Busch Dominating NASCAR

Nascar

By: Greg Sjovall

Posted: 4/22/08

This past Sunday the NASCAR Nationwide series went south of the border to Mexico for the fourth year in a row. In the now-annual road course race, Kyle Busch outdrove the rest of the field and won. Again.

In what has become the status quo in NASCAR's three most prominent series - Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series - Kyle Busch has been found in victory lane at the end of the race. In what is truly a remarkable feat, Busch is in second place, third place and first place in the series respective standings. In doing so he has compiled a total of six wins this season.

What is unique about what Busch is doing is keep that a driver of his skill level generally will only compete in the Sprint Cup - NASCAR's top series. A handful of drivers from Sprint Cup will compete in the Nationwide Series or the Craftsman Truck Series. A rough comparison is Major League Baseball's farm system, where Sprint Cup is "the show" and the Nationwide Series is AAA, and so on. While some of the top drivers will occasionally appear in the other series races, it's usually just to gain extra practice on a track or simply just for fun - not to compete for its championship.

With Busch starting off so hot in all three series, the possibility that he could win multiple championships could be truly special. At this point he has run the races on all the schedules, but come championship season, time and commitment conflicts could arise. Right now though, we should just take a step back and give credit to Busch who is rapidly becoming one of the top rising stars in the sport.

Busch has always had the talent to be one of the best drivers, but it seems this season he has finally found his groove and the results speak for themself. Coming out of the shadow of his older brother, former Sprint Cup Champion Kurt Busch, has probably been a big enough struggle in itself. However, now when people look at the Busch brothers, it is Kurt who is presently taking a back seat to his little brother.

Since Kurt already has a Sprint Cup championship, Kyle still has some work to be done. So far though, he is setting himself to be a serious contender in all three series. Now obviously he would rather win a Sprint Cup series, but that would take nothing away from winning either of the other two series. If he did pull off the trifecta it would have to be one of the most impressive feats accomplished in recent sports history.

Will Kyle Busch end up winning all three championships? Smart money says probably not. The wear and tear of the competing in all three series eventually will take its toll and limit his participation in the Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series. So, it is a longshot. However, has the 22-year-old Kyle Busch arrived? You don't need the president to tell you that this Busch is here to stay.

Greg Sjovall's NASCAR

column runs every Tuesday.

He can be reached at

Gregory.Sjovall@UConn.edu.