Kyle Busch To Make Milestone Start No. 200 In NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Nevada native will become youngest NASCAR driver in Sprint Cup history to achieve the honor just one month after turning 25 years old.
Courtesy: NASCAR Media Relations
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 2, 2010) – Kyle Busch will make his 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on Sunday in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 presented by Target at Pocono Raceway.
In doing so, at 25 years, one month and four days, Busch will become the youngest driver in series history to reach start No. 200. The previous youngest was Brian Vickers, at 25 years, 11 months and three days (Dover International Speedway, Sept. 27, 2009).
Through the first 199 races, Busch has 18 wins, 60 top fives and 93 top 10s. Busch has won at least one race in each of his six full-time seasons.
Since 1972, the Modern Era, when NASCAR reduced the number of races in its schedule, six other drivers have won as many races by their 200th start as Busch: Jeff Gordon (45); Jimmie Johnson (27); Darrell Waltrip (25); Davey Allison* (19); Tony Stewart (19); Rusty Wallace (18). (Note *: Davey Allison won his 19 races in 191 career starts.)
Busch has made NASCAR’s postseason – the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – three times, and currently is second in the series standings.
Below is a timeline of some of Busch’s career highlights on his way to 200 starts:
1 – Busch’s first start came at his home track – Las Vegas Motor Speedway – on March 7, 2004. He finished 41st in the No. 84 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
7 – On Feb. 20, 2005, Busch competed in his first Daytona 500, finishing 38th. It was Busch’s first race in the No. 5 Chevrolet.
31 – At Auto Club Speedway on Sept. 4, 2005, Busch won his first series race. He led 95 laps in the event, at the time becoming the youngest race winner in series history. Joey Logano broke that record with his victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last season.
83 – At Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25, 2007, Busch won the first race run with the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car.
115 – At Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 17, 2008, Busch made his first start with Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 18 Toyota. He finished fourth.
133 – Busch nabbed consecutive victories for the first time. Start No. 132 was a victory in the July Daytona race, his 10th career win. The following week, he won at Chicagoland Speedway.
153 – Grabs his coveted hometown victory at Las Vegas on March 1, 2009.
160 – Joins NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Cale Yarborough as the second NSCS driver to win on his birthday. Busch did it at Richmond International Raceway on May 2, 2009, his 24th birthday.
