FOLLOW ONLINE
THE OFFICIAL NASCAR 2020 PREVIEW & PRESS GUIDE 65
2019 Birth Date: May 2, 1985 Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Team: No. 18 Toyota Camry Coupe / Joe Gibbs Racing
What a season 2019 became for Kyle Busch and his racing team, winning
both the regular season and playoff Championship. That year was
punctuated by ��ve wins and 17 top-��ves.
The 33-year-old driver from Las Vegas continued to establish high marks
on the race track across several Series including the GANDER RV &
OUTDOORS Truck Series.
Busch, the younger brother of 2004 Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch,
held off his brother in a thrilling July race at Kentucky Speedway, and after
another tight race at Bristol, his brother said he would have wrecked him if
he had the opportunity.
“He told me in Victory Lane and I told him, ‘You can’t tell people you’re
going to wreck them before you do it, because when roles are reversed,
that person is going to wreck you because you already told them you were
going to wreck them,” Kyle Busch said.
Busch tied Kevin Harvick with a Series-best eight wins in 2018, the fourth
consecutive year he has posted multiple wins in the top Series and the
10th time in his career. He also had four pole awards.
He entered the 2019 season, his 15th as a full-time competitor after
getting his start in 2004 with six races for Hendrick Motorsports and
despite missing 11 races due to injury in 2015. He de��ed incredible odds
and came back to win the ‘15 Championship.
With 32 poles, his 56 career wins is second among active drivers, trailing
only seven-time Series Champion Jimmie Johnson, who has 83. His
top-��ve and top-10 marks are second and third overall, respectively,
among active drivers. He carries the second-best win percentage (10.4)
in the Series to Johnson (13.5). In ��ve short years, Busch now has two
Championships.
Equally impressive is his success in the x��nity and GANDER RV &
OUTDOORS Truck Series. His 96 career victories in x��nity and 56 in
trucks give him more than 200 total wins across NASCAR’s three
premier Series.
The 96 victories in x��nity are the most in Series history �� and nearly
double the second-best of Mark Martin.
When the roster of Championship favorites is jotted down before the
season begins, Busch’s name surfaces on nearly everyone’s list. And
when the list of title contenders becomes of��cial later this year with the
announcement of the 16-team ��eld, it’s just as likely Busch’s name will be
there too.
That he has made it to the Championship 4 at Homestead for ��ve
consecutive years also speaks to the strength and talents of the No. 18
team. After winning the Championship in 2015 by winning the race ��
Busch ��nished third, second and fourth before 2019. Will 2020 see him
return to the head table again?
Probably so.
Those odds only increase with the success of crew chief Adam
Stevens, overseer of the team since 2015. Together, he and Busch
have celebrated more than 20 wins and two Championships in the
premier Series.
Stevens is no newcomer atop the pit box as he served as x��nity
Series crew chief at JGR before heading up the No. 18 team, winning
31 races with four drivers �� Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch
and Sam Hornish Jr.
If there’s a calming voice for the group, it’s Stevens, who rarely lets
his emotions determine his actions or the actions of his team.
Like many, Busch knows two Championships puts him in rare��ed air,
but a third Championship will elevate his place in the sport’s history. In
fact, he and Johnson are the only active drivers in the Cup Series with
more than one Championship.
“There’s been a lot of great Champions in our sport, and many of
them only have that one Championship,” Busch said in 2018. “I think it
would solidify the ��rst in making your history in this sport.”
He got his wish.
Expect a strong start in 2020 and more of the same from the driver
many consider the most talented in the Series today.
More wins and more titles await.
KYLE BUSCH
FEATURED DRIVERS
@kylebusch @rowdybusch
kylebusch.com
/kylebusch.com
