Brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch will split the '12 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports, with Kyle "running 13-15 races and Kurt running 18-20 in a car with full-season sponsorship by Monster Energy," according to Bob Pockrass of SCENEDAILY.com. Kyle Busch said that there were "several drivers considered to share the ride with him, but when Kurt became available, it didn't take long for Kyle to convince Monster to have a Busch brothers car." The Monster deal is a "multiyear deal with KBM, and Monster will also be an associate sponsor" on Busch's Sprint Cup Series car at Joe Gibbs Racing. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch admitted Joe Gibbs, who owns Busch's Sprint Cup team, is "not thrilled that KBM will compete against JGR for the Nationwide owners title" (SCENEDAILY.com, 1/19). The AP's Jenna Fryer noted although Richard Petty Motorsports Owner Richard Petty "indicated last week that Kurt Busch is currently untouchable because sponsors are hesitant to associate with him, Kyle Busch said he had no problems selling his brother to Monster." Kyle said, "When his opportunity came about, we collaborated on what we could do together and took it to Monster and they were like 'Hell, yeah, let's do this. Sign him on" (AP, 1/19). Kyle said that Monster "supported the move." Kyle: "Essentially, they said, 'We love your attitude.' It's not necessarily where we can (have similar outbursts as) before, but at Monster, they'll probably be a little more lenient (USA TODAY, 1/20). YAHOO SPORTS' Nick Bromberg noted the brothers "donned matching Monster Energy shirts for the announcement." Because of the "arrival of Monster Energy as the team's sponsor, NOS, a competing energy drink, will no longer sponsor Kyle" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/19).
STEPPING INTO A NEW WORLD: ESPN.com's Paul Taublieb noted a "collection of world-class X Games stars and premier motorsports and action sports athletes welcomed Kyle and Kurt Busch to the Monster Energy team Thursday." With X Games and Dew Tour Champion Jamie Bestwick "serving as announcer, a freestyle moto-X demonstration kicked things off at the headquarters of team owner Kyle Busch's race shop in Mooresville, N.C." The Monster athletes on-hand had "no problem bridging the gap between traditional motorsports and action sports culture" (ESPN.com, 1/19).
