Kyle Busch ‘Rowdini’

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In: NASCAR Truck Series News

Kyle Busch and the No. 51 Dollar General Racing team head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon for Saturday’s UNOH 175. Busch has been victorious in each of his last three Truck Series starts at the 1.058-mile oval, including two dominant wins as owner-driver for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM).

 
The last two times that Rowdy has taken to the wheel of his Tundra at the Magic Mile he has performed a disappearing act on the rest of the field. Busch captured the pole and led 156 of 175 laps in KBM’s inaugural trip to New Hampshire in 2010. What did he do for an encore? He captured the pole and led 165 of 175 laps in 2011, cruising to a victory of over three seconds. Throw in a win in 2009 for Billy Ballew Motorsports and the talented wheelman has led 396 of the 550 laps en route to his three Truck Series victories in the Granite State.
 
In addition to his three Truck Series victories at the flat oval, Busch has collected two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins – including the series’ most recent visit earlier this season – and four NASCAR XFINITY Series wins – including three consecutive from 2009-2011. Combined between the three National series, the Las Vegas native has led 1,476 total laps at the New England track.
 
As the Truck Series celebrates its 500th race, Busch will be in search of his third Truck Series victory of 2015 and the 45th of his career. KBM will also be celebrating a milestone this weekend, as the team makes its 250th start. Over the first 249 starts in its six-year existence, KBM has been able to record 44 victories and ranks second in series history to former Truck Series competitors Roush Fenway Racing, who collected 50 victories across their 712 starts. Individually Busch ranks second in Truck Series history in victories (44), winning a remarkable 34.4 percent of his 128 career starts in NASCAR’s third division and also ranks fourth in career laps led (5,534). With two wins in three starts this season, ‘Rowdy’ has been victorious in 10 of his last 13 Truck Series starts dating back to the 2013 Truck Series finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
 
Chris Showalter, the truck chief for the No. 51 Dollar General team, has been a crew member for every Truck Series race since the series originated in 1995. The Ohio native overcame a few medical obstacles over the years to keep the streak intact. During the 2004 season, he had ACL surgery on a Tuesday and was able to be at the track working when the garage opened on Thursday. In 2013, he passed a kidney stone the morning of the race at Bristol Motor Speedway and was still able to make it to the track on time. Showalter’s most memorable Truck Series experience to date was winning the 2003 Truck Series championship as a crew chief for driver Travis Kvapil.
 
Saturday’s race will mark Dollar General’s fourth and final race onboard a KBM Tundra in 2015. The nation’s largest small-box discount retailer was onboard the No. 51 for Busch’s victories at Pocono and Michigan, and started off the season on Erik Jones’ No. 4 for his runner-up finish at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May. Overall in 35 races adorning KBM’s Tundras since 2010, the Tennessee-based company has been a part of 11 wins – including the team’s historic first victory at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in April of 2010 – and 21 top-five finishes.
 
Making the final stop on his 2015 Truck Series tour, ‘Rowdini’ is ready to end his season in style by delivering an encore performance of his last two Truck Series shows at the Magic Mile — a disappearing act on the field.

KBM PR

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