Kyle Busch will pilot the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry this week, for the 26th time this year, and aim for his eighth win with the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) NASCAR Nationwide Series team he has enjoyed much success with. A victory would not only stamp a solid team performance for the season but a Homestead-Miami (Fl.) Speedway win could possibly secure the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship depending on the finish of current points leader Penske Racing’s No. 22 Ford, currently 29 points ahead.
The 29-year-old Las Vegas, Nev. native is no stranger to the winner’s circle at the season-ending event in Florida. In seven Nationwide series races, Busch has recorded two wins (’09 and ’10), one pole (’12), six top-five and six top-10 finishes with 415 laps led. Further success at Homestead-Miami Speedway includes 237 laps led and one top-five result in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series along with two wins, five top-five, six top-10 finishes and 306 laps led in the NASCAR Truck Series.
In this race last year, Busch started from row three in sixth place, led 29 laps and drove the Monster Energy Camry home to a solid third-place finish. While JGR and Busch executed a dominant season in 2013 with 12 wins, 11 poles, 22 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes overall, the Homestead finish left them just one-point short of a season Owner’s Championship, awarded to the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford, a close annual competitor of the No. 54 team.
The 2014 Owner’s Championship battle hasn’t looked much different from last season to this year and the Homestead-Miami event is sure to affect the outcome. To date, in their second full season together, the No. 54 JGR Monster Energy team has accumulated eight wins, 27 top-five finishes, 27 top-10 finishes, nine poles and a series-leading 2,033 laps led. They currently sit second in the series Owner’s Championship point standings, 29 points away from the leading No. 22 Penske Racing Ford. A victory by either Nationwide Series team could lock in the Owner’s Championship title. Undoubtedly Busch is up for that challenge and the No. 54 team is prepared to write a different story ending this time, coming out of the season-finale Miami event.
KBM PR
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