Mike Hembree: Kyle Busch leaving competitors in his dust
By SceneDaily Staff
Monday, April 28, 2008
Jason Smith / Getty Images
COMMENTARY
The big news out of the Alabama Outback last week was that Joe Gibbs Racing’s top driver might be looking for other work.
Wait a minute. Kyle Busch is thinking about leaving? He just arrived.
And, boy, has he arrived.
If you’re taking votes today, Busch is your obvious leader for driver of the year. At Joe Gibbs Racing. In NASCAR. In motorsports.
Busch’s worksheet this year is nothing short of spectacular. If you’re a boss doing his evaluation, you’ll have to use extra sheets.
Busch has won two Sprint Cup races, three Nationwide races and two Craftsman Truck races. And that’s just this year. For those who are counting, that’s seven, and we’re barely past Easter.
Busch is second in the Cup standings and third in Nationwide. He led the truck standings before skipping Saturday’s race and fell to sixth, still only 130 points out of first. If he had time, he’d be leading the ARCA standings, no worse than fifth in Hooters Pro Cup and dominating a powerboat series or two.
Busch erased the biggest stain on his still-young career – he’ll be 23 May 2 – Sunday by winning at Talladega, a track that has foiled him repeatedly.
Kyle has left his older brother, Kurt (now 20th in Cup driver points), and almost everybody else in the dust on his way to establishing
himself as a very serious championship contender – pick your series, any series – this season.
He has annoyed a few people along the way, and chances are that will continue. Busch isn’t the complete driver package. But, boy can he drive. There seems to be little left to learn in that department beyond a dose or two of patience, and he showed that Sunday.
Busch’s performance this season has reinvigorated Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 team, which had been stalled in a backwater of sorts in recent seasons. And it’s been a pleasant introduction to the front lines for veteran crew chief Steve Addington, a rather unassuming but solid team leader who has been missing from the spotlight too long.
Chemistry hasn’t been a problem. The Toyota hasn’t been a problem. Winning hasn’t been a problem.
And, in addition to all the other drivers he’s whipping this year, it should be noted that Busch is ahead of all four Hendrick Motorsports
entries, a fact that must make him smile a little before he goes to sleep at night, dreaming of what’s next.
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