Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota Camry is hard to miss on the racetrack. Its bright yellow with M&M’s characters on its sides are outstanding to look at. You can’t help but smile seeing it.
But Busch is a fierce competitor on the track. The two-time Cup Series champion wants to win early and often in 2021, and he’ll do just about anything to make it happen. Team No. 18 has a new crew chief this year, with Ben Beshore replacing Adam Stevens, and Busch believes the time to reclaim his spot at the top of the pylon is now.
BY JOSEPH WOLKIN
“Just getting back on track and having the opportunity to race again. I want to race for wins and get back to our winning ways with the [No.] 18 M&M’s team. We’re going to go out there and have success.”
The last couple of crew chiefs who I’ve been with -- Adam and Ben on the Xfinity side -- have similar tendencies. They can lead their group well. They do a good job at communicating and telling the guys what they want and how they want their racecars. Ben was under the tutelage of Adam Stevens for a few years. Now, it’s his turn to take reins of the ship and lead it in the right way.”
“The biggest thing is we just have to be faster. We went to the racetrack sometimes last year and our cars were good and they drove well, but they just weren’t very fast. We didn’t have the all-out speed that we needed in order to drive ourselves through the field and up to the front. When you get stuck in traffic and you get mired about 12th to 15th, that really shows you where you’re capable of running. When you get stuck passing cars from third to fifth, it means you have a winning car. It’s just a matter of flipping that top five running order and being able to get yourself outfront by something like a pit stop. When you’re stuck in 12th, you’re never going to get there.”
“M&M’s and I have been in a relationship for a really long time. We’re going on 14 years. M&M’s is an iconic brand, and it’s pretty cool that I’ve grown in the sport of Nascar to become one of the top-named drivers while carrying them along. I’m proud to represent them on the track. With everything going on in the world, M&M’s obviously believes in fun and humor. That power can bring us closer together.”