Tony Hirschman

PIT BOX: Whelen Modified Tour Roars Back Into New Hampshire’s Magic Mile

by Mike
Whelen Modified Tour
(Tom Morris photo)

One of the most anticipated races of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, the Mohegan Sun 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, is on the docket this Saturday morning at 9:15 a.m. ET live on FloRacing.

The race, which serves as the 13th of 16 events on the 2025 calendar, marks the 77th visit by NASCAR’s oldest division to the 1.058-mile oval located in Loudon, New Hampshire. Mike McLaughlin won the first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event held at the track in 1990 and is one of only 24 drivers to win with the series at the track.

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PIT BOX: The Steel Palace Awaits As The NASCAR Modified Tour Championship Battle Rolls Into Oswego

by Mike
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Patrick Emerling (1), Justin Bonsignore (51) and Matt Hirschman (60) battle for position last season at Oswego Speedway. (Photo: Bryan Bennett/NASCAR)

Just five races remain in the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season as the series returns to historic Oswego Speedway in New York for the running of the Toyota Mod Classic 150 this Saturday night (8 p.m. ET on FloRacing).

Saturday’s race marks the Modified Tour’s 18th visit to Oswego, with the first four visits occuring in 1988. Brian Ross captured the first two checkered flags at the track, with Mike McLaughlin and George Kent Jr. capturing the next two at the 0.625-mile oval.

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KYLE BUSCH – Checking the Final Box

by Mike
KYLE BUSCH – Checking the Final Box

HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (Feb. 4, 2021) – As the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to begin with on-track activities starting Tuesday, Feb. 9 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Kyle Busch has turned his attention to checking the most important remaining box on his career to-do list.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), is hoping to check the box of Daytona 500 champion by finally securing the Harley J. Earl Trophy that goes annually to the Daytona 500 winner as he makes his 16th career start in The Great American Race slated for Sunday, Feb. 14. (more…)

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M&M’S Fudge Brownie Racing: Kyle Busch Alsco Uniforms 500k at Charlotte Advance and Team Report

by Mike
M&M’S Fudge Brownie Racing: Kyle Busch Alsco Uniforms 500k at Charlotte Advance and Team Report
HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (May 25, 2020) – Until last Wednesday night’s event at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, the last time the NASCAR Cup Series ran a race on a Wednesday was almost 36 years ago – the Firecracker 400 on July 4, 1984. Back then, no matter on what day July 4 fell, NASCAR’s top series raced at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. That 1984 Firecracker 400 also happened to be one of the more memorable races in NASCAR history, as Richard Petty brought home the 200th win of his Cup Series career.

 

While the race last week at Darlington marked the first Wednesday Cup Series race in more than three decades, the next midweek event is set for just seven days later. The series heads back to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway for Wednesday night’s Alsco Uniforms 500k as NASCAR continues to make up races lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected events of every kind, not only in the United States but all over the world.

 

This Wednesday night, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), will look to improve on his most recent outing, which resulted in a fourth-place finish in Sunday night’s traditional Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Busch ran up front for most of the first portion of the race, but a pit road speeding penalty sent him to the rear of the field. However, he and the M&M’S team were able to rally back to bring home his fourth top-five finish in seven races this season. Wednesday night’s 500-kilometer race replaces the cancelled race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway originally scheduled for June. With a second-place finish last Wednesday at Darlington and the fourth-place run Sunday night at Charlotte, Busch is hoping the Sonoma replacement race nets him his third top-five in a row and first win of the season.

 

Busch has managed to enjoy plenty of success at the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval. He now has 14 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s in his 31 previous Cup Series starts there over the past 14-plus seasons. In addition to solid Cup Series finishes, Busch has captured eight NASCAR Xfinity Series wins at Charlotte – May 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2010, October 2008 and 2009, and both May and October 2013. He also has eight NASCAR Truck Series wins at the track – 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019.

 

While he had gone to Charlotte’s victory lane at early and often in the Xfinity and Truck Series, Busch only recently broke through in the Cup Series there. His 2017 win in the non-points All-Star Race was his first Cup Series win of any kind at the track. The following year, in 2018, Busch was able to win there again, this time in the points-paying Coca-Cola 600 to add another crown jewel to his already impressive resume.

 

So as the Cup Series continues its busy run of eight races in less than a month, Busch and his M&M’S Fudge Brownie team hope they can break through for the first of many wins under the Wednesday night lights at Charlotte. He’ll hope to keep the momentum he’s built over the last two races as the season is finally able to kick into full gear for the summer.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing: 
With track position being so important, how will you approach Wednesday night with the inversion of the top-20 grid positions?

 

“It’s definitely going to be more of a sprint race with our M&M’S Fudge Brownie Camry. Thankfully, my guys are really, really, really good on pit road and they probably passed the most cars Sunday night on pit road – more than I did. It’s definitely beneficial when you can come down pit road 15th, 10th, eighth, seventh, whatever it is, and those guys are going to get you five or six spots. I’m not too upset about where we have to start. We certainly saw that track position was a big deal on Sunday night, so we want to work our way to the front and stay there if we can. I know I’m up for it and the guys on pit road are up for the task, too, with how well they performed on Sunday night.”

 

It seemed you had some pretty big swings in handling on Sunday night. Will you go back and try and figure out why that was the case and make some changes for Wednesday night?

 

“The only thing I can really attribute it to is tires. That’s the only thing that makes sense. When you go and you have two runs that are really, really good and you have tires on and you don’t make any changes, and then you make one slight air pressure adjustment with the next set of tires and it goes haywire, you have to think it’s the tires. You didn’t put a wedge wrench in the thing, you didn’t change anything too crazy. Also, track position sometimes, too, is a factor. When you’re further up toward the front, the cars drive way, way better. We had the speeding penalty there and it put it toward the back and it certainly handled differently back there than up at the front of the field. When you get back in the seventh to ninth to 11th range, you are just out of control and have no grip. So I know Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and I will go back and talk about how to make our car better this week and we’ll see what happens.”

 

Do you feel you’re in race shape now that you’ve run three Cup Series races since the shutdown?

 

“I felt good after all of these races. We had the race last Sunday at Darlington and it was a little warmer out and I saw a couple of guys get out of the car and kind of sit next to their car and they were pretty wet and kind of hot and overheated maybe a little bit. I felt fine. Then, no issues the last couple of races, certainly a bit easier when they are at night and cooler outside. I’ve got enough cooling and things like that where I feel pretty good and ready to go.”

 

M&M’S Fudge Brownie Racing

Race 8 of 36 – Alsco Uniforms 500k – Charlotte

Car No.: 18 – M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry

 

Teammates:  Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Toyota Camry; Martin Truex Jr. – No. 19 Toyota Camry; Erik Jones – No. 20 Toyota Camry.

 

At-Track PR Contact: Bill Janitz, True Speed Communication (704-875-3388 ext. 803 or Bill.Janitz@TrueSpeedCommunication.com).

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kyle Busch

Hometown: Las Vegas

 

Crew Chief: Adam Stevens

Hometown: Portsmouth, Ohio

 

Car Chief: Nate Bellows

Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

 

Spotter: Tony Hirschman

Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

 

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

Front Tire Changer: Cam Waugh

Hometown: Johnstown, Colorado

 

Jackman: T.J. Ford

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

 

Tire Carrier: Joe Crossen

Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

 

Rear Tire Changer: Jeff Cordero

Hometown: Salem, Connecticut

 

Notes of Interest:
  • The Alsco Uniforms 500k will mark Kyle Busch’s 542nd career NASCAR Cup Series start and his 32nd NASCAR Cup Series start at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
  • Busch has career totals of 56 wins, 32 poles, 204 top-five finishes, 300 top-10s and 17,446 laps led in 541 career Cup Series races. His most recent Cup Series win came in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway, resulting in his second Cup Series championship. Busch’s most recent pole, the 32nd of his career, came in November at Phoenix Raceway.
  • Busch has one win, 14 top-five finishes and 19 top-10s and has led a total of 1,449 laps in 31 Cup Series starts at Charlotte. Busch’s average Charlotte finish is 14.2.
  • Finally: Busch’s combined record in NASCAR Xfinity Series and Truck Series races is quite impressive at Charlotte, where the Las Vegas native has eight wins apiece on the 1.5-mile oval for a total of 16 victories. While he found victory lane early and often at Charlotte in those series, Busch was unable to find similar success in NASCAR’s top series. That all changed starting in 2017, when he brought home the win in the NASCAR All-Star Race, the first Cup Series win of his career at Charlotte, albeit a non-points event. But a little more than a year later, in 2018, Busch was able to bring home his first Cup Series points paying win at Charlotte as he led a whopping 377 laps of the Coca-Cola 600 en route to the crown jewel win.
  • 56 Career Cup Series Wins: With his Cup Series win at Homestead in November, the 56th points-paying win of his career, Busch passed NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for sole possession of ninth place on the all-time win list in NASCAR’s top series. Next up for Busch on the list is eighth-place Dale Earnhardt, who had 76 wins during his Hall of Fame career. With his 40th Cup Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in August 2017, Busch became the fourth-youngest driver to reach 40 Cup Series wins at 32 years, 109 days, behind only Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon and Herb Thomas.
  • All-Time JGR Wins Leader: With his Brickyard 400 win in July 2016, Busch passed Tony Stewart for most all-time Cup Series wins for JGR. Busch now has 52 wins for JGR to Stewart’s 33 following his most recent win at Homestead last year.
  • 209 and Counting: Busch enters Monday night’s Xfinity Series race at Charlotte with 209 career wins among NASCAR’s top three divisions – Cup (56), Xfinity (96) and Truck (57) – following his Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in February.
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KYLE BUSCH M&M’S Fudge Brownie Debut

by Mike
KYLE BUSCH M&M’S Fudge Brownie Debut
HUNTERSVILLE, North Carolina (May 18, 2020) – Following a 10 week-hiatus, the NASCAR Cup Series completed a successful return Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway as a national television audience on FOX witnessed one of the first major sporting events since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

For Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), his up-and-down race on Sunday was more successful than indicated by his final finishing position of 26th place. The day was filled with adversity from the very beginning, as Busch was forced to start at the rear of the field because of prerace inspection issues.

 

But one thing fans have witnessed over the last several years is the defending Cup Series champion and his team don’t back down from adversity, and Sunday was no different for Busch and the M&M’S team. Just 93 laps into Sunday’s 400-mile race, Busch made his way into the top-10 for the first time. But it was not smooth sailing from there as adversity struck again on lap 143, with Busch hitting the outside wall, causing damage to the right side of his M&M’S Toyota. However, a caution gave Busch and his team time to repair his car. Again, Busch worked his way back up through the field from 29th inside the top-10 by lap 247. Just as it looked like Busch would salvage at least a top-10 finish, he was forced to come to pit road under green with 29 laps remaining, resulting in a disappointing finish.

 

The good news for Busch is a rare second chance at the same track in less than a weeks time as the Cup Series returns to Darlington for the Toyota 500k on Wednesday night. Not only does Busch and his No. 18 get another shot at a Darlington win, they will be doing it with the colors of the new M&M’S Fudge Brownie product. The sharp, new look highlights the newest permanent addition to the M&M’S lineup. M&M’S Fudge Brownie are in stores now and feature the fresh-out-the-oven brownie taste without the hassle of baking.

 

In addition to competing in Wednesday’s Cup Series Toyota 500k, Busch is also scheduled to compete in Tuesday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington. Like he did on his Cup Series car Sunday, Busch will again sport the M&M’S Thank You Heroes scheme on his No. 54 Toyota Supra. The race is Busch’s second of five Xfinity Series starts scheduled for 2020, with Tuesday’s Darlington race replacing the Chicagoland Speedway stop on the tour that was previously scheduled for June.

 

So, while “The Lady in Black” didn’t treat Busch well the first time around in 2020, he and the M&M’S Fudge Brownie team get another shot at the track “Too Tough to Tame” on Wednesday night. The No. 18 team will no doubt regroup and have a shot at victory lane with some new colors on board.

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing: 
 

What are you able to take to Wednesday night’s Cup Series race from Sunday’s race at Darlington?

 

“Going back and trying to figure out what we need to do to get better. We’ve got problems unloading off the hauler and being good. It takes a lot of work between Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and myself and the engineers to get the car tuned in and dialed into the racetracks. We fought the same thing last year at Indy. We ran terrible last year at Indy with no practice, and it’s a race we had won twice in a row in previous years. It’s something we definitely have to work on, but I have the confidence we can do that. We have M&M’S Fudge Brownie on the car this week for the first time. It would be great to have a good run and showcase them since we get another shot at Darlington here in a few days.”

 

Out of necessity, you’ll be running some midweek races for the first time ever. What are your thoughts on midweek races?

 

“To me, a race is a race. Whether I’m in a Cup car, Xfinity, Truck, or a Super Late Model, I’m not sure racing on a Wednesday is going to be all that different for me. Over the years with everything that I’ve raced, I’ve raced during the week all the time, so that part shouldn’t be a problem. As far as going forward, whatever NASCAR decides in the future on when they’ll have races, I’ll be there. It’s really whatever they think is best for the future of the sport and something our fans will like. If they tell me the races are on any day of the week, I’ll be there to race. Doesn’t make much difference to me what day of the week it is.”

 

What did you think of the safety procedures in place throughout the day on Sunday?

 

“It seemed to go really smoothly and really easy. Just being able to walk around the track from your bus to the car and just be there to do a job and a duty and less chaos kind of going around, the day seemed to make it a bit easier. Other than that, you kind of miss just being with or around your guys.”

 

What do drivers mean when they say you have to “race the track” at Darlington?

 

“It’s tough to pass there, for sure. It’s so difficult. So you run your laps until you get to a pit stop and try to get your guys to have a good stop for you so you can jump a couple of guys. Pit stops become really important there, as is track position and trying to stay up front.”

 

What makes Darlington a track that is too tough to tame?

 

“It’s a very narrow and challenging racetrack, especially for the speeds that we carry around there, now. We’re looking forward to getting another shot at Darlington with our M&M’S Fudge Brownie Camry on Wednesday night. You’ve really got to be able to get as close as you can to the wall in order to carry your momentum through the corners because you’ve got to make the straightaways as long as you can. The track is very narrow on entries and exits, so you’re always trying to round the place as much as you can. It’s very one-groovish. You can’t really run side-by-side there. Any time you get alongside somebody, you basically have to let them go. It’s a very big give-and-take type of track. It’s really aero-sensitive now, to where it used to be more about mechanical grip and getting your car to handle well and handle over the bumps well and keep the tires on it. Now you’re restricted off the car in front of you and are trying to find some air, basically.”

 

M&M’S Fudge Brownie Racing

Race 6 of 36 – Toyota 500k – Darlington

Car No.: 18 – M&M’S Fudge Brownie Toyota Camry

 

Teammates:  Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Toyota Camry; Martin Truex Jr. – No. 19 Toyota Camry; Erik Jones – No. 20 Toyota Camry.

 

At-Track PR Contact: Bill Janitz, True Speed Communication (704-875-3388 ext. 803 or Bill.Janitz@TrueSpeedCommunication.com).

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Kyle Busch

Hometown: Las Vegas

 

Crew Chief: Adam Stevens

Hometown: Portsmouth, Ohio

 

Car Chief: Nate Bellows

Hometown: Fairfax, Vermont

 

Spotter: Tony Hirschman

Hometown: Northampton, Pennsylvania

 

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell

Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

 

Front Tire Changer: Cam Waugh

Hometown: Johnstown, Colorado

 

Jackman: T.J. Ford

Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina

 

Tire Carrier: Joe Crossen

Hometown: Salisbury, North Carolina

 

Rear Tire Changer: Jeff Cordero

Hometown: Salem, Connecticut

 

Notes of Interest:
  • The Toyota 500k will mark Kyle Busch’s 540th career NASCAR Cup Series start and his 17th NASCAR Cup Series start at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
  • Busch has career totals of 56 wins, 32 poles, 202 top-five finishes, 298 top-10s and 17,446 laps led in 539 career Cup Series races. His most recent Cup Series win came in November at Homestead-Miami Speedway, resulting in his second Cup Series championship. Busch’s most recent pole, the 32nd of his career, came in November at Phoenix Raceway.
  • Busch has one win, four top-five finishes and 10 top-10s and has led a total of 716 laps in 16 Cup Series starts at Darlington. Busch’s average Darlington finish is 12.0.
  • 2019 Darlington:When NASCAR’s top series raced at Darlington in September, Busch led once for a race-high 118 laps. Busch’s lead was late in the race, but he lost it to JGR teammate and eventual race-winner Erik Jones during a round of yellow-flag pit stops on lap 277. He restarted third on lap 281, and later moved himself up to second behind Jones. However, with less than five laps to go, Busch scraped the wall trying to catch Jones and he dropped to third when the checkered flag fell.
  • 56 Career Cup Series Wins: With his Cup Series win at Homestead in November, the 56th points-paying win of his career, Busch passed NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace for sole possession of ninth place on the all-time win list in NASCAR’s top series. Next up for Busch on the list is eighth-place Dale Earnhardt, who had 76 wins during his Hall of Fame career. With his 40th Cup Series victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in August 2017, Busch became the fourth-youngest driver to reach 40 Cup Series wins at 32 years, 109 days, behind only Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon and Herb Thomas.
  • All-Time JGR Wins Leader: With his Brickyard 400 win in July 2016, Busch passed Tony Stewart for most all-time Cup Series wins for JGR. Busch now has 52 wins for JGR to Stewart’s 33 following his most recent win at Homestead last year.
  • 209 and Counting: Busch enters Wednesday night’s race at Darlington with 209 career wins among NASCAR’s top three divisions – Cup (56), Xfinity (96) and Truck (57) – following his Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in February.
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KYLE BUSCH eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Talladega Advance

by Mike
KYLE BUSCH eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Talladega Advance
Details:
 

• Event: GEICO 70 (Round 5)

• Series:  eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
• Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 29
• Location: Virtual Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
• Distance: 70 laps (186.2 miles)

 

Where to Watch:
 

• FOX network

•  Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer.

• FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150)

• FOX Sports Go app

• FOX Sports Racing for fans in Canada

 

DYK?:
• We Need a Bigger Podium: Last Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from virtual Richmond Raceway had 971,000 viewers tune in to the simulcast on FOX and FS1, making it the third-most watched esports event in U.S. television history. The March 29 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from virtual Texas Motor Speedway remains on the podium’s top step with 1.34 million viewers. The April 5 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from virtual Bristol Motor Speedway takes the second step with 1.179 million viewers. The first eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race March 22 at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway earned 903,000 viewers on FS1 alone. And while the Texas race dwarfed that number by 47 percent, the Homestead race was, for at least one week, the most watched esports event in U.S. television history, having bested the previous record of 770,000 viewers when Mortal Kombat aired on The CW in 2016.

 

• iRacing’s Real-World Context: Last Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race from Richmond was the second-most watched sports event of the weekend. The most-watched sports event? Michael Jordan ‘The Last Dance’ documentary on ESPN.

 

• New Viewers Assimilate to Sim Racing: According to Nielsen, one million unique viewers who did not watch any of the four real-life NASCAR Cup Series races prior to the sports industry’s necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus did tune in to one of the four eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series races held thus far.

 

• Kind of a Big Deal: A total of 5.4 million unique viewers have watched at least one eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race via FOX, FS1 and the FOX Sports app.

 

• Bet On It: The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series has been cleared and approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board for wagering. Two types of bets are allowed for the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series: winner of the race and head-to-head winner between drivers. Provisions for licensing the event includes a posting of the official rules for the tournament organizer and that all bets must cease once a race has started. Additionally, each bookmaker is allowed to create its own odds.

 

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry:
 

What are you expecting at virtual Talladega this weekend?

 

“I got a chance to run in the Replacements race on Tuesday night, so that was my first taste of Talladega in iRacing. It had a lot of the same factors that you deal with running the real thing. You just have to try and stay out of trouble and put yourself in a position to have a shot toward the end of the race. The biggest difference is, obviously, there’s a lot less consequences and no torn-up equipment like the real thing. Looking forward to running our green Lightning Interstate Batteries scheme this weekend. Also want to give a shout out to everyone in the Interstate Batteries family who are keeping vehicles moving with everything going on right now in the world.”

 

Is there anything you’ve picked up on that may help you when you get back to the track for the regular races?

 

“Anything is a tool. You can use a tool any way you want. It’s no different than running in the sim rig that Toyota and TRD and the other manufacturers have to simulate the real thing. This can be used in the same respect. You just have to know how to use it and how that tool can work for you. Trying to figure out and remember what I am used to doing on the real racetrack and then coming to the iRacing sim and vice versa. It’s all about reps and doing something repetitive to get better. Someone told me recently that one of the racers for the Pro League for NASCAR spent 2,000 laps of practice at a particular track and getting better lap by lap and figuring it out. That’s unheard of. Even when we go do a test in our real life racecar – let’s use Bristol as an example as a short track: I might have run 300 to 350 laps – that’s all you do in real life. So when you hear someone talk about 2,000, that’s just an astronomical number in real life.”

 

 

Busch Talladega Notes: 
 

• This will be Busch’s fifth-ever iRacing start in a virtual NASCAR Cup Series race.

 

• This is not Interstate Batteries first foray into the world of eNASCAR, as the company was the founding partner of Gibbs Gaming, in addition to being a founding partner of Joe Gibbs Racing back in 1992. For 2020, Interstate Batteries is a weekly sponsor on the No. 18 Toyota driven by Graham Bolin in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series.

 

• In addition to Interstate’s extensive involvement in iRacing, Busch’s Rowdy Energy Drink is a sponsor on the No. 51 Toyota driven by Malik Ray in the weekly eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series for JGR.

 

• William Hartman, Busch’s engineer on his regular No. 18 Toyota Camry Cup Series car, has been serving as crew chief for Busch each week. In addition to Hartman, Busch’s real-life spotter, Tony Hirschman, is spotting from his from his home in Pennsylvania.

 

• In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing at Talladega, Busch has one win, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 29 career starts.

 

Pro Invitational Background
 

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of past and present racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series.

 

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

 

• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.

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KYLE BUSCH eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Homestead Advance

by Mike
KYLE BUSCH eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Homestead Advance
Details:
 

• Event: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
• Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 29
• Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
• Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles)

 

Where to Watch:
 

• FOX network

•  Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer.

• FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150)

• FOX Sports Go app

• FOX Sports Racing for fans in Canada

 

Overview:
 

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of actual racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series kicked off last Sunday at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. Texas Motor Speedway serves as the second race of the series. The Pro Invitational Series is designed to emulate emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule from week to week.

• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists for the drivers to have a bit of fun until the resumption of their respective series schedules.

• Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series will consist of 35 drivers.

 

 

KYLE BUSCH, Driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Camry in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series:
How was your first iRacing experience last week?

“It was quite interesting last week. Ty Gibbs offered me up his rig because I did not have one and I was over at his place last weekend running on his rig. I made some phone calls this week to see who had one since I’m hoping after maybe six weeks we can get back to the racetrack and do what we do each week and I won’t really need to have one. So I’m going on the borrowed train right now for my rig.”

 

Who has been helping you out and what are you using for a rig?

“I got the sim guys over to my house to set one up. Last week, I had to drive 45 minutes over to Ty’s to practice and then 45 minutes back. So now, after we put Brexton (Busch, son) to bed, I can go down there and start working on getting better. Texas seems like it’s going to be a heck of a lot more simple than Homestead was as far as the driving aspect. You just have to hit your marks in turns one and two and get back to the gas and turns three and four, which are going to be wide open. Happy to have Interstate Batteries on board with us this week. They have been a part of iRacing since the beginning with Joe Gibbs Racing, so they’ve been a big supporter of JGR’s regular eNASCAR team. Everyone’s doing it – it’s the hot thing to do – and it was certainly fun to do last weekend to help everyone forget about everything that is happening in the real world. Everyone seems to enjoy it. A lot of guys are getting a little more serious about it and everyone is spending more time, so I figured if I’m going to stop running 30th, I’m going to need to get some more laps (laughing).”

 
Busch Homestead Invitational Notes:
• This will be Busch’s second ever iRacing start in a virtual NASCAR Cup Series race.

 

• This is not Interstate Batteries’ first foray into the world of eNASCAR, as the company was the first partner to join Joe Gibbs Racing’s eSports effort last year in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. For 2020, Interstate Batteries is a weekly sponsor on the No. 18 Toyota driven by Graham Bolin in the regular iRacing Series. Not only was Interstate Batteries the founding sponsor of JGR back in 1992, it was the first to join JGR’s iRacing and NASCAR Heat teams beginning in its inaugural season in 2019.

 

• In addition to Interstate’s extensive involvement in iRacing, Busch’s Rowdy Energy Drink is a sponsor on the No. 51 Toyota driven by Malik Ray in the weekly eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series for JGR.

 

• Last weekend, ARCA Menards Series driver Ty Gibbs helped Busch get up to speed in his iRacing rig as Busch had never tried iRacing until practice the day prior to the first iRacing Pro Invitational race last Sunday at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. This week, Busch has had a rig brought to his house and has been busy practicing for Sunday at virtual Texas. William Hartman, Busch’s engineer on his regular No. 18 Toyota Camry Cup Series car, also helped Busch last weekend and will serve as crew chief for this weekend. In addition to Hartman, Busch’s real-life spotter Tony Hirschman is setting up to spot Busch on Sunday from his home in Pennsylvania.

 

• In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing on the 1.5-mile Texas oval, Busch has three wins, 12 top-five finishes and 15 top-10s in 28 starts.

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