NASCAR O'Reilly

Texas II: Kyle Busch preview

KYLE BUSCH Go 'Fourth' to Texas HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 4, 2009) -- Kyle Busch swept both 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and, if he has is way, he'll be breaking out the broom again in 2009 or, ...

Edited: Nov 6, 2009, 2:22 AM

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KYLE BUSCH

Go 'Fourth' to Texas

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 4, 2009) -- Kyle Busch swept both 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and, if he has is way, he'll be breaking out the broom again in 2009 or, better yet, issuing his competitors a Texas-sized smackdown.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, enters Saturday morning's (yes, Saturday morning -- green flag drops at 11:45 a.m. CST) O'Reilly Challenge at Texas having won three consecutive Nationwide Series events at the 1.5-mile oval. He'll go after his fourth consecutive Texas Nationwide Series victory with a special paint scheme featuring the logo of the new WWE SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010 (THQ, ESRB: T) video game. Busch's JGR teammate, Joey Logano, will have a similar paint scheme on his No. 20 Toyota at Texas. Last week, the duo served as guest hosts of WWE Monday Night Raw in Buffalo, N.Y.

In addition, Conn's, a Beaumont, Texas-based appliance and electronics retailer, will also be featured on Busch's No. 18 Toyota.

In his last three Nationwide Series outings at Texas, Busch didn't just win -- he dominated. He led 126 of 200 laps in April 2008, and backed that up by leading 174 of 200 laps when he returned last November. He further upped the ante this past April when he led 178 of 200 circuits en route to victory lane.

All told, in nine Nationwide Series starts at Texas, Busch has three wins and seven top-five finishes. Out of 1,802 laps he has completed there, the Las Vegas native has led 748 of them.

Whether he is successful in making it a Texas four-peat and second consecutive season sweep at the 1.5-mile oval, Busch most certainly would like to pad his already commanding point lead in the Nationwide Series standings with just two races remaining thereafter.

He leads second-place Carl Edwards by 215 points and, amazingly, has a nearly 1,000-marker lead over fourth-place Jason Leffler.

Kyle Busch, No. 18 Z-Line Designs NASCAR Nationwide Series Toyota Camry

What are your thoughts heading into Texas and the final three races of the 2009 Nationwide Series schedule?

"We're going to Texas trying to get four in a row and looking forward to that, seeing if we can achieve that feat. We know it's going to be tough. The 18 car is going to have the Raw® paint scheme on it for WWE and everybody so it's going to be exciting. Joey's going to be in the SmackDown® car so, hopefully, the Raw® and SmackDown® car can see who can beat each other out. Joey seems to be doing the beating up on me, lately. But, hopefully, we can go back the other way one more time like we did at Loudon earlier this year.

"Missing out on the Chase earlier this year (in Sprint Cup), we felt unfortunate we weren't able to capitalize on getting a championship there. The Nationwide Series, we felt really good about. Going in with (crew chief) Jason Ratcliff and all the guys on the 18 team, we're really looking forward to these last three races. We feel like we've got a good chance at winning that championship. We really run well at Texas. I like going to Phoenix since it's out on the west coast. It's always fun out there. Last year, we ran second to our archrival Carl (Edwards) at Homestead. We feel really good about these last three races. It should be fun. Any championship in NASCAR is a big thing and, for me, it would be my first championship, period. So I'm really looking forward to being able to capitalize on that and win this deal in the Nationwide Series for Z-Line Designs and Jim and Monica Sexton."

You've been incredibly consistent in the Nationwide Series in 2009. Can you talk about that?

"I think the biggest improvement we've made on the Nationwide Series has been the consistency. I've finished in the top-three of the last however many races, I'm not sure. I've set a new record this year for the most second-place finishes of 11. Last year, I tied the record for the most wins in a year with 10. We'd like to win a few more races this year and try to see if we can't also tie the record again this year with 10 wins. We've got seven, now, and we've got a chance to get three more. If we can do that, that'll solidify our championship and what all we've done this year in being really consistent."

You and your JGR teammate Joey Logano had a chance to co-host WWE RAW in Buffalo, N.Y. last week. How was that?

"It was fun. It was a cool experience. I've never been to a live show like that or anything. So, to be a part of something like that with Joey and myself guest-hosting on RAW was a lot of fun. To see the guys behind the scenes and have the wrestlers come into our green room and stuff like that, kind of talk with us, chit-chat with us, meet with us a little bit, it was neat. Big Show came back, John Cena came back, a couple other guys came back, so it was a lot of fun and something that was a neat experience."

The Car

Chassis No. 1888: This car made its debut in May at Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C., where Busch started second and finished third. It has not been on-track since.

-credit: jgr

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