FYI WIRZ Speed Read: Kyle Busch & Ricky Carmichael

FYI WIRZ is the swift presentation of pertinent motorsports press releases and/or articles. Compiled and condensed by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com

Kyle Busch To Make Start No. 200 In NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Courtesy of NASCAR

Becomes Youngest In Series History To Reach Milestone.

Kyle Busch will make his 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on Sunday in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 presented by Target at Pocono Raceway.

In doing so, at 25 years, one month and four days, Busch will become the youngest driver in series history to reach start No. 200. Previously this record was held by Brian Vickers, at 25 years, 11 months and three days (Dover International Speedway, Sept. 27, 2009).

Through the first 199 races, Busch has 18 wins, 60 top fives and 93 top 10s. He has won at least one race in each of his six full-time seasons.

Since 1972, the Modern Era, when NASCAR reduced the number of races in its schedule, six other drivers have won as many races by their 200th start as Busch: Jeff Gordon (45); Jimmie Johnson (27); Darrell Waltrip (25); Davey Allison* (19); Tony Stewart (19); Rusty Wallace (18). (Note:* Davey Allison won his 19 races in 191 career starts.)

Busch has made NASCAR’s postseason—the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup—three times, and is currently second in the series standings.

Ricky Carmichael, "Greatest of All Time," to Race Prelude to the Dream

Courtesy of True Speed Communications

“G.O.A.T.” Will Compete in Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream.

Ricky Carmichael might understand the nuances of racing on dirt better than any of the drivers competing in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream June 9 at the legendary Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

He earned the nickname “GOAT,” as in “Greatest Of All Time,” by scoring an incredible 15 American Motorcycle Association (AMA) championships (10 consecutive Motocross titles and five Supercross titles) and becoming the winningest rider in history with 150 victories before retiring from the sport at the end of 2007 to embark on a career in stock car racing.

Eldora’s dirt surface won’t be unfamiliar to Carmichael, but the four-wheel dirt Late Model that he’ll wheel in the all-star race will provide a hefty challenge to the Tallahassee, Fla., native.

Not that Carmichael’s ever backed down from a challenge before.

“I’m really excited to be invited to Prelude to the Dream,” said Carmichael, who is currently running a full season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. “I’ve watched it several times on HBO Pay-Per-View and it’s just a fun event for a good cause. I can’t wait to get there. 

“Growing up on dirt—racing motorcycles, not a car—I’ve always felt like I know the dirt a little bit better. That’s always been intriguing to me, and it’s a cool event and it just looks fun. You get to compete, but at a fun level. It’s almost like an X-Games event, but for car racing. Obviously, it’s not as crazy as the X-Games, but the racing is good and it’s a fun atmosphere. It’s all about the athletes, the fans and raising money.”

In Carmichael’s transition from motorcycles to NASCAR, he has had to adapt not only to four-wheel vehicles, but also from dirt to pavement. The fact that the dirt surface at Eldora will be familiar to him is not lost on the 30-year-old.

“It’s definitely been a challenge going from two wheels to four wheels and trying to catch up with lost seat time, but I think that racing four wheels on dirt, the transition will become a lot closer in learning that edge because, basically, that’s what I’m doing in a stock car in NASCAR—learning that edge and who can control that edge the best. That learning curve is going to be so much shorter just for the fact that I have so much time on dirt and raced all my life on dirt, other than the last two years of this. So, I look for myself to adapt a little bit better on the dirt than I did on asphalt.”

Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com