------------------- 21 Chapter 3: Victory Lane - -------------------------------------- 33 Chapter 4: Under the Hood ----------------------------------- 47 Chapter 5: Off the Track --------------------------------------- 61 Series Glossary of Key Terms ---------------------------------- 74 Further Reading ------------------------------------------------ 76 Internet Resources --------------------------------------------- 77 Index ----------------------------------------------------------- 78 Author Biography & Credits ----------------------------------- 80 Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field. KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

accumulate: gradually gather together contemporaries: people that are existing, living, or coming into being during the same period of time as each other hotbed: an environment promoting the growth of something respective: relating separately to each of two or more things

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Superstars of the Speedway: Kyle Busch

Chapter 1

Greatest Moments

Kyle Busch may have come onto the NASCAR scene as the younger brother of Kurt Busch, but his career has not been overshadowed by his older brother. Despite Kurt having three more seasons in the Cup Series, Kyle has 26 more career wins at the highest level through the late stages of the 2022 season. Both brothers have won Cup Series championships, the first duo to accomplish the feat since Terry and Bobby Labonte. Busch grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is not necessarily a hotbed of racing like Georgia or North Carolina. He started racing Legends cars at the Bullring on what is now the grounds of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch has not only won at every level of racing he has competed in but has been dominant as well. He has set records throughout his career, making him one of the best race car drivers of the last 20 years. Busch has raced more races in his career than a number of his contemporaries , running full seasons in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series at the same time for multiple seasons in a row.

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Greatest Moments

Busch holds the record for most wins in the history of the Xfinity Series while also tying a legend for most consecutive seasons in the Cup Series with a win. While some seasons have been dominant, he has also shown a flair for the dramatic, winning crucial races over his closest competitors when it mattered most. The sure-fire NASCAR Hall of Famer embarked on a new challenge in 2023. He left Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 years with the team, joining Richard Childress Racing instead. After a decade and a half in a Toyota, the move took Busch back to driving a Chevy, as he did to start his Cup Series career. Busch entered his tenure at Childress having won a Cup Series race in 18 straight seasons, dating back to his 2005 rookie season in the No. 5 Chevy. That is a record Busch shares with none other than NASCAR’s King, Richard Petty. One win in the 2023 season would set him apart in the record books. In December 2022, Busch made his first official event with Childress a huge success, winning the World Racing League two-day endurance event at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The two time Cup Series champ was joined by new RJR teammates Austin Dillon and Sheldon Creed to capture the checkered flag in the eight hour race. It was the first small step in what Busch hoped would end in a giant leap to a third Cup Series title. Here’s a look at eight of the defining and greatest moments of Kyle Busch’s career.

8

Superstars of the Speedway: Kyle Busch

GREATEST

MOMENTS

9

Greatest Moments

2015 CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP In Busch’s 11th full-time season in the Cup Series, with six Top 10 end-of-season points finishes under his belt, he finally broke through and won the championship. It was an incredible feat, considering he only competed in 25 of the 36 races that season. Busch broke his leg in a crash during the Xfinity Series race at Daytona to open the 2015 season, which sidelined him until the 12th race of the Cup Series. Busch came back strong and won five races, including the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, to clinch the series championship. It was his first win at the Homestead track in the Cup Series. Kevin Harvick finished second in the race and also finished one point behind Busch for the championship. Busch passed Brad Keselowski after a late-race restart with only seven laps to go and pulled away from the field to secure the victory.

Watch as Kyle Busch wins his first Cup Series championship.

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Superstars of the Speedway: Kyle Busch

2019 CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP Four years after Busch’s first Cup Series championship victory, he hoisted the trophy again. This time, he was able to run the full 36 races. Busch still won the same number of races (five), but he finished 17 times in the Top 5 and had 27 Top 10 finishes. He beat Martin Truex Jr. for the title despite Truex Jr. winning two more races than Busch. Busch had the highest average finish of any driver that season with an average of 8.9, almost a full position higher than Truex Jr. He also had more Top 10 finishes than any other driver during the season. Busch capped off the winning season with a win at Homestead Miami Speedway, just like he did in 2015. It’s only the second time Busch has ever won at Homestead in the Cup Series. Truex Jr. finished second in the race but was more than 4.5 seconds behind Busch.

Kyle Busch earns his second Cup Series championship.

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Greatest Moments

MOST CONSECUTIVE SEASONS WITH A WIN

The 2022 Food City Dirt Race was held at Bristol Motor Speedway in mid-April, a race Busch won for his first victory of the season. With the win on the dirt track, he tied a record set by Richard Petty. Busch had managed to win a race in 18 straight seasons, a mark set by Petty over a stretch that started in 1960 with three wins and ended with five wins in 1977. Busch needed help to get the win. On the final lap, he was running third behind Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick. Reddick, in search of his first NASCAR Cup Series win, was battling Briscoe when Briscoe dove under Reddick’s car before getting sideways and sending both cars spinning around. Neither car crashed, but it was more than enough for Busch to avoid the disconcerted leaders and secure the win. On a historical note, Petty’s streak will stand in history as one of the most dominant stretches of driving ever, and it also includes two seasons with 20+ wins.

Kyle Busch wins at Bristol to make it 18 straight seasons with a victory.

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Superstars of the Speedway: Kyle Busch

SWEEPS NATIONAL SERIES RACES IN A WEEKEND

A lot of Cup Series drivers spend time racing in the other national series to prepare for the big race in their own series. Busch is no different, having spent time racing trucks in the Truck Series and the Xfinity Series. What makes Busch different is that he is the first driver to sweep all three races across the national series in a single week. In August 2010, Busch won all three races at Bristol Motor Speedway. He won the O’Reilly 200 Wednesday night from the pole and led 116 of the 200 laps in the No. 18 Toyota truck. On Friday night, Busch once again led 116 laps en route to winning the Food City 250 on the (then) Nationwide Series. It was not without controversy, however, as he tangled with Brad Keselowski and later admitted to spinning Keselowski intentionally. Just moments earlier, Keselowski made contact with Busch’s rear and got him loose to make the pass. Despite pre-race verbal jousting, Busch and Keselowski did not tangle on the track Saturday night in the Cup Series race. Busch once again dominated, leading 283 of the 500 laps in the Irwin Tools Night Race.

Kyle Busch talks about breaking out the broom and sweeping Bristol week.

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Greatest Moments

2009 NATIONWIDE SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP

2015 may have been Busch’s first Cup Series championship, but it wasn’t the first time he hoisted a NASCAR Series championship trophy. In 2009, he won the Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) championship while also running a full-time Cup Series schedule and finding time to appear in 15 truck races. Busch finished the Nationwide Series season with nine wins. He also amassed 25 Top 5 finishes and finished in the Top 10 in 30 out of 35 races. He capped the season with wins in two out of the final three races, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch’s margin of victory in the standings was 210 points over Carl Edwards. He led an incredible 2,698 laps across the 35 races. No other driver led even 1,000 laps during the season. It was only two short seasons later when NASCAR ruled that drivers had to choose one series in which to accumulate championship standing points, so despite being one of the most dominant drivers on the Nationwide Series through the mid-2010s, Busch did not qualify to win that championship again.

Kyle Busch wins the 2009 Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) championship.

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Superstars of the Speedway: Kyle Busch

2005 CUP SERIES ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

2005 marked Busch’s first full season in the Cup Series. He picked up two wins to go with nine Top 5 and 13 Top 10 finishes. He ended up 20th in the season rankings. The next-closest rookie was Travis Kvapil, who finished thirteen spots behind Busch in the rankings. Busch picked up a pole in just the second race of the season at Auto Club Speedway, then picked up another second-place finish the very next week. He finished runner-up to Jimmie Johnson and just ahead of his brother Kurt at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track. Also included in those nine Top 5s were two more second-place finishes, both times at Dover Motor Speedway. Among Busch’s two Cup Series wins was a hard-fought battle with Greg Biffle at Phoenix Raceway in the second-to-last race of the season. All this success made Busch an easy choice for Cup Series Rookie of the Year.

Kyle Busch beats Greg Biffle for his second career win.

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Greatest Moments

FIRST CUP SERIES WIN As part of Busch’s Cup Series Rookie of the Year season in 2005, he won his first career Cup Series race at California’s Auto Club Speedway in the series’ second visit to the track that year. While he had a really good starting position for the first race at the track, he started from the 25th position for the second race, the Pepsi Max 400. Busch was in the lead after the green flag waved from a late caution with just three laps to go. He got a great restart, pulling away from second-place Greg Biffle on his way to the win. The race was extended due to a green-white-checkered flag finish, the result of a three-car accident on Lap 248. Busch led 95 of the 254 laps, the most of any driver on the day.

Kyle Busch gets his first career Cup Series win.

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Superstars of the Speedway: Kyle Busch