Give-and-take approach evident with Busch, Ren

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- So Kyle Busch is entering the ownership world in NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series.

He didn't look much different when he made that official with an announcement Friday. But he did sound a little different while laying out the plan for the two full-time trucks he will field for the 2010 season, along with hopes for a third truck that would be driven by former series champion Johnny Benson if sponsorship for it can be found.

Busch sounded, well, all grown up. He sounded like an honest-to-goodness, big-time NASCAR car owner.

"Hopefully this isn't a joke," he said. "That's not what I want this to look like. I want us to be for real."

The smartest things he said Friday -- and there were more than a few -- were in regards to the role Rick Ren already is relishing as director of competition for Kyle Busch Motorsports. When he was asked if he has been carrying a briefcase around since he became an owner, the 24-year-old Busch jokingly replied: "No, I'm not that old yet. That's Ren."

If this venture is to work, it could be argued that the keys to the operation are inside Ren's new briefcase. It will be up to Busch to allow Ren to apply them at Ren's own discretion without meddling too much.

They already are learning to agree to disagree on some big issues, such as hiring crew chiefs, without making it personal. Both said they believe that it is healthy and natural to air their opinions before coming to a mutual agreement, which is true. But it's also true that if Busch the driver wants to give winning his first Sprint Cup championship his best shot next season -- and he reiterated Friday that this is his main focus -- he will have to learn to turn over most of the reins of the truck operation to Ren.

JGR's blessing

Busch made it clear Friday that he goes into this ambitious new venture with more than merely the blessing of his bosses at Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields the No. 18 Toyota he drives in the Sprint Cup Series and the car in which he recently won the Nationwide Series championship. Although he confessed apprehension about approaching JGR's Joe and J.D. Gibbs to explain his own ownership plans, he left their offices with promises of help from them to make it work, and more.

Busch said they even let him take a copy of the JGR Employee Handbook with him, which he is using to cover everything from how he sets up health insurance for his new employees to, presumably, how often they will be required to wash their hands in the shop's bathrooms.

It was smart of JGR to offer Busch not only the employee handbook, but also promises of technical assistance and other time-saving and cost-saving initiatives that will help Busch immediately and immensely in building his new operation. By doing so instead of fighting him on something he probably would have stubbornly insisted on doing anyway, they stay on the same team and Busch has fewer owner headaches to worry about as he pursues knocking four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson from his Cup throne in 2010. (Continued)