Busch silencing many critics, including me

Kurt Busch has his critics, the vast majority of whom have tucked their tales between their legs and scurried off to a remote hiding place. Admittedly, I was one such detractor, but have come out of hiding to make a confession:

	Marty Smith

I was wrong. I never dreamed he'd be this good. Not even remotely. He's young, brash and unapologetic. And as hard as it is for me to confess -- and believe me, I'm on the verge of regurgitation -- he's the best in the game right now.

Busch's performance thus far this season warrants an eloquent description. But the hard-nosed manner in which he has attained premiere status screams simplicity:

No Vegas-style smoke or mirrors, just over-the-top talent and guts -- straight from Vegas.

Admitting I'm wrong is not my strong point, so it pains me to ponder that this kid could achieve something I swore would never be done again -- match Jeff Gordon's stellar 1998 campaign in which he won 13 times and ran away with the championship. Think I'm crazy?

Good, that's comforting. The following are my grounds for insanity:

	Kurt Busch

Busch's consistency is currently unmatched. Despite NASCAR's focus on parity, he has finished first or second in seven of the past 11 races -- including four victories. His Roush Racing teammate, Matt Kenseth, is the only other driver to score even two wins during that span.

Speaking of Kenseth, were it not for a blown engine at Atlanta, Busch would be giving Kenseth all he could handle for the points lead. As a matter of fact, in the two races since Atlanta -- a runner-up at Darlington, though by the slimmest margin in history, and a win at Bristol -- he's surged from 14th to second in the standings.

In 2000, when Busch replaced Chad Little for the final seven races of the season, if you'd told me that two years later he'd be a threat to win every week, I'd have laughed in your face. Heck, he'd only been racing for six years at that point.

And I don't mean six years in NASCAR. We're talking six years, total: Two in dwarf cars, one in Legends, one in Late Models, one on the Southwest Tour and one in the Craftsman Truck Series.

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And now he was in Winston Cup? Either Jack Roush's hat was so tight he had brain squeeze or he knows something we don't.

Obviously, it's the latter. Now eight years and six races into his career, Busch is among the Winston Cup elite. The scary thing is, he's only just begun. And he knows it. Busch's confidence miffs some, but he doesn't seem to care much.

I remember the 2001 Daytona 500. Busch was riding around in a sponsorless Ford Taurus, dodging a bird in flight from the hand of Dale Earnhardt himself. I remember chuckling and saying to myself, "Yep, he'll get a lot of those."

See there, I was right after all.

Just for the wrong reasons.

Marty Smith is Senior Writer of NASCAR.com and the opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.