CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tayler Malsam may be driving for a brand-new race team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next season, but he’ll be surrounded by years of experience and a winning tradition.
At a press conference broadcast live on Friday from the SPEED network studios, it was announced that for his sophomore season in NASCAR the 20-year-old Mill Creek resident will join the startup team of 2009 Nationwide Series champion Kyle Busch.
“I can’t be more blessed … to drive for him is going to be awesome,” Malsam said of his new owner. “It’s going to be a really fun year and I can’t wait to get started.”
The 24-year-old Busch, who has 62 career NASCAR wins including 16 in the truck series, will share driving duties in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18 Toyota with San Diego native Brian Ickler, 24. Busch will take the wheel whenever the trucks are scheduled at the same venue as the Cup or Nationwide series and Ickler will drive at standalone events.
“Everyone knows how much I love to race, and the Camping World Truck Series is one of my favorite places to race, so to be a team owner in this series is a perfect match,” said Busch, a native of Las Vegas. “We started KBM two years ago with the late-model program and this seemed like the next natural step.”
Malsam, who finished his rookie NASCAR season 12th in truck series points and was the runner-up in the rookie of the year standings, will race the full 25-race schedule in the No. 56 Toyota for KBM.
To help get his new team off the ground, Busch hired championship crew chief Rick Ren to serve as director of competition. Ren, 52, has 27 truck victories as a crew chief — a series record — and he won titles in 2007 and 2009 with Ron Hornaday Jr. at Kevin Harvick, Inc.
Busch also announced KBM could grow to a three-truck team if he can find sponsorship for 2008 truck series champion Johnny Benson, who will serve as a mentor for Malsam and Ickler at KBM.
Malsam will need the experience and wisdom of Ren and Benson, as Busch made it clear he has high expectations.
“The goals for the year are to compete for the championships with the No. 56 truck — driver and owner championship — with Tayler Malsam,” Busch said. “That’s the number one team, all the resources we’re going to devote toward Tayler, to lift him up to being championship caliber this year.”
Malsam has made 27 starts in the NASCAR truck series, two in 2008 and the full 25-race schedule last season. Driving for Randy Moss Motorsports in 2010, Malsam recorded a career-best fifth place at Gateway International Raceway in September and had 10 top-10 finishes overall.
Last year Malsam, who is originally from Sammamish, also raced sprint cars for Monroe-based Rudeen Racing when his truck series schedule permitted.
Although KBM has had a late-model program since 2007, Busch recently purchased the truck series assets of Xpress Motorsports. KBM will operate from the Xpress Motorsports shop in Mooresville, N.C., until its new shop, also in Mooresville and currently under construction, is completed.
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