It’s time to go racing. After a week-long series featuring the top 12 drivers in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, we’ve made it to #1. This man needs no introduction. If you haven’t heard of this guy yet this year, you’ve probably been living under a rock. Without further adieu, here we go with the final Chase Driver Spotlight!#1: Kyle Busch – Driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota
CAREER STATS:
Wins – 12
Top 5s – 45
Top 10s – 68
Avg. Finish – 16.4
Wins – 12
Top 5s – 45
Top 10s – 68
Avg. Finish – 16.4
CAREER AWARDS AND HONORS:
2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Rookie of the Year
2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Rookie of the Year
Kyle Busch is just 12 weeks older than me. While I’m not a fan of him, I’ve always been impressed at the fact he’s my age and having so much success. He’s had an incredible season throughout all 3 divisions of NASCAR, but the road to glory wasn’t an easy one.
He began racing in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2001 at age 16, and was slated to drive full-time for Jack Roush in the series in 2002. During the 2002 season, Busch was fastest in practice for a Truck Series race in Fontana. However, he was thrown out of the garage area because the race was in conjunction with the now defunct CART Series, which mandated that all drivers competing be at least 18 years of age. Known by some today as the Kyle Busch rule, NASCAR implemented the same rule six weeks later so this would never happen again. I’ve seen people criticize NASCAR for not wanting to let Shrub showcase his talent, but you can blame the Indy cars for this one, not NASCAR. Had Marlboro not chased Busch out of the garage area, NASCAR most likely would’ve never implemented the “you must be 18 to compete” rule.
So Busch had to wait to return to NASCAR’s top 3 divisions. In 2003, he made his debut in the Busch Series at Charlotte. In 2004, he won 5 races as a rookie in the series, setting the record for most wins by a driver as a rookie. In 2005, he became the youngest winner in the Truck Series when he won at Charlotte. Later that year, Kyle won the Labor Day race at Fontana, becoming the youngest driver to win a Cup Series race, and just beating the buzzer by 4 days. This also made Kyle the youngest driver to win in all 3 of NASCAR’s top divisions. Busch won again at Phoenix at the end of the year, and spoke out about the suspension of his brother, defending series champion Kurt Busch. I have to say it wasn’t the brightest thing for Shrub to do. I understand you want to stick by your brother, but don’t defend him when he was suspended for driving drunk. Shrub won the 2005 ROTY award.
In 2006 he won at New Hampshire and made the Chase for the Cup. However, he stumbled tremendously in the Chase, and finished dead last in the Chase in 10th. Last year he beat Jeff Burton to the line in a drag race at Bristol, winning the first race in the Car of Tomorrow. It was also Rick Hendrick’s 200th victory as a car owner. He had been developing a reputation as a dirty driver, and it more or less seemed as though he had to learn how to control his talent on the track. The best example of his lack of control garnered a huge cheer from the crowd at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last May when he lost control of his car in turn 1 during the final segment of the All-Star Race and wrecked both himself and his brother out of the race. Both Busch brothers made the Chase, and Kyle finished 5th, getting the last laugh over Kurt who finished 7th. Kyle Bristol victory was his lone victory of 2007. He was then informed he wouldn’t be returning to HMS in 2008. When Dale Jr. signed with Rick Hendrick, Kyle Busch signed with Joe Gibbs, who had decided to switch to Toyota.
He went nearly an entire year without visiting victory lane in the Cup Series. 2008 began with a good finish in the Daytona 500, and a week later he left Fontana with the points lead for the first time in his career. At the 4th race of the year in Atlanta, he won the race, breaking a 34-race winless streak. He made more history with that victory, earning Toyota’s first win in a points-paying Cup Series race (Teammate Denny Hamlin won the first Cup Series race for Toyota in the 2nd Twin 150 qualifying race in Daytona during Speedweeks.). This was only the second victory for a foreign manufacturer in NASCAR’s top division. After that he had some hiccups, but won his second race of the year at Talladega for his first restrictor plate victory. He then won at Darlington and again at Dover. Meanwhile he was also dominating in both the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. He also swept the road courses this year, and after coming so close previously, won his first race at Daytona in the Pepsi 400. So far this year, he has a series-leading 8 wins in the Cup Series, a series-leading 7 wins in the Nationwide Series, and 3 wins in the Craftsman Truck Series. That’s even more history, as he now holds the record for the most wins between all 3 series in one season with 18, and there are still 24 races remaining between the 3 series!
Through 26 races in 2008 specifically in the Cup Series, Kyle Busch has 8 victories, 15 top 5s, 17 top 10s, and a staggering average finish of 9.9! He’s the only driver in the series this year that currently has an average finish under 10.0. However, his comfortable lead has been erased. He’ll start the Chase at the top of the standings; however, I don’t think he’ll be able to win it all. He has the 2-time defending Cup Series champion and the defending Busch (now Nationwide) Series champion right behind him.
My Prediction: Kyle Busch will win 2 of the final 10 races for a series high 10 wins on the year. However, he will run into a problem whereas neither Busch nor Edwards will falter. The 2 drivers who have been in position to win a championship before will overtake him. Busch will finish 3rd behind both Edwards and Johnson once all is said and done.
This has been your NASCAR Chase Drivers Spotlight. I hope you’ve enjoyed finding out more about NASCAR’s 12 championship contenders. Until next time, I’m your NASCAR VP saying even though I don’t like ya, Shrub, I have to give you the credit you’re due for a season like no other, congrats!
BK over and out
more
