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MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Today's NASCAR drivers live in a technology filled world where they can easily buy a wristwatch that provides them phone calls, e-mail access and GPS navigation. But twice a year, the sport's stars chase a 7-foot-tall, antique wooden timepiece that only does one thing -- tells time.
But more than that, it tells the motorsports world that the winners of Martinsville Speedway's coveted grandfather clock trophy haven't strayed too far from their short-track upbringings, that they can still wheel it on the bullrings that form the sweet spot in the sport's foundations.
Heading into the weekend, Kyle Busch was 0-for-30 in racing for the clock in NASCAR's national series. After an unprecedented sweep of the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series races helped Busch cross another pair of to-do items off his career list, the pressing question is no longer when will he finally win at Martinsville, but where will the double blessing of trophies find a home?
"Where they're going to go, I don't know yet," Busch said after completing the weekend sweep in Sunday's STP 500. "Maybe one on the main floor, maybe one on the other floor. That would be pretty cool. I've got to get them in sync though, so they go off at the same time so you're not hearing these weird noises throughout the house. But (it's) a good problem to have."
Busch is full of good "problems" like where to place all his trophies, with very few gaps on his racing resume. His two-clock weekend helped Busch reach a staggering 159 victories in NASCAR's three national series -- 35 in Sprint Cup, a record 79 in XFINITY and 45 in trucks -- all just a month shy of his 31st birthday. With checkered flags coming in bulk since Busch entered the NASCAR world in 2001, only a handful of tracks' Victory Lanes have yet to open their gates for him.
In Sprint Cup, only Charlotte, Kansas and Pocono still rank as unchecked boxes. In XFINITY, only Watkins Glen remains as an active track where Busch is winless. In the Truck Series, Las Vegas is his only oh-fer. Cumulatively, Busch takes it as another "good problem to have."
"There's not very many left on the list, (and) we've certainly put some emphasis on that over the past few years," Busch said. "Being able to try to do that last year was a big year for us, knocking off a couple of those, as well. I'm pumped when I'm able to do that.
"I don't know that many guys have ever been able to accomplish being able to win at every single active track that they've made starts at, and I look forward to trying to complete that feat."
Several drivers with NASCAR Hall of Fame credentials have fallen short of completing career sweeps of the schedule. Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon retired with 93 premier series wins, but ended his driving days 0-for-5 at Kentucky. The ever-versatile three-time champ Tony Stewart has 48 Sprint Cup victories, but none at Kentucky or Darlington. Hall of Famer Bobby Allison ended with 85 (or 84, depending on your view of the record book) victories in NASCAR's top division, but famously went 0-for-44 at Martinsville.
Crossing off more tracks and filling the bare spots in his portfolio clearly ranks as a priority for a driver who notched another career achievement with his first Sprint Cup championship last season. And after winning Saturday's Truck Series race, Busch hinted that he had target numbers in mind for the milestones he wanted to reach before he would think about dialing back or ending his driving duties.
One-hundred Cup wins? Two-hundred national series wins or more? With so many milestones already in the books and no signs of slowing down at age 30, Busch seemingly has plenty of time.
And after this weekend, he has two more ways to tell it.
"We've got a long ways ahead of us. Let's get to 50 first; how about that?" Busch said of his Sprint Cup aspirations. "Certainly I'd like to think that we can score 100 wins, but man, we'd better get to work."
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