TALLADEGA – Kyle Busch estimated Sunday that he’d never finished at Talladega without some kind of catastrophe.“I don’t think I’ve ever finished one here without wrecking,” he said, “or without being tore up, at least.”
As it turns out, when he avoids the trouble, he’s good enough to win. The young Joe Gibbs Racing sensation endured a day in which he missed his pit box, went a lap down at one point and nearly was involved in a race-ending crash … but by the time the race ended, he was in first, taking the checkered flag when the Aaron’s 499 finished under caution.
“I didn’t wreck today,” Busch said, “so I am ultimately happy about that and greatly appreciate that I was able to win today. I don’t think I’ve ever finished one yet without some sort of damage.”
The win is just another moment in a series of moments for the younger Busch brother. It’s his second victory of the season in Sprint Cup his seventh of the season in NASCAR – factoring in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series – and yet another notch in his belt as the hottest young driver on the Sprint Cup circuit.
It was something that few people envisioned at the end of 2007, when Hendrick Motorsports jettisoned Busch in favor of free-agent driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“With my ability and the cars these (Gibbs) guys have, hopefully it would all work out,” Busch told the press on Sunday. “So far it has. The chemistry’s worked – all the guys are great to work with.
“Everybody’s set out to do one thing, and that’s to make JGR number one. Right now I think we’re pretty close.”
Joe Gibbs Racing was certainly the No.1 team at Talladega over the weekend. Tony Stewart drove his Toyota to a first-place finish in the Aaron’s 312, and the three JGR drivers – Stewart, Busch and Denny Hamlin – spent most of the day alternating the lead in the Cup race.
“When you got a race team like that, you got three cars,” owner Joe Gibbs said after the race. “At first you’re upset, because of Kyle. You got Tony leading the race, and he cuts a tire down. For me, emotions are all over the place.
“I was really proud of our whole team – it was a total team effort. Everybody did a great job. Staying that calm and cool and finding a way to fight back, it was a great day for us. I’m really proud of the guys.”
Still, the victory had to be some sweet redemption for Busch himself, particularly since he out-raced two of his former teammates – Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, giants among restrictor-plate racers – down the stretch to score the victory.
At one point, it appeared that Gordon or possibly Johnson might steal the win from him, but Busch simply wouldn’t let it happen.
But Busch downplayed that aspect of the win.
“I left there (Hendrick) on some pretty good terms with all the guys,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of friends over there in that organization. There’s no hard feelings there, no shoving it in their face to say I’m better than you.
“It’s just to do the best I can – if we’ve got a shot to win a race, that’s what we’re gonna try and do.”
More important was a reversal of Busch’s bad fortune at Talladega. In six previous Cup starts, he’d never finished better than 11th. In fact, just last year – 2007 – Busch’s day ended in crashes … twice, in both the 312 and 499.
One reporter even suggested that, when he met with the press earlier in the week, he looked like he wanted to leave.
“Well, I wreck every time I come here,” he said. “So what’s there to be excited about?
“I am (excited) now, though – that’s pretty cool. To bring M&M their first win and Toyota another win (the third one this season) … we’re doing pretty good.”
He very nearly finished his day the way he has most days at Talladega – a collision with Jamie McMurray nearly sent both spinning out of commission. But the two maintained control of their machines and both finished the race.
“I didn’t know what was happening,” Busch said. “I thought I was getting hooked right rear and going straight up the fence. Luckily, somehow we got off each other and kept it straight and were able to continue.”
