Kyle managed a 2nd place finish at Chicago while Drew Herring mustered a 7th in Iowa.
Read on for race details.
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via press release(s):
Kyle Busch Second in Chicagoland Return
No. 54 Monster Energy Program Records 10th Top-Five Finish of the Season
Date: September 15, 2012
Event: Dollar General 300 (Race 26 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Nationwide Series
Location: Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway in Joliet (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 6th /2nd (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush Fenway Racing (Ford)
Kyle Busch piloted the No. 54 Monster Energy Camry to a second-place finish at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway in Joliet Saturday afternoon, collecting his fifth top-10 finish on the 1.5-mile oval across nine starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. It was Busch's 16th time piloting his own Toyota in NASCAR's second series, resulting in the company's 15th top-10 and 10th top-five finish of their inaugural season.
The Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) team was anxious for a Chicago return, having raced there with Kyle earlier in the year, without a good result. In the spring race, Busch had a top-five starting position but struggled with car handling and then a late-race accident that didn't allow the team to finish. Coming back to Chicagoland this time, the KBM group brought a new chassis, one that was proven to perform well.
The weekend started off right, when Busch and team ran successful laps over two practice sessions on Friday. The veteran driver felt comfortable with the car setup, telling his crew at one point, "car's good, we could park it now." They proceeded to make slight adjustments, trying different setups that provided Busch with the speed he needed to top the charts. Busch's Saturday morning qualifying effort was fast and the No. 54 team earned a sixth-place qualifying spot, their 13th top-ten starting position of the year.
The green flag dropped under warm sunny conditions Saturday afternoon and Busch made quick work of the field, moving into the fourth position by lap two. An early event caution waved and the team chose to remain on the racetrack, saving pit strategy for a future stop. Busch felt the car was, "tight, all the way through" and he and crew chief Mike Beam discussed ways to loosen up the car's handling, which they addressed during a second event caution, visiting pit road on lap 41.
The car adjustments worked well and during the next portion of the race, Busch drove his way from fourth to first place, taking the lead on lap 61 of the 200-lap event. Once in the lead, the team owner-driver battled for position with the No. 3 car of Austin Dillon, swapping between first and second place over 10 laps.
A green-flag pit stop at lap 96, from the third position, offered the Toyota team another chance to make adjustments to the tire pressures for better car handling. Busch was recorded in the third spot at the event's halfway point, lap 100, while crew chief Mike Beam called out circuit times to his driver. Busch was running 31.95- second lap times compared to the leaders running 32.00-second lap times. The team was encouraged and Busch felt the car was finally coming to him.
The fourth yellow-flag caution period waved at lap 124, which gave Busch the opportunity to discuss what he needed for adjustments with the team. "Just need front turn, entry to center, and I'm money!" commented Busch. He continued, "the car is good." A subsequent visit to pit road on lap 125 provided the opportunity to take four fresh tires and Sunoco fuel. Busch restarted in third on lap 129 and by lap 135 once again was scored in the first position. Busch would lead the race for 33 more laps until he made one final visit to pit road, under yellow-flag conditions.
The team made a few more adjustments to free up the No. 54 machine for their owner-driver, who led the race until lap 180. In the closing laps of the race, however, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. overtook the No. 54 Camry and remained in the lead until the finish. Busch and team would finish in second place.
"We had a really good car. It ran well throughout the race. It was fast. I thought that there wasn't anybody back there that we had to deal with -- and then the No. 6 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) came out of nowhere there at the end. I don't know where he came from, but he had a fast race car. I'm really excited about that run. The Monster Energy Camry did great. The guys did a really good job at preparing it for me - Mike Beam (crew chief) and everybody at KBM Chassis, they gave us a good piece today. Today we just came up a little bit short."
Stenhouse Jr. recorded his seventh victory in 99 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. Busch finished in the second spot, while Dillon, Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard completed the top-five finishers. There were five caution periods for 20 laps of the race along with 17 lead changes across nine drivers, including Busch who led four times for 50 laps. The No. 54 Monster Energy team remains ninth in the Owner's Point standings, 125 points from the leader.
The Nationwide Series continues action Sept. 22 at the Kentucky 300 from Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. The television broadcast will start at 3:30pm EST on ESPN2 and on the PRN radio broadcast. Kurt Busch will make his 11th start of the season behind the wheel of the KBM No. 54 Monster Energy Camry.
-KBM-
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NASCAR Camping World
HERRING BRINGS TOYOTA/DOLLAR GENERAL TUNDRA HOME SEVENTH IN IMPRESSIVE DEBUT
Young Driver Paces Field for 19 Laps in First Truck Series Start
Date: Sept. 15, 2012
Event: American Ethanol 200 (Race 15 of 22)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Iowa Speedway in Newton (.875-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 17th / 7th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Winner: Ryan Blaney of Brad Keselowski Racing (Dodge)
Drew Herring had an impressive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut, leading 19 laps and bringing the No. 18 Toyota/Dollar General Tundra home seventh in the American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. The 25-year-old driver, making his first start in any series in 2012, started from the 17th spot and slowly worked his way forward, as he became more and more comfortable with the feel of his Toyota in the opening stages of the race. With several teams on different fuel strategies, Herring found himself just outside the top 10 in the closing stages of the race, but maneuvered his way as high as fifth before being relegated a top-10 finish after communicating to the crew that his Toyota was too tight in traffic on the final two restarts.
"Pretty solid run tonight," said Herring who had made his first laps in a truck when practice began Friday night. "Man, I can't thank all of these guys -- Eric Phillips (crew chief) and everybody on this No. 18 Dollar General Toyota tonight, especially all of the other affiliates of KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports), M&M's and Flexco. Man, it was an up and down night. I put us behind the 8-ball tonight in qualifying and it was just all about track position and we just couldn't fight it and make it back up. We had a really fast truck on long runs and we just couldn't get anything tonight - it was all short runs Gotta' thank everybody at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) - Kyle (Busch, team owner), Rick Ren (general manager) and Eric Phillips and everybody for giving me this opportunity. I really enjoyed it and hopefully I'll get to go back and do it again."
The North Carolina native finished both practice sessions inside the top 10 and displayed increased confidence with every lap he turned at the .875-mile oval. In Saturday evening's qualifying session, the young driver failed to turn in the lap he was looking for and was relegated to a 17th starting spot for the 200-lap race.
Early in the race, Herring settled in near the top 15 relaying to his crew that he was setting a cautious pace as he continued to familiarize himself with the feel of his Toyota and intricacies of racing in the Truck Series compared to the Nationwide Series, where his eight prior NASCAR starts were made. The No. 18 Toyota/Dollar General Tundra was scored in the 14th position when the first caution of the race occurred on lap 23 and had improved to the 12th position when the field was slowed again on lap 35.
While the top-13 trucks came down pit road when it opened, executing various pit strategies, crew chief Eric Phillips elected to keep his young driver on the track in and effort to stick to his pre-race strategy of breaking the race into thirds. Herring elected to take the inside lane for the lap-41 restart and by the time exited Turn 2 had opened up a two-truck length lead on the field. By lap 50, he had stretched his lead to nearly a second and remained on point until John Wes Townley spun on lap 54 bringing out the race's third caution.
Herring communicated to Phillips that his Tundra was just a "touch" tight from the center of the corner off before bringing it down pit road. The KBM crew completed a four-tire and fuel stop, making an air pressure adjustment in an attempt to tighten the truck for their young driver. Many teams had already taken tires on a previous pit stop and needed just fuel this time around, leaving the No. 18 scored in the 13th position for the restart on lap 60.
By the time the next caution slowed the field on lap 68, the Toyota/Dollar General Tundra had maneuvered its way back inside the top 10. Herring communicated that the adjustments had improved the handling of his truck, but was still trying to get accustomed to it being "really aero-sensitive in traffic."
When the field went back green, Herring got caught on the outside lane and slipped just outside the top 10. As the race reached the halfway mark, he had returned to the top 10 and communicated to his crew that his Toyota's handling improved as the green-flag run continued.
Herring had worked his way up to the seventh spot when leader Parker Kligerman came down pit road for his final scheduled pit stop on lap 140. Over the next 10 laps, other front-running teams also visited pit road, including the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry - which surrendered the third position to make final adjustments.
With two trucks still waiting to make their final stop, the Toyota/Dollar General Tundra returned to the track scored one lap down in the 17th position on lap 155 despite taking just right-side tires and one can of fuel. A debris caution occurred on lap 164, leaving just two trucks on the lead lap. Those trucks came down pit road for their final stop when pit road opened, enabling several drivers - including Herring - to take advantage of the wave-around rule and return to the lead lap.
The No. 18 Toyota was scored in the 11th position when the race restarted on lap 173 and four laps later returned to the top 10. The field was slowed for the seventh time when leader Parker Kligerman spun in oil that was laid down on the track from another competitors expired engine. Herring communicated to Phillips that his Tundra was a "little free on entry."
On the lap-188 restart, Herring took advantage of three trucks getting bottled up in front of him, improving from ninth to sixth by the time that the field made its way back to the start-finish line. To the dismay of KBM's pilot, who was stronger on long green-flag runs, two more cautions slowed the field over the final 10 laps. The Toyota/Dollar General Tundra took the final restart from the sixth position, but surrendered a spot before the field took the checkered flag.
Eighteen-year-old Ryan Blaney picked up his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win, becoming the youngest driver in series history to register a victory - a record previously held by KBM owner Kyle Busch. Rookie Ty Dillon finished 0.168-seconds behind Blaney in the runner-up spot. Todd Bodine and Johnny Sauter finished third and fourth, respectively. Cale Gale rounded out the top-five finishers.
There were 9 caution periods for 54 laps and 7 lead changes among 6 drivers, including Herring who led once for 19 laps. Ten drivers failed to finish the race.
With 16 of 22 races complete, the No. 18 Tundra team remains ninth in Truck Series Owner's point standings, 76 points behind the series-leading No. 3 team.
Brian Scott returns to the seat of the Dollar General Tundra next Friday, Sept. 22, when the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series travels to Kentucky Speedway in Sparta for the Kentucky 201. The race begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, with SPEED's live coverage commencing with the NCWTS Setup Show at 7 p.m. ET.
-KBM-
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