Busch Brothers to Team at KBM

Kurt and Kyle Busch will race the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season. (Photo: Jeff Wackerlin)

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – It will be a family affair at Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2012 as the team begins its first season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Team owner Kyle Busch, the winningest driver in series history, announced today that he will pair up with his brother, Kurt, to drive the No. 54 Toyota with sponsorship from Monster Energy. The Busch brothers were joined by a number of the Monster Energy athletes at the announcement that kicked off with a freestyle motocross jump exhibition outside the state-of-the-art KBM facility.

"It's a privilege of mine to now become a part of the Monster Energy team of athletes," said Kyle, who will also see Monster Energy become an associate sponsor on his Sprint Cup car at Joe Gibbs Racing. "It's a neat opportunity for myself to become a part of a brand that is growing so much nationwide, but also worldwide, as Kyle Busch Motorsports is also growing. With our venture here into the Nationwide Series it's an exciting day for all of us."

Kyle Busch will enter the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway and the next four races before splitting the balance of the schedule with his brother. The team's primary goal will be to capture the Owners' Championship in its inaugural season.

When choosing the number for his new ride, Kyle ultimately wanted the number that he recorded 13 of his 30 career wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with.

"Obviously with Rowdy on the roof of my car I would of like to have the number 51," Kyle said. "Unfortunately the number is unavailable. We thought about it a little bit and collaborated with Kurt and the rest of team. Four is the number Kurt and I both started with when we raced Legend cars. KHI has that number so that's unavailable. So I said, 'Let's stick with the 50s, but put a 54 on it. It's available; we don't have to buy it.’ We don't have points, but I'm a past champion so we are in for the first five races. It seemed like an easy way to go about it."

After collecting 40 of his 51 wins with Joe Gibbs Racing  over the past four seasons, Kyle will now start the next chapter of his Nationwide Series career this year running only for KBM.

"As of right now, this is it. This is my plan," Kyle said. "I kind of wanted to dwindle my schedule down a little bit. JGR has been most supportive of this deal and we have been collaborating with them on this program as well. I just wanted to run anywhere between 10 and 15 races and this was an opportunity for me to do that and JGR still has Denny Hamlin, Brian Scott, Joey Logano and Mark Martin now."

The partnership between the Busch brothers will be the first time they have been teammates since racing Legends cars.

Kurt, who also will run a part-time Nationwide schedule for his Sprint Cup team - Phoenix Racing - starting at Daytona, is looking forward to helping his little brother build up his program at KBM.

"Kyle has done an impressive job in building this race team and I'm proud to be a part of it," Kurt said. "He won a Truck Series owners' championship in his first year and his team has kept on winning ever since. Now, it's moving into the Nationwide Series, where the bar will remain high. His expectations are the same as mine, and we know each other better than anyone. We're driven to win, and with Monster Energy driving us, we'll be a tough team to beat."

Mike Beam, who recently helped Roush Fenway Racing to the 2011 Nationwide owners' championship, will be the crew chief of the No. 54 Toyota.

The full schedule between Kyle and Kurt is still being worked out.

Kyle will not participate in any Truck Series races for KBM this season. Jason Leffler is currently signed on to drive the No. 18 Dollar General Toyota in 14 races in 2012. Additional races for the Leffler depend on funding for the eight races left to sell. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin and Michael Waltrip Racing drivers Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin are also options for the remaining races if sponsorship can be found.