NCWTS: Gaulding Hopes to Finish with Doughnuts in Canada

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 25, 2015) – Making his first start for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) this weekend, 17-year-old Gray Gaulding hopes to finish the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) with a few doughnuts. Not just the glazed kind you would expect from his sponsor Krispy Kreme, but the celebratory black rubber donuts at the finish line a driver makes before heading to Victory Lane.

Gaulding will be driving the No. 54 Krispy Kreme Tundra around the 10-turn road course. Although it will be his first of three starts this season in a KBM Tundra, it will not be his first time around CTMP. He scored his best-career start and finish there in the Truck Series last year. He started on the front row in second place and led five laps en route to a fourth-place finish. His plan is to improve that finish by three positions this time.

If history is any indication, Gaulding’s Tundra this weekend comes with a winning pedigree. Chassis KBM-005 has won three races in the past three years with three different drivers. Most recently Christopher Bell drove it to Victory Lane last month at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr., also took the checkered flag in it at Eldora in 2014 and KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch scored a win with it at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in 2013. Gaulding would like to become the fourth driver to add his name to the truck’s winning history.

A victory at CTMP would be huge for KBM, as it is only one of two tracks on the current Truck Series schedule where the organization has not recorded a win. When the year began there were four tracks on the list, however Busch crossed off two of them with wins at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and Michigan International Speedway this month. Now only victories at CTMP and Atlanta Motor Speedway elude the KBM drivers.

If things go his way on Sunday, Gaulding will have the “Hot Now” sign lit up in in Victory Lane once he finishes making the doughnuts on the track.

“Yes for sure. I like to watch films of past road-course races more than ovals because I pay attention to shift points, and how different the lines can be. I have definitely studied last year’s race to see where I can improve my line in certain places and see where the leaders were running throughout the race.”

“I learned a lot about how the track changes throughout the race as more rubber gets put down on the track compared to practice. I also learned restarts are critical to keep, or gain track position. Every position counts since it’s not always easy to get them back if you lose them.”

“I love road racing. I grew up racing motorcycles on road courses, so in a truck I think I have a great feel for the truck being on the edge compared back to when I raced bikes. I could road race 10 times a year. It’s a blast for a driver.”

“Each track has its own tendencies so there are oval tracks where track position and fuel mileage are important, and those are the two keys at any road course.  Calling the race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be different than calling a race at a short track, but the strategy for it won’t be much different than the strategy at Pocono, or Michigan.  The keys to having a good race will be keeping the truck on track and fuel mileage.”

KBM-005: The No. 54 Krispy Kreme team will race KBM-005, for Sunday’s race. This Tundra has scored a victory for three consecutive years (2015 – Eldora, 2014 – Eldora, 2013 – Bristol). Darrell Wallace Jr., also raced this truck to a 12^th-place finish at CTMP last year.

Year	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps	Led	Earnings	AvSt	AvFn	RAF	Miles	LLF
2014	9	0	1	1	0	1491	5	$112,602	9.3	17.1	8	1251.8	5
2015	1	0	0	0	0	257	0	$13,663	12.0	17.0	1	135.2	0
Totals	10	0	1	1	0	1748	5	$126,265	9.6	17.1	9	1153.4	5

 Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 54 Tundra

Shannon Rursch will call the shots for the No. 54 Tundra in the Truck Series in 2015. The Iowa native may be new to KBM, but is no stranger to sitting atop the pit box. Rursch comes to KBM from Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM), where he most recently served as crew chief for the No. 31 team in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. In addition to leading the XFINITY Series team in 2014, he collected three top-10 finishes in four starts as crew chief for TSM in select Truck Series events last season.

Rursch has not raced at CTMP before, but he did record a top-10 finish (sixth) as crew chief with Justin Marks last year at the road course of Mid-Ohio. Rursch scored his first career win as a NASCAR crew chief last month when Christopher Bell won at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.