Kyle Busch Anything But ‘Average’ at Richmond

When looking at the tracks where Kyle Busch excels in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition, there are many ways to size up the situation. After all, Busch has won at all but two of the 23 tracks that comprise NASCAR’s top series.

Among all those wins at all those tracks, one stop on the circuit seems to be a cut above the rest for the M&M’S driver when looking at the overalls statistics – Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, site of Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400.

A quick look at the stat sheet at Richmond for Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), can easily make the case he is most consistent at the .75-mile short track in Virginia’s capital city. Along with four series wins there, Busch has amassed 15 top-five finishes and 17 top-10s in 23 career starts at Richmond.

Additionally, the Las Vegas native has an average finishing position of 7.0 at Richmond, tops among active drivers. Next best is Kevin Harvick, whose average finish there is 8.2. Busch has completed all but one of the 9,223 laps available to him in his 23 Richmond starts. Of those laps completed, Busch has run in the top-15 for 8,139 laps, or 88.2 percent, which is second-most among active drivers.

Sunday afternoon, Busch and the M&M’S team look to get back to victory lane, where Busch ended up after four consecutive spring-race wins from 2009 to 2012, besting Richard Petty’s previous record of three Richmond spring-race wins in a row from 1971 to 1973. Last April, Busch almost brought home his fifth Richmond win, but teammate Carl Edwards bumped and slipped past the defending Cup Series champion on the last lap. With those impressive statistics and records to back him up, it’s little wonder that a visit to the “Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia” is one of Busch’s favorite stops on the NASCAR tour.

So, as the series heads back to Richmond for the first time this season, Busch and the M&M’S team look to bring home their fifth career win there. Whether or not they make it back to victory lane, history has shown they’ll be anything but average, and they’ll be the driver and team everyone will be on the lookout for. 

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