From a late 2009 start to Chevrolet trucks, owners' titles, a Mooresville base and a 2023 sale to Spire Motorsports, the team's story runs through a long list of drivers.
Kyle Busch Motorsports is a former NASCAR truck, Nationwide and ARCA team founded in late 2009. It ran Toyota and later Chevrolet trucks, won several Truck Series owners' titles, and was sold to Spire Motorsports in 2023.
Kyle Busch Motorsports, usually called KBM, is the racing team that Kyle Busch founded in late 2009. It raced in NASCAR truck, Nationwide and ARCA events before its main assets were sold to Spire Motorsports in 2023. Its record includes several owners' championships and two driver champions, Erik Jones and Christopher Bell.
What is Kyle Busch Motorsports?
KBM is an American professional auto racing team that competed in NASCAR truck, Nationwide and ARCA racing. It was founded after Busch bought Xpress assets in late 2009, and it later moved from Toyota to Chevrolet. The team was sold to Spire Motorsports in 2023.
The team's work covered several divisions and many car numbers. Each season brought new drivers and sponsors, which makes its history a useful record of how a truck operation changes over time.
A team that won owners' titles, made two driver champions and ended its run as a small dirt operation.
How did the team begin?
KBM began after Busch bought the remaining assets of Xpress Motorsports in late 2009. Those assets came from J.B. Scott, father of Brian Scott, and the new team also bought trucks from Roush Fenway Racing. Roush had closed its Truck team the year before.
Rick Ren, who had been crew chief on Hornaday's 2009 title team, was signed as the team's competition director.
Busch himself had raced the No. 51 for Billy Ballew in 2008-2009, and KBM planned three trucks for its debut season. The plan was disrupted when the Miccosukee leadership quit NASCAR sponsorship on February 7.
Where did the team build its base?
The team first worked out of the former Xpress shop. Its own base, a $10 million facility in Mooresville, North Carolina, opened on October 14, 2010, and it gave the operation a permanent home for the first time. The cost was a big commitment for a young team.
How did the Nationwide years go?
KBM entered the then-Nationwide Series in 2011 with NEMCO Motorsports. In 2012 Kyle and Kurt Busch shared the No. 54 Toyota Camry, with Kyle running 22 races and Kurt running 11. The team won only one race that year, with Kurt at Richmond.
In 2013 Parker Kligerman drove the No. 77 Toyota Camry and finished 9th in the standings. Busch announced on November 16, 2013 that the team would not race in the Nationwide Series in 2014, so that chapter closed after three seasons.
Which teams won owners' championships?
KBM won the Truck Series owners' championship several times. The No. 18 took the 2010 title in its first full season, the No. 51 won in 2013, and the team took the 2014 owners title for its second straight year. The No. 9 added the 2016 crown.
The 2013 title was KBM's second owners championship, and the No. 51 won it narrowly. Across 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2016 the team's owners titles show a pattern of steady success across several truck programs rather than a single peak.
Who drove the No. 4 truck?
The No. 4 truck began in 2015 with Erik Jones, who won the championship that year with 3 wins. That title was KBM's first driver's championship. Later drivers in the seat included Christopher Bell, Todd Gilliland, Raphael Lessard, John Hunter Nemechek and Chase Purdy.
Jones had already raced for the team in the No. 51 truck before taking the full-time seat.
Christopher Bell ran the No. 4 full-time from 2016 and won the 2017 truck championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Todd Gilliland ran 19 races in the No. 4 in 2018 and won at Martinsville in 2019. Raphael Lessard drove the No. 4 in 2020 and won at Talladega.
John Hunter Nemechek won 5 races in 2021, and Chase Purdy drove the No. 4 full-time from 2023. On April 6, 2023, the No. 4 was docked 10 points, a penalty that came during the first season with Chevrolet.
What did William Byron achieve in 2016?
William Byron made his No. 9 truck debut at Phoenix in 2015 and finished 31st in that race. He drove the No. 9 full-time in 2016 and scored his fifth win of the season at Pocono, in his thirteenth career start. That win also broke Kurt Busch's rookie record for truck wins.
The season had a painful end for the team. An engine failure with ten laps left ended Byron's title hopes, even though he had led much of the race.
Byron won the 2016 Homestead season finale, and KBM won the 2016 owners title with the No. 9 truck, its fourth-consecutive owners championship.
How did the No. 18 truck develop?
The No. 18 was the primary entry in the team's 2010 debut. Kyle Busch won 8 races in 16 starts that year, and the No. 18 won the 2010 owners championship. Kasey Kahne later won at Darlington in the No. 18 in 2011.
Kyle Busch scored 6 wins in 2011. In 2012 Hamlin and Scott won the team's only races of the year.
Noah Gragson signed to drive the No. 18 full-time for 2017 and scored his first win at the fall Martinsville race. Chandler Smith joined the No. 18 in 2021 and finished third in 2022 points after the Championship 4.
Who drove the No. 51 truck?
The No. 51 was Busch's number at Billy Ballew before it became a KBM truck. Erik Jones was 16 when he ran five races in the truck in 2013, and he won the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix aged 17.
Jones won at Iowa, Las Vegas and Phoenix in 2014, and Busch won the season opener at Daytona that year.
Brandon Jones won his first truck race at Pocono in 2020, and Busch won at Atlanta in 2021. Busch scored the team's 100th win at Pocono in 2023.
Who drove the No. 54 truck?
Bubba Wallace drove the No. 54 Toyota full-time in 2013 and won his first race at Martinsville that year. In 2014 he won the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora, beating Ron Hornaday by a 5.489-second margin.
Justin Boston left the No. 54 after nine races in 2015, and KBM later sued Boston and Zloop for $4.025 million in defaulted payments.
Zloop had signed as the primary sponsor, but it appeared in only two races. Christopher Bell replaced Boston at Kentucky in 2015, then won at Eldora after a green-white-checkered finish. That was the second straight Eldora win for the No. 54 team.
What lawsuits did the team face or file?
KBM was involved in several legal disputes. Rick Ren sued the team in December 2014, claiming US$355,000 across two sponsorship deals. In February 2024, KBM sued Rev Racing for US$325,000 over a breach of contract.
The Rev Racing suit was dropped three months later after a settlement.
How did the team switch to Chevrolet?
KBM ran Toyota Tundras from its start, then switched to Chevrolet Silverados in 2023. Busch returned to Chevrolet for the first time since 2007 when he signed with Richard Childress Racing on September 13, 2022.
Chase Purdy's No. 4 deal was announced November 4, 2022, and Nick Sanchez drove the No. 2 Chevrolet in 2023. Those announcements set up the team's final full season before the sale.
What became of the team after 2023?
Spire Motorsports bought KBM's assets on September 27, 2023. KBM suspended operations after the 2023 season, then downsized into a small dirt team. The sale ended the team's run in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Busch and son Brexton race dirt cars with Lucas Oil support, and Servpro also backs the dirt effort. The small dirt operation is a much smaller project than the Mooresville operation that won titles.
How did ARCA fit into the team's record?
KBM also fielded a No. 18 Toyota Camry in ARCA Menards Series racing in 2022. Its record there is short, but Sammy Smith won the 2022 ARCA West season finale at Phoenix, which was the car's clearest result.
The ARCA entry was a small part of a busy season across several series.
What is the team's record at a glance?
| Year | Series | Driver | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Truck | Kyle Busch | Owners title in the No. 18, with 8 wins in 16 starts |
| 2013 | Truck | Erik Jones | Owners title with the No. 51, and Jones won the Lucas Oil 150 at 17 |
| 2014 | Truck | Kyle Busch and Erik Jones | Second straight owners title |
| 2015 | Truck | Erik Jones | Driver's championship with 3 wins, KBM's first |
| 2016 | Truck | William Byron | Owners title in the No. 9, with a fifth win at Pocono |
| 2017 | Truck | Christopher Bell | Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway |
| 2014 | Truck | Bubba Wallace | Mudsummer Classic at Eldora by 5.489 seconds |
| 2021 | Truck | Kyle Busch | Win at Atlanta |
| 2023 | Truck | Kyle Busch | Team's 100th win at Pocono |
Why does Kyle Busch Motorsports matter?
KBM matters because it shows how a single team can build owners' titles, driver champions and a long list of truck drivers in a short period. Its owners' titles came between 2010 and 2016, a strong run for a team founded in late 2009. Its Mooresville base, its drivers and its 2023 sale to Spire Motorsports mark a clear arc in the truck ranks.
The team's legacy is a set of owners' championships, a driver title for Erik Jones and a truck championship for Christopher Bell. It also gave Noah Gragson and Chandler Smith full-time seats.
Its later years were shaped by the sale and the move into dirt racing, so the business is now much smaller than the operation that won its titles in Mooresville. That contrast is part of what makes the team's history worth following.
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