Smack: Hard to bet against Jimmie when he's out front (cont'd)

3. Despite a bout with the flu, Kyle Busch is closing in on a Nationwide Series championship. Would that make up for his woes on the Cup side?

Mark Aumann: For crazy Kyle to climb out of a car two races in a row before the halfway mark, you know he had to be way past ill. Hopefully he's had a chance to rest up and get better, because he was three sheets to the wind at Fontana.

Joe Menzer: No doubt it eases some of the pain caused by failure to make the Chase on the Cup side, but not all of it. I think it will be more a feeling of relief, almost like, "OK, now I can tick this off my resume." But they were expecting to be contending for the Cup championship right about now, and that's no doubt a major disappointment.

Nationwide Series

Standings

Pos.	Driver	Behind
1.	Kyle Busch	--
2.	Carl Edwards	-155
3.	Brad Keselowski	-227
4.	Jason Leffler	-857
5.	Justin Allgaier	-1,304
6.	Steve Wallace	-1,356
7.	Jason Keller	-1,426
8.	Mike Bliss	-1,465
9.	Brendan Gaughan	-1,524
10.	Michael McDowell	-1,718

• Complete Standings

David Caraviello: I don't know if one would make up for the other, but Kyle clearly places an emphasis on winning in the Nationwide tour. I think he may enjoy racing there more than on the Cup tour, given the differences in the car and the series' lower profile. And let's remember, for all he's accomplished, the guy still hasn't won a title in one of NASCAR's national divisions. This would be his first. I think he obviously wants that.

Mark Aumann: Winning the Nationwide title would be a nice trophy on the mantle, but missing the Chase has to be a stinging rebuke for a guy who prides himself on thumbing his nose at the naysayers. Do you realize that because Kyle doesn't turn 25 until next year, he still can't rent a car in his own name? The guy drives 190 mph at Talladega and needs to be 25 to get a rental. That Hertz.

Joe Menzer: You know, He's still so young. Sometimes we forget how young he is. But even with all that youth on his side, you have to wonder sometimes if he's working so hard by racing all across the board that it wears him down toward the end of these seasons. That probably has little or nothing to do with his current illness, but still, you have to wonder.

David Caraviello: I believe he's stated he won't run Nationwide full-time next year, so a championship would be a good way to go out. And let's not forget Kyle has won four times this season on the Cup tour, more than most guys running for the championship. But they clearly got off track the second half of the year, and haven't been able to get it back again.

Joe Menzer: To be honest, I think the way they are running now versus the way Jimmie and others are running in the Chase only verifies that the 18 team just didn't deserve to get into the Chase this year, despite the four victories. They weren't consistent enough and certainly aren't building any positive momentum now -- even after J.D. Gibbs' declaration that they would get after it in the Chase and seriously go all-out for wins given that they had nothing to lose.

Mark Aumann: Joe, the thought about Kyle maybe overextending himself occurred to me, too. Was he more susceptible to getting sick because he has less time to recover? My guess is no. When you're 24, you feel like you can do anything. And he won't be the only driver to wind up with the flu. Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants if one of the Chase contenders comes down with H1N1 before Homestead?

David Caraviello: Well, let's hope that doesn't happen. But given that everybody basically lives in the same rolling neighborhood for 38 weeks a year, it seems very possible that the bug could make its rounds through the driver/owner motor home lot. Time to stock up on hand sanitizer!

Joe Menzer: I know some strain of something has been running through my household of late. I'd better not shake hands with anybody this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

David Caraviello: Thanks for that. I'll remember to bring my surgical mask.

Mark Aumann: The Menzer Strain. Sounds like a sci-fi movie. Or a kitchen appliance sold on late-night TV.

David Caraviello: Perfect for draining steamed vegetables!

Mark Aumann: But wait! There's more!

Joe Menzer: When they start passing out little bottles of hand sanitizer at tracks instead of packs of gum and Slim Jims, we'll know times have changed for sure.

David Caraviello: At least they got rid of the cigarettes.

Mark Aumann: Hey, one health issue at a time.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writers.