Not Giving Up On Nashville
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (April 9, 2009) – Country music star Pat Green sings the line, “I gave up on Nashville a long time ago,” in his song from the late 1990s, Here We Go.
Kyle Busch hasn’t given up on Nashville or, rather, Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, for that matter. But one couldn’t blame him if he did.
The driver of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing has driven well at the 1.33-mile concrete oval in Lebanon, Tenn., but Lady Luck has never quite been on his side, save for an April 2003 ARCA Re/Max Series victory.
In six NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Nashville, Busch has one pole (March 2008) and has led 191 laps, but he’s only finished in the top-15 once – a sixth-place effort in April 2004.
It’s not like Busch hasn’t been in contention for Nashville’s victory lane and the accompanying Gibson guitar signature winner’s trophy.
Last March, he started on the pole and dominated the event, leading 125 of 225 laps, but finished a disappointing 16th after spinning while leading in turn four with 62 laps remaining.
In April 2004, Busch led six laps and was in a four-way battle for the lead with less than 10 laps to go when he and Clint Bowyer made contact, dropping Busch to sixth-place and his only top-10 finish at the track.
If anyone can turn the tide at Nashville, it’s Busch, who is second in Nationwide Series points, just 35 markers behind series leader Carl Edwards.
While Edwards leads, it could be argued that no driver is hotter in the series than Busch, who notched his second Nationwide Series victory last week at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth after starting on the pole. That victory, coupled with Busch’s win in February at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., has given the Las Vegas native a solid start to the 35-race season.
Other than an accident that caused him to finish a disappointing 39th in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Busch has finished sixth or better in every race and has started no worse than 13th.
Of the 30 tracks that will host NASCAR’s top three divisions in 2009, Busch has competed at 28 of them at least once, winning at 20. The two tracks where he has not competed in the top-three series are Iowa Speedway in Newton and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course in Montreal.
The eight venues where Busch has raced but not scored a victory are Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park and Nashville Superspeedway – site of Saturday’s Pepsi 300.
So, will Busch keep the momentum going this week while sporting Z-Line Designs, the San Ramon, Calif.-based designer and import manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture, as primary sponsor of his No. 18 Toyota? If he does, he’ll not only close the gap on Edwards’ lead, he’ll also check off another track on his “win list.”
Joining Busch and Z-Line Designs at Nashville as they seek victory will be Operation Helmet, a 100 percent volunteer, non-partisan charitable organization headquartered in Montgomery, Texas that provides helmet upgrade kits free of charge to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Jim Sexton, president and CEO of Z-Line Designs, has been a longtime supporter of Operation Helmet, and is using his sponsorship of Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing to generate increased support for Operation Helmet.
Operation Helmet is led by Dr. Bob Meadors, whose tireless efforts have led to more than 40,000 helmet upgrade kits being distributed to U.S. military personnel since 2004. The upgrade kits prevent traumatic head and brain injuries to soldiers by focusing on three core elements – protection, comfort and stability. Shock-absorbing pads keep the helmet from slapping the skull when hit with a blast or other impact, thereby decreasing the chances of brain injuries. Most importantly, the upgrade kit allows a helmet to stay on a soldier’s head longer, more often and in one place.
