Pointing out the questions that matter

Pondering another race victory by Kyle Busch and the 1,215 e-mail comments the past couple of columns about him generated, the following questions beg to be answered heading into two weekends of high-octane racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

1. A streak? Or something more?

To say or write that Kyle Busch is merely on a hot streak no longer does what he is accomplishing justice. The kid, like it or not, is proving that he might just be the next great Sprint Cup driver out there. Having said that, he has struggled most of his Cup career at LMS -- finishing 25th or worse in six of eight career starts, including 30th or worse in five of those six. But he finished sixth and third, respectively, in the past two fall races at the track and is smoking-hot enough that he might be ready to break through. It's getting harder and harder to bet against him, no matter the week, the vehicle he happens to be driving, the format in which he is competing, or the venue.

2. Where art thou, brother?

Remember last year's All-Star race, when the brothers Busch took each other out (watch video) and then took some entertaining verbal shots at each other afterward? Their sibling rivalry is lacking juice these days as older bro Kurt, once the dominant driver between the two, continues to struggle. He pulled off a decent 12th-place finish Saturday night at Darlington, but remains a distant and disappointing 22nd in points this season after beginning the year with a second-place effort in the Daytona 500. Maybe what he needs to get going is another good All-Star scrape with Kyle.

3. Where's Tony?

OK, so Tony Stewart remains a respectable eighth in the point standings. But doesn't it seem remarkable that after all the press generated when he first revealed he might be leaving Joe Gibbs Racing after his current contract expires at the end of 2009, Stewart quickly became almost an afterthought as much younger JGR teammates (the aforementioned Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin) went on to grab headlines? With supposed superstar-to-be driver Joey Logano waiting in the wings at JGR, it makes one wonder how painful it really would be at that organization if Stewart were to bolt for another operation (and probably part-ownership of a Chevrolet deal) at the end of '09 when he'll be 38 years old. As a footnote, though, keep in mind that Stewart's four wins in six Nationwide starts this season prove the guy can still get it done behind the wheel.

4. Will Junior's winless streak ever end?

While former driver and current television analyst Darrell Waltrip's bold pre-season proclamation that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would win the Daytona 500 and "at least six" races is looking all wet, the fact of the matter is that Junior is running up front virtually every week and is bound to win one sooner rather than later. But that has been said many times previously during what has now become a 73-race winless streak. There is a bigger question mounting in the meantime: Having not won a points race now in more than two years, is Junior beginning to feel too much pressure when he's in position to put an end to "The Streak" toward the ends of races? Place all the blame for the Richmond debacle on Kyle Busch if you want, but the fact is that Junior overdrove his car into the corner at least twice before contact was made with Busch -- and that caused him to drift high coming off, allowing Busch to get under him.

5. What's up with last year's Coca-Cola 600 winner, the not-so-mighty Casey?

It seemed last year's fuel-mileage victory in the 600 might be a springboard to bigger and better things for the likeable and seemingly talented Casey Mears. And he did seem to build on it for a while. But whatever momentum he had piled up toward the end of last season hasn't carried over to this one, and a change in crew chiefs (from Darian Grubb to Alan Gustafson, formerly Kyle Busch's crew chief) hasn't clicked. He's currently 27th in points, and needs to make a stand while defending his 600 title.

6. Where did he come from?

Yes, that is David Ragan's name listed 12th in the point standings, meaning he would be included in the Chase if it were to begin today. While the cutoff for the Chase is still a long way off -- the 26th race won't be held until Sept. 6 at Richmond -- Ragan quietly has put together a very solid second season after finishing 42nd in the Daytona 500. Who would have thought that at this point in the season, or at any point in the season, he would be the third Roush Fenway driver amongst the top 12 -- instead of Matt Kenseth? (The other two are Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle).

7. Are Jimmie and Jeff about to get it together again?

Last year's dominant storyline was about how dominant Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were. This year they've struggled, winning only one race between them (Johnson at Phoenix). This, however, is their track. They have a combined nine wins between them at LMS (five for Johnson, four for Gordon), and Gordon's last victory came there this past fall. And the fact of the matter is, even though the perception is that they've struggled badly this season while their former Hendrick teammate, the aforementioned younger Busch, has taken over the points lead, they're both solidly in the top 12 in points and in position to make a move (Johnson is seventh, Gordon 10th). This is the perfect place for them to start doing it.

8. Who will win the All-Star race?

It's a non-points event. The hottest driver in non-points events is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won both the Bud Shootout and his Gatorade Duel qualifying race to start off the season in Daytona. Wow. That seems a long time ago now, doesn't it?

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.