KYLE BUSCH ‘18’ Isn’t Just a Number

KYLE BUSCH

       '18' Isn't Just a Number

 

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (April 1, 2008) – Despite being just 22 years old, Kyle Busch has quickly gained an appreciation for the winning history of his current team.

 

Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), became part of that winning history last month at Atlanta Motor Speedway when he piloted the No. 18 to its first victory in four years. The win was also the first for Toyota in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition.

 

The nostalgia surrounding the moment certainly wasn't lost on the Las Vegas native.

 

"The 18! The 18! The 18 is back at Atlanta," Busch screamed on the radio after scoring the first win for JGR's original team since former JGR driver Bobby Labonte brought the No. 18 Interstate Batteries home a winner in the 2003 season-ending race at Homestead (Fla.) Miami Speedway.

Busch's triumph ended a 147-race drought for the team and nobody was more emotional about seeing the No. 18 car in victory lane than current JGR Vice President of Competition Jimmy Makar, who was one of the original employees at JGR and the first crew chief of the Interstate Batteries machine.

 

Over a nine-year span, Labonte and Interstate racked up 21 Sprint Cup Series wins, along with a magical 2000 season that saw the Makar-led team bring home the championship in NASCAR's top series.

 

"Kyle Busch," Makar said on the radio as Busch crossed the finish line at Atlanta, "thank you for bringing the 18 back."

 

Makar and the rest of the Huntersville, N.C.-based organization were thrilled to watch Busch and crew chief Steve Addington carry the No. 18 car back to prominence, but many of the crew who have been there from the very beginning still feel like they have some unfinished business leading into Sunday's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

 

What might their next mission be? To bring the familiar green and black colors of JGR founding sponsor Interstate Batteries back to victory lane in the backyard of the company's Dallas headquarters.

 

Interstate Batteries Chairman Norm Miller would love nothing more. Miller helped jumpstart JGR by committing to sponsor Joe Gibbs' first NASCAR endeavor with a handshake in his Dallas office in 1991. One year later, Gibbs and Miller's dream became a reality as the team hit the circuit with Dale Jarrett behind the wheel of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries machine. 

 

While Busch understands what bringing the No. 18 car back to victory lane meant to JGR's founding sponsor, he's also aware that he has a tremendous opportunity in front of him to become a major part of the team's history. And with his wide-open style, patience isn't something the talented Busch normally exercises, and he expects to add to Interstate Batteries' history sooner rather than later.

 

The same race-winning chassis from Atlanta will make the rounds this weekend at Texas, but Busch doesn't want to wait to rewrite history. He'd rather add to the legacy of the No. 18 starting this weekend in the shadows of where it all began.