The weekend is getting Rowdy outside of Phoenix, Ariz. Kyle Busch has made his Nitro Rallycross debut in the No. 51 ZipRecruiter entry. He hit the custom-designed track and caught some serious air during practice.
The Nitro Rallycross account tweeted out footage of Busch during a practice session on Friday, November 12. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion navigated the specially built track at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park and then went over several of the jumps.
Busch had multiple practice sessions to get acclimated to the specially built race car. The Nitro Rallycross media team recorded footage of his preliminary runs and then he headed to the garage area for some adjustments and film study so he could make improvements on later runs.
Busch ultimately returned to the track for a few more practice laps and continued to make positive strides. He followed Scott Speed around the track in a session that Heavy attended and successfully slid around some of the trickier corners without touching the concrete barriers.
Busch Was Not the Only NASCAR Driver at the Track
Travis Pastrana, the founder of Nitro Rallycross, has been hard at work during the series’ inaugural season. He has been directly involved in the track-building process, as well as recruitment.
Pastrana already successfully wooed Busch to the series, but Rowdy is not the only NASCAR driver to get involved. Sage Karam, a driver with experience in IndyCar and NASCAR, also headed to Arizona for the weekend of festivities. He joined Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and logged some laps of his own.
There are two events remaining in the inaugural Nitro Rallycross season after the trip to Phoenix. The series will head to Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California on November 20-21 and then finish out the season at The FIRM in Florida on December 4-5. Based on conversations between Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Pastrana at Martinsville Speedway On October 31, there is a chance that more NASCAR drivers will suit up.
Elliott said that he wanted to take part in a Nitro Rallycross event, but he made a stipulation that Pastrana will have to jump out of an airplane with him at some point. Logano, on the other hand, didn’t let Pastrana finish the sentence before declaring that he wants to compete.
Busch Will First Finish Out the Weekend Schedule
The first day of Nitro Rallycross at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park is complete, but there is even more action on the horizon. Busch still has two days remaining of his debut weekend, which will feature even more practice sessions before some battles on the track.
According to the schedule, Busch and the other Nitro Rallycross drivers will take part in practice at 2:13 p.m. ET and 3:05 p.m. ET before kicking off the Supercar Battle Brackets at 4:00 p.m. ET. These rounds will air live on Peacock in the United States and on YouTube everywhere else.
There will be four rounds of the Supercar Battle Brackets on Saturday, November 13. Busch, Pastrana, and the other drivers will return to the track on Sunday, November 14, for the heats, semifinals, last chance qualifying, and the final race. The weekend will end with trophy presentations for both the Supercar and Nitro Rallycross Next divisions.
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Kyle Busch Hits the Nitro Rallycross Track [WATCH]