In Kurt Busch’s debut behind the wheel of his brother Kyle’s Tundra, he dominated the early stages of the VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway in August, leading 57 of the first 78 laps, before surrendering the lead to make his final scheduled pit stop. After the race proceeded caution free and was decided on fuel mileage, the elder Busch – to no doing of his own – was left with a disappointing ninth-place finish, knowing that if the race hadn’t played out the way it did, that he would have had the truck to beat.
Busch will get a second chance to put Kyle Busch Motorsports’ (KBM) flagship Tundra in victory lane this Saturday, when he pilots the No. 18 Dollar General Toyota in the Coca-Cola 250 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It will be the Las Vegas native’s second career Truck Series start on a superspeedway, but first at the historic 2.66-mile Tri-oval. In his lone restrictor plate start in NASCAR’s third division – which also happened to be his first-ever NASCAR start – he rolled off from the 34th position in the 2000 season-opening race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, but by race’s end had maneuvered his way into a runner-up finish.
Although he hasn’t visited victory lane at the Alabama track, he has shown a knack for getting to the front of the field. The talented 34-year-old has led at least one lap in each of his last eight and 19 of his 23 career Sprint Cup Series starts at NASCAR’s longest oval. He also led a lap in his lone Nationwide Series start at the track earlier this season and went on to post a sixth-place finish.
The former Sprint Cup Series champion has already captured one superspeedway victory in 2012 – the July Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Busch’s battered No. 51 car – which had to be pieced back together during several pit stops after being involved in a lap-66 wreck – was the first to make it across the stripe in an exciting green-white-checkered finish.
Busch, who registered KBM’s first-ever Nationwide Series win at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in April – is hoping to score his third NASCAR win of 2012 and take care of unfinished business with his brother’s Truck Series team Saturday at Talladega.
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