Kyle Busch No. 54 Monster Energy NNS Darlington Review

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In: Xfinity Series News

The No. 54 Monster Energy team looks forward to week seven in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, tackling the ‘lady in black’ with Monster Energy athlete and driver Kyle Busch. The Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) team has accomplished a strong start to the 2014 race season, with two wins and six top-five finishes secured in the first six Nationwide Series events. Additionally team owner J.D. Gibbs maintains first place in the series’ Owner’s Championship points standing, 14 markers ahead of competitor Roger Penske. This week they look to extend that lead, with what they hope will be their third season victory at a track the team and Busch dominated last year.

In May of 2013, Busch mastered the 1.36-mile oval, by starting from the pole, leading the field four times for 107 of the 147-lap event (72.8%) and bringing home the checkered flag. The victory was Busch’s 56th in 252 series starts and the JGR teams’ fifth series win of 2013 and seventh top-10 finish in nine starts at the beginning of last season. Busch accomplished the win from the pole position, also the last driver to accomplish the feat, previously doing it in 2011. The Darlington racetrack is also the site of Busch’s first series pole recorded on March 20, 2004.

Crew chief Adam Stevens, himself, is no stranger to success on the South Carolina facility. Finishing second to Busch in 2011 was team leader Stevens, at the time with JGR driver Denny Hamlin in another team entry. One year later, in 2012, at the same spring Darlington event, it was Stevens who took first place, with former JGR driver Joey Logano. Then came the 2013 victory with Busch and the No. 54 Monster Energy team. Needless to say they’ve both been successful in mastering the difficult oval, a feat coveted by many.

As a unit, in 40 races at Darlington Raceway in the Nationwide Series, Joe Gibbs Racing has accomplished eight wins, seven in the last eight years, along with 17 top-five, 25 top-10 finishes and four poles. The organization has led for a total of 789 laps, has an average start of 13.6, an average finish of 11.1 and has completed 5,581 of 5,833 (95.7%) laps.  They’ll look to extend that winning record again this weekend.

KBM PR

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