Busch's character another piece to the Gibbs puzzle

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- Finally, one of the worst-kept secrets of the Nextel Cup garage in recent weeks is officially official.

Kyle Busch will drive the No. 18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing, beginning next season. (Whether or not he'll drive a Chevrolet or a Toyota is a question that was left unanswered again Tuesday).

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The "announcement" came Tuesday morning at JGR headquarters, where Busch was touted as a top draft choice and trotted out in front of a modest media crowd who spent much of the next 30 minutes trying to figure out how in the heck Coach Gibbs is going to handle a mercurial stable of drivers that now includes the often petulant Busch in addition to the unpredictable, frequently moody Stewart and the sometimes immature Hamlin.

But there we go again, dishing out the media labels. J.D. Gibbs, the coach's son and team president at JGR, said that the organization and Busch are out to shed some instead.

The younger Gibbs went out of his way to repeatedly praise Busch for his apparently heretofore mostly closeted sense of humor, and to explain that at JGR, there is a vastly different outlook taken on what others often call the baffling (or worse) behavior of Stewart.

Plus, don't forget the new kid can drive. That is the most important trait that Busch and Stewart share heading into this honeymoon, according to Gibbs.

To Gibbs' credit, he candidly admitted Tuesday that he didn't know Busch well heading into this whole free-agent signing process that began when Hendrick Motorsports, where Busch now is employed, announced that it was hiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Busch's expense.

To get to know more about Busch, Gibbs naturally turned to Stewart and Hamlin. And they gave him an earful to contemplate.

"Both Denny and Tony said, 'Look, we're telling you, off the track and on the track, there's no guy out there who has the talent that this guy does. With him on board we think it gives us three guys who can give us a chance to win week in and week out.' Hearing that from them meant a lot to me, because they're really the guys who dictate our future," Gibbs said.

"And I want to say that getting to know Kyle has been kind of special. He's got a great sense of humor, he's sharp, and I think he's really passionate about what he does. He does really remind me a lot of Tony, which is kind of frightening. But we have a great relationship with Tony, and we think we'll have the same thing with Kyle. We want this to be home for the rest of his career. He's only 22 years old, so we think we've got a real special gift here in Kyle and he'll be a big part of our future here at JGR."

The bottom line in regards to the three-year contract Busch signed with JGR is that he is considered a significant upgrade over J.J. Yeley, the driver he replaces. To be fair to the personable Yeley, he wasn't given much time to prove himself at the Cup level. But in 64 career starts, Yeley has no wins, one top-five finish (this year at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte) and four top-10s. He's currently 21st in driver points.

Busch, though eight years and seven months Yeley's junior, has in 100 career Cup starts posted four victories, 24 top-fives and 43 top-10s. This season alone, he has one victory, five top-fives and 12 top-10s. He's currently eighth in points. (Continued)