Kyle Busch: Our goals at the beginning of this season were to win a pole, win a race, be competitive every week and try to win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title. We've been lucky enough to accomplish those goals several times over." Credit: Autostock

No title, but Busch makes record rookie run

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kyle Busch fell short of the ultimate goal of winning the 2004 Busch Series championship, but he still had an amazing season.

The teenage phenom set five Raybestos Rookie records in 2004 and tied two others. And with a victory in this weekend's Ford 300 season-finale, Busch could break two more.

Take a look at the records Busch set this season:

He's also tied with Greg Biffle for two more:

KYLE BUSCH •   Driver Page •   2004 Stats ALSO •   Busch tried to give team emotional win •   Strong runs not helping Busch's title hopes •   Conversation: Kyle Busch

And though Busch has been his own worst critic during his unsuccessful championship run, he can take heart by having one of the best seasons in Busch Series history.

Arguably, it was better than last year's champion, Brian Vickers, whom Busch replaced. Vickers won three races, one pole, had 13 top-fives and 21 top-10s. Busch, by comparison, had two more victories, four more poles, two more top-fives and the same amount of top-10s.

"Yeah, it's hard for me to look at it that way right now, but I think you have to say this season has been incredibly successful," Busch said. "I don't know of many people who thought we'd win five poles and five races with me being a rookie driver. Our goals at the beginning of this season were to win a pole, win a race, be competitive every week and try to win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title. We've been lucky enough to accomplish those goals several times over.

"Now they tell me we've set a couple of rookie records and we could break a few more of Biffle's rookie records, which is nice."

Busch has chalked up wins at Richmond, Charlotte, Kentucky, Indianapolis and Michigan. Credit: Autostock

The Busch Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year award won't be announced until after the season, but it's a safe bet Busch will win it. He was the top rookie in 24 of 33 races in 2004 and has easily out-classed the rookie field.

"Yeah, first off, I have to congratulate Martin (Truex, Jr.) and his team," Busch said of his title rival. "Those guys had an incredible year, and they deserved to win this deal. I had a lot of fun battling with them all season.

"I'm really proud of how much we've accomplished as a team. We broke a lot of rookie records that belonged to Greg Biffle, who's a really talented driver, so that means a lot to me. I've learned a lot this season from (crew chief) Lance (McGrew) and everyone on this team.

"I really wish we'd have been able to bring this organization a championship, especially with everything that's happened recently, but we can hold our heads up and say we gave it everything we could. It wasn't for a lack of effort. I'm very proud of the way the team performed."

This weekend's race won't be as pressure-packed as the other 32 since Truex Jr. has already clinched the title, so Busch and his Hendrick Motorsports team can go all out for the victory.

Credit: Autostock

And it's a victory McGrew really wants.

"I'd really like to get that rookie record (for most wins) for Kyle," McGrew said. "I think he deserves it. The way they rate rookies in this series is kind of unfair. You've got guys like Ron Hornaday, who've been racing forever, but when he came over to the Busch Series, he had to run the rookie stripe. It's kind of crazy.

"The true spirit of the (rookie) award has been kind of lost, because you've got guys with so much experience coming into the series that have to run the stripe. The fact that (Kyle) has won so many races and led so many laps as a true rookie, I think there's a lot more spots in the record book that he deserves to have his name beside."

Busch will be a rookie again next season, competing for the award in the Nextel Cup Series. So with one more race in his rookie season in the Busch Series, there is only one goal: win.

"We know we have the second points position locked up, regardless of whether we win or finish 43rd on Saturday," Busch said. "That really lets us just hang it out there and go full bore for the win. We do that every week, but we can go out on Saturday with one thing in mind, and that's winning the race. We're not looking for a top-five or a top-10 so we can have a good points day. We want to win the race."