Bristol weekend has special meaning for Joe Gibbs Racing

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Bristol Motor Speedway is a track usually circled on the Joe Gibbs Racing calendar. "The Last Great Colosseum" is a place where the organization has 19 Cup Series wins, tied with Pocono and Richmond for the team's most at any track, and just two behind 21 wins at BMS by Junior Johnson & Associates. It has much more meaning next month as Ty Gibbs, winner of the Food City 500, will try to go for the Bristol Cup Series sweep in a specially wrapped No. 54 Toyota in yellow M&M's colors. JGR President Dave Alpern talked about the car which will be a tribute to the late Kyle Busch who drove for JGR from 2008-22. &emsp; "We've stayed in touch with the with the Mars family," Alpern said. "They sponsored us for 15 years, and just because you stop doing business with somebody, you know it doesn't mean you stop having a relationship with them. We were at really at Kyle's service, and you know all still trying to process what had happened, and we immediately started talking about we all want to do something." Heather Gibbs, the driver's mom and JGR co-owner, and Samantha Busch spent time together after Kyle's death. Heather had gone through the tragedy of losing her husband, Coy, in 2022. Bristol was the speedway they chose to pay tribute. It was where Kyle scored a track-record 23 victories, the perfect venue to memorialize the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. Samantha Busch and their son, Brexton, are supposed to be on the pit box during the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. "There's literally no track that that when I think of Kyle walking out before the race, doing a bow after the race, driving during the race," Alpern said. "It's Bristol, the place he had the sweeps and the place he loved so much. Ty happens to be good at Bristol. I know Ty and Brexton have a relationship, and they've unfortunately both lost their dads." Samantha Busch picked out a combination of personal photos and those from Kyle's time at JGR to be included in the wrap. While it has the iconic M&M's paint scheme, JGR decided to stick with Ty Gibbs' No. 54 instead of the No. 18 when Kyle drove the car. "We wanted to do a tribute to Kyle, but we wanted Kyle to be the last one that raced that number 18," Alpern said. "So the paint scheme is the nod to Kyle with the photos and everything, Kyle did drive 54 as his original number. So it all ties together beautifully." Alpern talked about why Bristol Motor Speedway was such a good fit for Busch. He wasn't a driver to lay back and let the race come to him, a style that works well at some other tracks. Bristol is more a place where a driver not so much at Bristol takes the bull by the horns. "When you think about Kyle's both his personality off the track and his driving style on the track, you literally couldn't think of a place that better suits Kyle than Bristol," Alpern said. "The way Bristol has an intro song that fit Kyle where he could egg it on with the fans to the track itself." He continued, "Some drivers are calculated and patient, and they're going to wait to make their move. That was not Kyle. He wanted to lead every lap. He wanted to be up front and lead every lap, and Bristol lends itself to that." Alpern recalled Busch taking a bow after wins, and capping off weekend sweeps in 2010 and 2017. His wins in the Truck, O'Reilly and Cup Series wins in a single weekend are the only times that has happened in NASCAR history. Busch's impact on Joe Gibbs Racing with 150 wins can't be overstated according to Alpern. He is one of three drivers, along with Hall of Fame racers Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte, to have great success in the No. 18 ride. Alpern compared Busch in the No. 18 to other driver, car and sponsor images like Dale Earnhardt in the black Goodwrench No. 3 and Jeff Gordon in the rainbow-colored No. 24 DuPont cars. Alpern added another part of the equation is how he made the other JGR drivers better. "Denny (Hamlin) and him really complemented each other," Alpern said. "They were fiercely competitive, but they made each other better. If you asked any of our drivers that ever drove with him, one of the first things they would say about Kyle that I think would surprise people is what a good teammate he was. He wanted to win. He was aggressive, but he pushed them and made them better." Hamlin, a four-time winner this season, currently leads the NASCAR Cup Series points. The other three JGR drivers — Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs — have already qualified for the Chase. They're the only four-man team with every driver who has clinched a spot. But, the organization's last championship was in 2019 with Busch. "When you think about this season, 2019 was similar in that you went to the track every week feeling like all four cars had a shot of winning that week," Alpern said. "Every one of those teams down every door number is expecting to win this year at every track, and when we don't, it's a disappointment."