Superstore
AUCTIONS
One Menz Opinion
type size: + -

BackKyle Busch is NASCAR's version of Happy Gilmore (cont'd)

"The consideration is there, but it's a race-by-race deal for me right now," Busch said then. "If I go out and win a bunch of these in a row, we might reevaluate. ... I have such a blast doing it."

Well, three in a row sure is beginning to seem like a bunch. But even after the latest victory, he wasn't certain about going all-in with his Nationwide ride.

Autostock / AP
Yeah, but can he putt?

Kyle Busch

2008 Results
  Cup N'wide Truck
Starts 8 9 4
Wins 1 3 2
Top-5s 4 5 3
Top-10s 5 5 3
Poles 1 2 0
DNFs 0 2 0
Avg. Start 11.5 8.6 13.8
Avg. Finish 11.0 13.3 7.5
Points 2 3 1
• Stats: Cup | N'wide | Truck

"I'm not going to let anything out of the bag quite yet. I'm not even sure if there's anything left in the bag to let out," Busch said after Sunday's latest victory. He then promised a decision would be made "shortly."

He also said he loves winning and that as long as he's winning, nothing much bothers him. In other words, forget the questions about durability and focus and any tricky travel between events. If he can get to a race and run it, you've got to figure that he's probably going to.

The bigger question is, has anyone ever had a season like this? The kid won't even turn 23 years of age until May 2, and already he has registered a total of 27 victories spread across NASCAR's top three series -- including six in the combined total of 20 starts this season.

History lesson

If there is anyone who has come close to matching the magic Kyle Busch is spinning this season in recent memory, it's Kevin Harvick.

In 2001, when Harvick was forced by tragic circumstances to jump to the Cup side and drive for Richard Childress Racing after the death of Dale Earnhardt in the season-opening Daytona 500, Harvick went on to win what was then known as the Busch Series championship. He also managed to finish a very respectable ninth in the Cup point standings, despite missing the first race.

But even that was different than what Kyle Busch is doing now. In 2001, Harvick made 33 starts and posted five wins on the Nationwide side (we can't keep calling it the Busch Series here, because not only will the NASCAR higher-ups get mad -- but with all the references to Kyle Busch it's only going to get more and more confusing). Harvick made 35 starts on the Cup side and won twice. But Harvick made zero starts in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2001.

When Harvick won the Nationwide Series title again in 2006, he was by then an established star on the larger Cup circuit. His nine Nationwide wins in 35 starts were only one short of the all-time record of 10, set by Sam Ard in 1983. He backed that up with five more wins in Cup racing and finished fourth in points -- but again, did not make a single start in the Truck Series.

Kyle Busch currently is getting it done in all three series. It is an amazing feat.

And now he's winning on road courses, where in the past he had by his own admission struggled. It's like the happy only get happier.

Now he heads to Talladega, where his average finish in six previous Cup starts is only 31.7. His 11th-place finish in the fall of 2006 was the only time he's finished better than 32nd. In last year's spring race, he even finished upside down after a spectacular wreck.

But so what? This is his year. If ever there was a time for him to tame Talladega, it seems this would be it.

The only downside to this weekend is that Busch can't run in all three series, no matter what he desires. The Aaron's 312 in the Nationwide Series is set to at 3 p.m. ET Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway; the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 in the Craftsman Truck Series is slated for 6 p.m. ET at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.

As much of a Superman as Busch has been this season, even he can't be in two places at once. So the plan is for him to run both the Nationwide event and the Aaron's 499 Sprint Cup race at Talladega. It might have the feel of an off weekend for the busy Busch, but it will have to be enough.

Only time will tell just how happy Kyle Busch can get in 2008, but for now he sure seems to be having more fun than even the fictional Happy Gilmore. And this is, remarkably, real-life stuff.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.

The End

Previous12Next
Save Article Email Article Print Article RSS

Also

Remember To Check Out

All External sites will open in a new browser window. NASCAR.COM does not endorse external sites.
© 2001-2009 NASCAR | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Turner Entertainment Digital Network NASCAR.COM is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network.