No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota News and Notes:
- Kyle Busch returns to the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) NASCAR XFINITY Series team and the No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota this week at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Brooklyn for the NASCAR XFINITY Series race event. This week on the 2.0-mile D-shaped oval, Busch is very familiar with victory lane. The champion driver will work to record his fifth overall NASCAR win at the Michigan facility, targeting his third victory there in the XFINITY Series. This week will be the driver’s fourth of 10 total XFINITY Series races scheduled with partner NOS Energy Drink in 2017.
- Last race for Busch in the No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Camry at MIS, he started from row three, a fifth-place qualifying lap at 190.779 mph captured in 37.74 seconds. Busch led the field three times over 88 of 125 event circuits and was in strong contention for another checkered-flag capture, his fifth of 2016, when on the last lap his No. 19 teammate made an aggressive pass when taking the white flag, and overcame his mentor to take the first career win of his NASCAR career. Joe Gibbs racing teammate Daniel Suarez finished the 2016 Michigan XFINITY series race in first place, while Busch captured the second-place spot, not too far behind.
- This week Busch will make his 332nd XFINITY Series start piloting the orange and blue NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry and works to offer the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 team their first officially recorded taste of XFINITY series victory in 2017 and their fifth Michigan track win in the series.
- In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Busch is no stranger to victory lane at the Michigan track where he has earned previous wins in both series.
- Joe Gibbs Racing at Michigan International Speedway in the NASCAR XFINITY Series covers 40 races, four wins (one each with Denny Hamline, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez), one pole (Busch, 2014), 16 top-five finishes, 28 top-10 finishes and 315 laps led.
- Crew Chief Eric Phillips’ MIS statistics include two races and 13 laps led in the XFINITY series with former team drivers Parker Kligerman and series champion Daniel Suarez.
- With their recent fifth-place result, the No. 18 JGR team sits in sixth place in NASCAR Owner’s Championship point standings, now 167 points behind the series leading No. 22 of Penske Racing.
- XFINITY Series Loop Data Statistics at Michigan International Speedway over the last 10 races record Busch #1 in Highest # of Fastest Laps (101, 10.1%) and second highest among competitors in Driver Rating with a 4.3 average finish, Green Flag Speed at 178.180mph and Laps Led (147, 14.7%).
- Busch is the youngest winner at MIS in the XFINITY Series when he recorded a victory on 8/21/04 at the age of 19 years, three months and 19 days. Joe Gibbs Racing’s XFINITY Series program earned the last two event wins here at MIS in 2015 with Busch and in 2016 with Daniel Suarez.
- Busch’s next pole-award win will be his 60th first-place start across a consistent 14-year span in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, the highest of all driver pole records.
Kyle Busch Michigan International Speedway Results:
| Series | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Led | AvSt | AvFn |
| Cup | |||||||
| 24 races | 1 (2011) | 4 | 6 | 0 | 179 | 14.1 | 20.4 |
| XFINITY | |||||||
| 9 races | 2 (2015, 2004) | 8 | 8 | 1 | 234 | 7.6 | 3.9 |
| Truck | |||||||
| 9 races | 1 (2015) | 7 | 8 | 1 | 240 | 7.0 | 5.4 |
Kyle Busch NASCAR XFINITY Series Career Results:
| XFINITY Series | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Led | AvSt | AvFn |
| 331 races | 87 | 202 | 238 | 59 | 17,947 | 7.7 | 9.1 |
From the Cockpit, Driver Kyle Busch:
What are your expectations going into this week’s Michigan XFINITY series race?
“I finally got that monkey off my back in 2015 with a win. Then last year we led most of the day and my teammate (Daniel) Suarez squeaked one out on us at the end. Obviously good for JGR then, but now we want to get our cars back in a good groove in 2017, and take a win back. Last year the car got really loose on me in those last few laps, so we need to find a way that I can hold the corners like I need to through the end of the race. We’ve got Eric Phillips over here now so I look forward to getting back in the saddle with him and the (No.) 18 team – see if we can’t relive some of our KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) days.”
From the Pit Box, Crew Chief Eric Phillips:
How will you prepare for this week’s Michigan XFINITY Series race with Kyle Busch, a track where you are still searching for your first win?
“We have built a new car for Michigan, the team has put a lot of hard work in this car as it is a new direction for the company since we feel like we’ve gotten behind our competitors. We’re excited to get to Michigan to see if the hard work is in the right direction.
“Personally I’m very excited to be working with Kyle again. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve sat atop that box for him. We have had a lot of success together and I think the reason for that is that our passion for winning is very similar – neither one of us are happy with second.
“We’ve (18 team) gotten closer and closer to winning every week and over the last six weeks especially, and so it will be a good test to get Kyle in the car to evaluate where we are at with our program, with the success the XFINITY series car has had over the last couple of years, this will show us where we stand with our race cars compared to the garage now.”
No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing Team Members:
| Driver – Kyle Busch | Crew Chief – Eric Phillips | Car Chief – Chris Myers |
| Race Engineer – Chris Whitenight | Springs/Engineer – Dustin Zacharyasz | Front Mechanic – Tyler Paxton |
| Rear Mechanic – John Egbert | Tire Specialist – John Lanham | Engine Tuner – Roger Purcell |
| Truck Driver – Steve Fiedler | Spotter – Tony Hirschman | Jackman – TJ Ford |
| Gas Man – Tom Lampe | Front Tire Changer – Josh Leslie | Front Tire Carrier – Brad Donaghy |
| Rear Tire Changer – Adam Hartman | Rear Tire Carrier – Anwar Parrish | Support Engineer – Jamie Albert |
About NOS:
Based in Corona, California, NOS is part of the Monster Energy Company, acquired from The Coca-Cola Company in 2015. Launched in 2005, NOS Energy Drink fuels performance by providing high performance energy and enhanced mental focus you need to stay ahead of the pack. Whether on the track, tuning a favorite car in the garage, or conquering your day, NOS delivers a kick. Rooted in auto-culture, NOS is a proud partner of Kyle Busch, Brian Deegan and Chris Forsberg. High Performance Energy. High Performance Athletes. For more information, visit www.drinknos.com and tag #NOSEnergyDrink #NOSRowdy.
-JGR-
