A young driver...

The smell of ashes from the burnt bridges in his early days still linger...

Seemingly with all the talent in the world and a whole career ahead of them...

Racing fans divided on him; either you love the guy or you hate him, there is (apparently) no middle ground...

No matter where you stand, you cannot question his commitment to driving the car the minute he pulls the visor down to start a race...

You think I'm talking about Kyle Busch, don't you?

Well, you'd be wrong...try Michael Schumacher instead.

Michael made his debut at Spafrancorchamps for the old Jordan team and qualified seventh...a feat made even more incredible considering he'd never driven the track before despite living quite close by. His clutch blew on the first lap and he had to retire but the wheels were in motion regarding his future as Benetton left no stone unturned and managed to wriggle Michael away from Jordan for the next race.

Did Eddie Jordan feel bitter about it? Well, considering that the only car from Michael's F1 career that he doesn't own just happens to be a 1991 Jordan, you would have to think he does. As for the fans being divided on 'Schumi', that's a rather easy one to explain as his track etiquette was rather questionable at times; Adelaide 1994, Jerez 1997 and Monaco 2006 for example.

It does sound rather familiar to Kyle though, doesn't it?

The split with Roush as he joined Hendrick. The fact that Jack said "hell no!" when asked if Kyle could possibly rejoin the Roush-Fenway stable last year. On the track he appears too impatient and takes risks that would make even the most hardnosed racer think twice before attempting something similar while off it he portrays an air of arrogance with some of his actions and comments (winning at Bristol, leaving the track which led to Dale Earnhardt Jr getting his first taste of a HMS Cup car). Yet, despite all that, he still made the Chase amid the flurry of anticipation (and expectation) about Dale Jr taking his ride for 2008 and ended up fifth in the standings, his highest in his three full seasons.

'Shrub' is currently riding the crest of a wave in all three series, something he mentioned before this weeks race in Atlanta to which he quipped that he wasn't a bad surfer but we'll have to wait and see how long he can ride this one out.

So why the comparison to Schumacher? Well, Michael too was regarded as a 'bright young thing' in the early 90's and look where he sits in the F1 rankings after retiring at the end of 2006; 7 times Champion, most career wins, most career points and most career poles.

And while Kyle certainly won't be able to boast those stats in the NASCAR history books when he calls it a day, I reckon we should just enjoy watching this guy race the way we'd love all the drivers to...hard and flat out the whole day.