New Kyle Busch looks a lot like the old one: a winner (cont'd)

Much is made of this self-proclaimed "new" Kyle Busch, which many media types believe has to do with solely his post-race behavior -- something that, as any follower of NASCAR knows, can vary wildly according to his results on the track. In that respect, the old Kyle still lurks, as the lone reporter who stalked him after his 16th-place Truck finish discovered. And the old Kyle wants still wants to race everything he can, to the point where you wonder how he didn't commandeer a trotter and make a few laps around the harness-racing course that sits inside Dover's concrete oval.

This new Kyle has less to do with composure in front of a microphone as it does with comportment inside a race car, where a still-maturing driver is learning how to not overdrive a vehicle, how to not reach for better finishes that are outside his grasp, and how to prioritize so that pursuit of a Sprint Cup championship is an unquestioned job No. 1. The new Kyle doesn't push the car too hard when it's in danger of sliding from underneath him. The new Kyle is willing to accept something like last weekend's seventh-place finish at Darlington. The new Kyle is able to give up events at O'Reilly Raceway Park this summer to focus on the Brickyard 400. The new Kyle is content to trade a prospective victory in a Truck event for a win in the big show.

Surely, that's easier said than done. Busch seemed genuinely disappointed this weekend when he revealed that Gibbs brass had "shot down" -- in his words -- the idea of once again running full-time on the Nationwide tour and gunning for a repeat championship. Given the way last year's Sprint Cup campaign turned out, with Busch missing the Chase by eight points, it's difficult to argue with that decision. And yet, the driver believes he's best on weekends like this one, where he's jumping from one vehicle to another, gaining as much track knowledge as he can.

"That's the way I've always done it, and that's why I race as much as I race," Busch said. "For me, I think the biggest thing was, going through this weekend learning as much as I could about the tires, and making sure I had good race cars. When you have one good race car, then you know what you need in the rest of them. I had such a great truck, that I thought some of the things through for the Nationwide car, and again, some of the things through for the Cup car. It all helps, though, when we unload with competitive cars every single race."

It was difficult to argue with the results at Dover, where Busch very nearly pulled off an unprecedented hat trick. Prior to Sunday, the last manufacturer to sweep all three events at one race track was Toyota, which did so at Dover in 2008. "I think I got two of those," Busch said.

Not quite. He won the Cup race, leading 158 laps. But he crashed out of the Nationwide event after leading 58 laps, and finished well back in the Truck race despite leading 96. Hey, 312 laps led and one big trophy are far from a bad weekend. But it can't touch 494. Asked if he's ever led that many laps at one place in one weekend, Busch struggled to come up with an answer.

"I don't do all the math," he said. ".. I think at Bristol, probably. I led most of the Truck race last year and won. Oh no, I didn't. I got wrecked on like lap 20, so that doesn't count. The night race I led like 450 of them or something like that, so I've had respectable runs [like] this weekend before. But this weekend, if only we could have had Friday back. Man, that certainly would have sent me home a little bit better. But I'll go home tonight and put my head on the pillow and sleep pretty well anyway."

He has a few more chances. Busch is currently scheduled to compete in tripleheaders at Bristol in August, and at Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead at the end of the season. That unprecedented sweep is still out there, waiting to be claimed. Of course, if Busch is in the heat of a Sprint Cup championship race, will he still compete in all nine races over the final three weeks? In the battle between old Kyle and new Kyle, that may be the ultimate test.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.