Lame duck or not, Tryson wants to win with Busch (cont'd)

Busch started third, raced to the lead on Lap 124 and held it for 19 of the 28 total laps he led. But if you monitored the No. 2's radio channel, the comparison was almost incomprehensible, in relation to how the 2 was performing on the race track, which was good enough that Busch was only scored out of the top 10 on two brief pit cycles.

Tryson was calm, concise and supportive. Busch was alternately precise and analytical, or frustrated and sarcastic. I'd like to think I could give Rusty Wallace a run for his money in peppering a conversation with invective -- but ol' Kurt flat had me wincing, often -- on Sunday.

And Tryson just grinned, in the aftermath.

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Standing behind the hauler, someone tried to explain their positive impression of Busch, and Tryson interrupted them in mid-sentence as if he were swatting a bug.

"He's a great guy," Tryson said. "People who don't know Kurt don't know how good a guy he is."

So it wasn't hard for Tryson to dismiss Busch's mercurial, A-to-Z radio behavior throughout the race.

"What are you gonna do -- argue with him?" Tryson said, as patient in his explanation as he was through 300 laps of adjustments, encouragement and execution Sunday.

"He's a competitor and he wants to win -- that's it. And it's hot in [the cockpit] and I'd probably be a bigger [butt] hole if I was in there. Well, not a [butt] hole, but I'd probably lose my temper more [than Busch does] and stuff like that, but the problem is, if you get to arguing, that just doesn't help anything.

"So the best thing to do is listen to him, let him vent and then we'll get back to business."

Tryson, for what he called "personal reasons," is leaving Penske Racing to work with Martin Truex Jr. at Michael Waltrip Racing. Tryson's been in the Chase plenty. You've got to figure this won't be his last.

But this is the one that matters most to Tryson, Busch, team owner Roger Penske and everyone associated with this program.

With the uncertainty that looms about the future and the makeup of the team, it's inevitable to think -- even after two races in which Busch's team left no doubt about its focus, its competitiveness, its professionalism or its commitment -- that their ability rests on a razor's edge.

Not so, according to Tryson.

"I don't think it is," Tryson said. "Obviously, if things don't go well that might create some different issues. But I don't anticipate that happening. I expect us to continue to run well and make it to the end, and when we get to Homestead, hopefully we've got a shot at [the championship]."

You don't have to ask if Tryson was grinning when he turned away to finally think about leaving. Of course, he was. And in the end, it makes you realize Pat Tryson's going to be a winner no matter how this Chase turns out.

Kyle Busch Victory Watch

Make no mistake, the guy's focused. He wasn't going to win at New Hampshire, barring more of a disaster than actually happened on the last lap with A.J. Allmendinger and the lack of a timely caution flag. But the fact that Busch passed his older brother -- who IS a title contender -- on the last lap means he's still trying to get everything he can until the checkers fall on whatever he's racing.

With a victory in Saturday's Truck race, Busch moved a step closer to eclipsing his 2008 record total of 21 wins (8 Cup, 10 Nationwide, 3 Truck).

His truck score was gravy, as he's already well beyond his total of a year ago. But even though he's running better in Cup, the strength of the Chase contenders will make it tough to win there -- though not impossible.

Right now, Busch is at 15 wins: 4 Cup, 6 Nationwide, 5 Truck. Last year at this point Busch had 18 (8 Cup, 7 Nationwide, 3 Truck), so there's plenty of time.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.