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MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced today the crew chief lineup for its three full-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) teams in 2019. Ryan “Rudy” Fugle will call the shots for Kyle Busch and other drivers yet to be announced in the No. 51 Tundra, Mike Hillman Jr. will guide Harrison Burton’s efforts in the No. 18 Tundra and Marcus Richmond will once again lead the No. 4 Tundra team with Todd Gilliland behind the wheel.
Fugle has guided his team to four Owner’s Championships (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017) as a crew chief at KBM, including combined Owner’s/Driver’s Championships with Erik Jones in 2015 and Christopher Bell in 2017. The New York native’s drivers have combined for 22 wins, 20 poles, 57 top-five and 71 top-10 finishes across his 114 races calling the shots for the organization. Under his tutelage last season, Noah Gragson collected one win, a series-leading six poles, eight top-five and 17 top-10 finishes en route to a second-place finish in the NGOTS championship standings.
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Hillman Jr., is also a two-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion crew chief. He helped Toyota capture its first-ever NASCAR national series championship when he guided Todd Bodine to the Truck Series title in 2006. Overall in his 11-plus seasons atop the pit box, the New York native’s NGOTS drivers have collected 22 wins and 19 poles. Burton has produced one pole, four top-five and seven top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 6.3 in nine starts with Hillman Jr. calling the shots.
Richmond has collected 10 wins, 17 poles, 61 top-five and 129 top-10 finishes across 265 races in his 13 seasons as a crew chief in the Truck Series. The North Carolina native’s 10 victories have come with six different drivers (Ty Dillon, Noah Gragson, Kevin Harvick, Timothy Peters, Johnny Sauter and Dennis Setzer) behind the wheel. Last year, Richmond’s team collected three poles, 305 laps led, five top-five and nine top-10 finishes with three different drivers. Gilliland competed in 19 events last year, posting one pole, 208 laps led, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
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