Busch eyes Richmond for first Busch Series win

RICHMOND, Va. -- Kyle Busch has already had quite a month. He finished seventh at California Speedway on May 1, turned 19 on May 2 and finished fifth at Gateway International Raceway on May 8.

And we're not even halfway through. Busch would love to top it off with a NASCAR Busch Series victory -- which would be his first -- this weekend at Richmond International Raceway, site of Friday night's Funai 250.

Busch comes into the race on a roll, as the fifth-place finish at Gateway was the No.5 Hendrick Motorsports team's sixth consecutive top-10. Even though Busch's Busch career is only 17 races old, he already has 10 top-10 finishes.

But ... still no victory.

	Credit: Autostock

"We've had a chance to win several races this year, but for whatever reason, we just haven't put it all together yet," Busch said. "You've got to have all the luck go your way. Hopefully, this weekend or in the next couple of weeks, we can get everything to come together.

"Everybody says it takes top-10's to get top-fives, and top-fives to get wins, so we've just got to keep doing that, and one day or another it will come around."

Busch seems to have adapted quickly to the Busch Series, as he already has three second-place finishes, including one earlier this year at Texas. He's third in the points standings, 29 behind Martin Truex Jr. and 13 behind full-time Nextel Cup driver Michael Waltrip.

Trailing Busch are several veterans, like David Green, Jason Keller, Ron Hornaday and Bobby Hamilton Jr. They may or may not be jealous of the younger Busch, but he's not that concerned about their perception of him. First and foremost is trying to run up front.

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"I think they know I'm in great equipment, and I'm sure some of them think that's the only reason we're where we are in points, but somebody still has to drive the car," Busch said. "The whole team works together so well that we're able to get these results, and it's just a matter of trying to go out there and race with the veterans and not make rookie mistakes and wreck myself or other cars like some rookies do."

Clearly, Busch isn't simply some rookie. He's a prodigy, a future star in the sport. Or at least Hendrick Motorsports thinks so. The team put him in the 2003 championship car, hooking Busch up with crew chief Lance McGrew.

All McGrew did last year was help guide another young driver, Brian Vickers, to the Busch Series title. The transition to Busch seems to be seamless.

"Yes, I am a little surprised," Busch said. "Lance and I are getting along really well, and I'm happy that we're able to do that. It came together really quickly, because we only talked with each other for a few weeks or so before we were off to our first test.

"Lance is really knowledgeable about race cars, and he also knows what he needs to give you as far as coaching during a race, reminding you to take care of your tires and not to use up your equipment. He's also been really helping me out on his thinking as to how he wants to set up the car. He's a laidback guy, but he's intense when it comes to racing. He's been awesome to work with, and I learn from him every day."

They have a lot to learn this weekend, as Busch has never raced a Busch car at Richmond. That may not be such a handicap, for Richmond was repaved in the off-season, putting all competitors in the same predicament.

	Everybody says it takes top-10's to get top-fives, and top-fives to get wins, so we've just got to keep doing that, and one day or another it will come around." Credit: Autostock

Busch and McGrew tested at Richmond last Thursday with Hendrick's Cup teams.

"The track was really green and didn't have much rubber on it," McGrew said. "I'm glad we got to test there with our Cup teams and get some rubber down on the racetrack so it would be relatively close to the conditions we'll start with when we go back there. The track was pretty slick and it's super smooth, and the repave job seems to be really nice."

But Busch said the typical two-groove racing at Richmond might not surface right away.

"I think it will just take a little while in order to get a second racing groove built in," Busch said. "You're just going to have to be smooth and try not to do anything stupid in the early going and hang out a little bit and see what positions you can gain. You'll just have to try to get good runs on people and pass them on the inside. Really, it's hard to say how it's going to play out until we get out there."

But if it's anything like the rest of May, Busch will be just fine.