Has the dust settled yet? The audacity Kyle Busch displays is just terrible. How could he purposefully wreck Dale Earnhardt Jr. and then turn around one week later and win on a track that he’d never won on before? He deserves a beer bath! This seems to be the thinking of many over the last couple of weeks when it comes to Kyle. How did we get here people? Let’s take a little closer look at this young man. Maybe some of you will lighten up.

Kyle, like most of the drivers at NASCAR’s Cup level, is from a family that has been involved in and around automobile racing for many years. He started out maneuvering an old go kart around the streets where he lived at the age of six. He wasn’t tall enough to reach the pedals so his Dad, Tom, would set the throttle on high and let him go. Now that would be some ride and may open a few eyes to the driving style that was to come. Kyle grew up shagging tools and parts for his Dad and older brother, Kurt, in the family’s garage learning to build and repair race cars. Having a quick mind, he soon became a proficient mechanic. Kyle became so adept as a racing mechanic that he assumed the role of crew chief for his brother’s dwarf car team. He wasn’t yet 13 years old! His formal racing education began when he did turn 13 as he became eligible to race in the “everyman’s racing circuit”, the Legends Series. Over two seasons at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kyle won 65 of these Legends races while taking both annual championships. Undoubtedly using his all out style learned as a child running that go kart with the throttle on high played a huge role in it. Through this time, Kyle had to keep his nose in his school books as his parents drilled the importance of education into him. He became an honor student while most of his spare time was spent one way or another with a race car. His family didn’t have a lot of money and consequently he learned the importance of keeping his race cars on the track without mishap since he was responsible for not only repairing his cars himself, but also for paying for those repairs out of his own pocket. This brought a newfound respect for driving and for his opponents. Having to spend your time working to repair a wreck and then having to dig in your own pocket to cover the costs will do that for you. Anyone involved with racing as a hobby can certainly attest to that! By 2001 Kyle was racing late model stock cars while still in high school and his accomplishments continued to mount. He caught the eye of Roush Racing where his brother was driving and the next thing he knew he was signed and scheduled to race in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series. He was 16 years old when he started in 23rd position and finished 9th at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Out of the blue, NASCAR decides to put an 18 year old age restriction on the drivers in NASCAR sanctioned races. Undeterred, Kyle began racing in the American Speed Association and ran the entire 2002 schedule. He ended the 20 race season with 5 top five and 10 top ten finishes and wound up 8th in the point standings at 17 years old. While all this was going on, Kyle worked on his school work, graduating from high school a year early.

While still not old enough to drive in NASCAR events, Kyle moved to the ARCA RE/MAX Series where he won his first race driving from the pole position at the Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. He backed up that performance by also winning the second race of the year at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta and more people took note of his accomplishments. Later in 2003 he turned 18 and started seven Nationwide Series events where he posted a runner-up finish in his first start while running at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Five of those 7 Nationwide starts found Kyle finishing in the top ten.

In 2004, Kyle started off the season winning the ARCA race at Daytona on February 7th. His first full year running the Nationwide Series found him in Victory Lane five times as he placed second in the points standings and became the youngest driver to win Top Rookie honors. The stage was set for Kyle’s entrance into the elite NASCAR Cup Series. But there was one problem in Kyle’s eyes as he was perceived to be Kurt’s little brother. He was able to do something about that perception when at the end of the 2004 season he accepted an offer to take over Terry LaBonte’s number 5 car with Hendrick Motorsports. This move left brother Kurt and Roush Racing behind and allowed Kyle to stand alone.

At the age of 19 in 2005, in only his 8th NASCAR Cup start, Kyle won the pole at California Speedway, becoming the youngest driver in NASCAR history to do so. He went on in his rookie year and drove the number 5 HMS car to nine top-fives, 13 top-10s, two wins and a 20th place finish in the standings. This earned Kyle Rookie of the Year honors in the Cup Series becoming not only the first driver to win both the Nationwide and Cup Series Rookie honors in back to back years, but also the youngest driver to win each honor. Kyle Busch had arrived…

How can anyone look at this young phenomenon and not wish him well?

I can understand the feelings NASCAR fans have toward Kyle Busch’s youthful exuberance and his sometimes misplaced comments while having microphones constantly shoved in his face. I know, I know, in this day and age everybody’s expected to be politically correct. These race car drivers are all expected to toe the line, smile and not bad mouth anyone. Well, I’m here to tell ya, that attitude and demeanor just don’t work for this guy. If you expect the good guy image to be normal in a hectic, high-pressure business such as driving in NASCAR, you’re living in a special world all your own. Being a nice guy here is the exception, not the rule. The keys to success include a strong will to win, not to just participate, but to WIN. Once that will, or thirst to win is entrenched, there’s only one thing that will quench it. Now it can be argued that everyone has this will to win, and that’s true, but how strong is it? Think about this now… Some people will go to the far ends of endurance and still not find victory, but they are undeterred and persist. Others will give it the good try and eventually move on when victory isn’t forthcoming. Some will taste victory and be satisfied for the rest of their lives. Then there are the few who are visited by success on a regular basis and yet it’s never enough. These are the special ones. The people that harbor a will to win that is so great it can never be completely satisfied. In all of life’s endeavors there are these special people. Most are hidden from us as they go about their lives, although their accomplishments are all around us. Then there are the very few that happen to be involved in endeavors that allow the multitude to watch. If we have a true appreciation for what we’re seeing, we get to enjoy it. This is the stuff that makes us fans, by the way. Another attribute these few special people have when it comes to success is they have not only a certain amount of ability, they also have what we call talent. This is something that stems from certain God-given skills that are then recognized and honed over time. If the abilities are there, and the lessons used to fine-tune them are taken to heart and they “click”, then success may follow. If the individual is recognized for his talent, a certain amount of adulation then follows. This in turn may lead an individual to have what we call an “attitude”. The individual is good and, for better or for worse, he knows it. This trait is usually found in younger people who haven’t been knocked in the dirt too many times and it is what many bystanders have a problem with. This person will eventually mellow out. Finally, NASCAR is a team sport, and as in any team sport, when the first two characteristics are in place and connected to an owner and group of people talented in other areas that are committed to winning while using sound teamwork practices, then success will be assured.

Kyle Busch’s will to win is huge. His talents have been honed to a fine edge. Finally, what initially looked like a possible hit to the young man’s psyche, that being dropped from NASCAR’s premier racing team in favor of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., has actually turned into a marriage made in heaven. Joe Gibbs Racing welcomed Kyle into the fold and has provided the teamwork and vehicles to match young Busch’s will and skill. Joe’s mentoring has evidently had some effect on young Busch as many have commented on his newfound patience in certain race circumstances and it has paid off handsomely to this point in the NASCAR season.

This all leaves me wondering about Kyle’s past employer I doubt that the owner with Hendricks Motorsports would ever admit it, but I’m sure he has had second thoughts about his decision to cut Kyle Busch loose.

With a third of the 2008 NASCAR season in the books it’s fair to say that Joe Gibbs Racing has dominated with Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

The M&M's Indiana Jones Number 18 that won at Darlington

Here are Kyle’s career marks to date:

18 Kyle Busch

     Toyota

     Joe Gibbs Racing

Poles    Wins    Rank    Points  Behind            Rating

   1             3          1          1690         -                   112.0

Ht: 6-1   Wt: 160

Born: 05/02/1985

Birthplace: Las Vegas, Nevada

1st year: 2004

Career Stats              Top

Year Starts Wins 5 10 15 20 DNF Avg. Strt Avg. Fin.

2008    11      3    7   8   9 10    0           10                8

2007    36      1  11 20 24 28    2           15              14

2006    36      1  10 18 24 25    2           15              16

2005    36      2    9 13 16 16    8           19              21

2004      6      0    0   0   0   0    4           27              35

Career Stats

Year Laps Led (% all laps)        Tot Laps Earnings

2008    567    (16.00%)                       3605  $2,474,863

2007    637     (6.00%)                      10280  $4,685,518

2006    571     (6.00%)                      10013  $4,821,093

2005    362     (4.00%)                        9705  $4,185,239

2004       0        (.00%)                        1098    $394,489

* * * * *

Well folks, I continue to hear that Kyle will cool off as the year continues, he’s got a target on his back now and will be taken out, he’s a dirty driver that wrecks people on purpose and that he’s just a flash in the pan. On the other hand, I’ve heard very knowledgeable NASCAR people and fans state that Kyle Busch is one of these drivers that seems to come along once every ten years or so. He has been likened in his early career to several of the greatest drivers this sport has known   and that has drawn fire from many who simply deny that it’s so.

If Kyle Busch can maintain his points lead and win the 2008 Sprint Cup Series, he will still need to do it again and again to finally gain acceptance as a great driver. Right now it’s turned into a very enjoyable time just watching him race to the finish with his hair on fire!           

Resources: 

KYLE BUSCH - Driver Biography

http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id
=162957