Kyle Busch Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Atlanta Motor Speedway saw the dawning of a new competition package in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and after all was said and done it was Jimmie Johnson taking a late lead en route to winning and tying Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career victory. Without any more delay, here are some of my key takeaways from Sunday’s race. 1) Phenomenal Racing If you didn’t like what kind of racing was on display then there’s something wrong. The package complemented by lower downforce and greater tireRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Scratch another race track off Kyle Busch’s checklist. In what evolved into a two-man battle against Kyle Larson on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion continued his mastery in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, beating Kyle Larson to the finish line to win the Heads Up Georgia 250. The victory was Busch’s first at the 1.54-mile track and the 77th of his career, extending his own series record. But the outcome was far from a foregoneRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service HAMPTON, Ga. – Kurt Busch fell just short of beating brother Kyle Busch on the track during Friday’s time trials at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch covered the 1.54-mile distance in 28.925 seconds 191.668 mph) in the money round of knockout qualifying for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (1 p.m. ET on FOX), beating his older brother by .013 seconds. But the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed post-qualifying inspection, and his time was disallowed. ThatRead More

Climbing the Ladder is a new series that will introduce young, up-and-coming drivers who are attempting to climb the ladder to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This series of articles will focus on drivers in Late Models, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, as well as the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards. This week, we talked with Kyle Busch Motorsports’ William Byron, driver of the No.9  Liberty University Toyota Tundra. Byron is not only campaigning the full season in NASCAR’s Truck Series, but he is alsoRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer After last Sunday’s barn burner of a finish in the Daytona 500, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series packs up and heads to Georgia for this weekend’s running of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. As we head to Atlanta, we’ll take a statistical look at the track and which drivers should perform the best based on their past finishes in this edition of “Crunching the Numbers.” Track Facts Track Size: 1.54-mile quad-oval Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 24 degrees Banking/Turn 3 & 4:Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The 58th annual Daytona 500 is in the books and with it a new champion crowned in Denny Hamlin. With ‘The Great American Race’ now over, it’s time to revisit some of the big takeaways from the Sprint Cup season opener. 1) Hendrick Motorsports fell flat Our NASCAR Editor, Toby Christie, pointed out that this was the first time since 2009 that a driver from Hendrick Motorsports has failed to grab a top 10 finish – see that story here. With that said, the performance, orRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Toyota has spent nine long years trying to notch the manufacturer’s first Daytona 500 victory in NASCAR. It wasn’t an easy road after starting their NASCAR program from scratch in 2007. In their first Daytona 500 outing, Toyota’s highest finisher was Dale Jarrett who finished in 22nd position. Toyota’s other finishers that day were: Michael Waltrip (30th), Dave Blaney (34th), and David Reutimann (40th). It was a humbling day, but Toyota Racing Development stuck with improving their program and now in 2016, the monkey is officially off ofRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Most of the time, when an athlete talks about a “team victory,” it’s nothing more than a sports cliché. But Denny Hamlin’s win in Sunday’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway—by the closest margin in the history of the Great American Race—was a testament to the strength and solidarity of the Toyota teams of Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row Racing, a JGR affiliate. In a wild last lap at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Hamlin moved into the outside lane inRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Retaking the lead with five laps left in the first of Thursday night’s Can-Am Duel 150-mile qualifying races, Dale Earnhardt Jr. cruised to a dominating victory and grabbed the third staring spot for Sunday’s Daytona 500. In the second Duel, reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch took the checkered flag under caution after a wild last-lap wreck took out the cars of Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, AJ Allmendinger and Danica Patrick and damaged the No.Read More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor We already knew that Kyle Busch had elected to skip all NASCAR XFINITY Series events at restrictor plate tracks in 2016, but Wednesday Joe Gibbs Racing announced a surprise driver who would step into the No. 18 NOS Energy Toyota Camry during the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway — Bobby Labonte. Labonte is the 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, and his rise to fame in the sport came during his days running the No. 18 car, that Kyle Busch currently drives, for Joe GibbsRead More