Aside from NASCAR’s biggest events like the Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a win at the hometown racetrack is high on the priority list for most Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
Las Vegas native Kyle Busch crossed off an all-important one in in 2009 in just his fifth NASCAR Cup Series start at his hometown Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Pennzoil 400. This weekend, he looks to bring home career Cup Series win No. 52 as he closes in on 200 overall wins in NASCAR’s top three series combined.
The driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Chocolate Bar Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and 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 10 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 change engines 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. Busch 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.
This year, well before he competes in Sunday’s Cup Series headline event in the M&M’S Chocolate Bar Camry, Busch will have his sights set on “hitting triples” as he is entered in all three NASCAR national series races at Las Vegas, starting with Friday night’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series race and Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. He’s swept all three races in the same weekend twice in his career, both times at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway – in 2010 and 2017 – but he’d like nothing more than to pull off a weekend sweep at his hometown track.
While Busch has 2016 Xfinity Series and 2018 Truck Series wins to go with his 2009 Cup Series win on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas 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 facility’s “Bullring,” which existed for several years before the NASCAR oval was built. When Busch moved up to Late Model Stock cars, his winning ways continued with 10 victories at the Bullring in 2001.
The Las Vegas native will be sporting an M&M’S Chocolate Bar scheme on his No. 18 Toyota for the second time this season. The new permanent addition to the brand’s iconic candy lineup will be highlighted Sunday just miles from the Las Vegas strip. The M&M’S Chocolate Bar consists of smooth milk chocolate with whole M&M’S® Minis visible in a large bar and is available nationwide in five flavors: Peanut, Milk Chocolate, Crispy, Almond and Crispy Mint.
So as Busch returns to Las Vegas this weekend, the only thing that would be sweeter than winning his first Cup Series race there would be winning would be to “hit triples” by adding more Vegas trophies to his extensive collection of hardware and bring home the first win in the M&M’S Chocolate Bar scheme.
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