Kyle Busch Making Mincemeat Out Of Junior Early On
Tom Bowles
Three months into his move to Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s performing better than most prognosticators would have expected at this point. With over 400 laps led and seven Top 10 finishes, he’s showcasing the consistency he lacked over at DEI. Free from the stress of that family team, there’s no question Junior’s come out of the box strong.
But he’s also looking up at the man he replaced.
While Junior’s been good, Kyle Busch has been great; and in doing so, he’s turned what could have been a devastating firing from Hendrick into a launching pad for a career change that’s making his former owner take notice. Ten races into the year, Busch is leading the standings by 18 points, and he’s 104 ahead of Junior in third; add two wins and a series-leading six Top 5 finishes into the mix, and it’s clear Busch has run up front early and often in 2008.
Of course, the difference between Junior and Busch is that Busch has cashed in on his opportunities to win. While the No. 88 car has had a tendency to fade over a race’s final segment, the No. 18 simply turns it on when it matters most. Yes, I’m also keeping in mind Junior has faced quite a rebuilding job at Hendrick (the No. 88 was the former No. 25 car that missed the Chase last year); but the task faced by Busch at Gibbs was just as difficult … if not more so. When Busch took his Toyota to Victory Lane in Atlanta, it was the first time the No. 18 had visited the Winners’ Circle since Homestead in November of 2003; in comparison, Junior’s new car has won more recently than he has, taking the checkered flag last May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with former driver Casey Mears.
But while Junior’s wins have yet to come, Busch is racking them up everywhere he turns; so far this season, he’s got a total of seven of them amongst NASCAR’s top three divisions of Cup, Nationwide, and Craftsman Trucks. All of those have come courtesy of Toyota support, who’s left no stone unturned in their quest to back their newest young talent as he heads towards the top. It’s a refreshing change from an environment at Hendrick in which Busch always seemed like the odd man out.
But over at Gibbs, Busch doesn’t have to worry about being out of place; it’s an organization that deals with its fair share of political incorrectness in drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. While the three men are known for their unique personalities, that’s actually gotten all of them getting along far better than anyone would have thought; and suddenly, with the departure of Stewart next season, Busch could rise to No. 1 on the Gibbs totem pole in the matter of 12 months. When was he ever going to rise to No. 1 at Hendrick with drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon on that team? For that matter, when is Junior ever going to do the same?
Ever since that firing, Busch has developed this sense of self-righteousness; he’s determined to prove those former bosses they made a mistake. That’s led to added confidence and an aggressive style that’s reached a whole new level; on Friday night, Steven Wallace made contact with Busch and promptly got out of the way on the final lap in order to give him his spot back. If that doesn’t tell you how much drivers are afraid of Busch these days, I don’t know what will.
Of course, that all translated into NASCAR’s Most Aggressive Driver making contact with NASCAR’s Most Popular Saturday night; in doing so, Busch robbed Junior of the win he’s been seeking for nearly two years. Afterwards, the youngster was hardly apologetic; instead, he was acting as if he was the victim, while a shocked Junior was simply left to look up at the leaderboard and wonder what might have been.
Kyle Busch did nothing of the sort, because he’s already content with what is; and frankly, he shows no signs of changing those emotions anytime soon. Both on and off the race track, he’s made a clear statement Rick Hendrick should be sorry he let him go.
I'm a fan of Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs and Tony Stewart. But, I seriously doubt that Rick Hendrick has any regrets. IMO having Jr as a driver is a lot less stressful than having Kyle. Also, IMO Hendrick makes a lot more money with Jr than with Kyle.
IMO Jr is too much of a nice guy, in a world of not-so-nice drivers. But, he's also a slow learner. I do believe he learned a very valuable lesson when he allowed Kyle to stick his nose under him, during last week's controversy. It's obvious that Jr is on the verge of winning some races.
I wouldn't mind Jr as a next-door neighbor. EVERYBODY is a fan of JR's,......at least that's the way it seems when it appears that the whole grandstands stand up to cheer for him.
* This post was
edited 05/08/08 10:03am by Cloud Dancer *
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I don't think Mr. Hendrick is having second thoughts at all. Kyle has an abrasive personality and doesn't fit in with the team. While I will agree,Kyle is a good driver,he is a bit on the wild side and his luck will run out sooner or later.
Probably not, Jr. is 3rd in points and did you notice all the new no. 88 gear that has been sold. Man, my neighbor had to get all new license plates, flags, window decals and no telling what else.
It's my understanding that point standings and the like don't much matter these days. Somebody, maybe on this forum, recently posted an article about the top drivers in terms of what they pulled in for sponsor dollars (the real measure of success for a driver in today's nascar) and I recall names like Dale Jr., Dale Jarret, Kyle Petty and the like being on this list. I don't know for sure but I suspect that Dale Jr. is far ahead of Kyle Busch in this measurement?
I have been wanting to ask this question... Would an owner benefit more from a popular driver than a winning driver? I see that the winnings for Kyle were almost $100,000 more than Jr at Richmond.
Nascarcruzin wrote: I have been wanting to ask this question... Would an owner benefit more from a popular driver than a winning driver? I see that the winnings for Kyle were almost $100,000 more than Jr at Richmond.
Rebecca
$100,000 in all reality is chump change in NASCAR.
I think Hendrick or any of them would love to have drivers like Carl Edwards on their teams...best of all worlds... gets along with everyone, very skilled, AND a media darling as well....very commercial and sellable.
Henderick's has plenty of money and is a proud man. He will never admit it even if he felt he made a mistake. At the end of his day, it will be about Championships and Kyle will win more than Jr. Dale Sr wasn't easy to work with either but Childress will be remembered for how many championships he won,not how rich he is. Yea, he made a mistake. There is no trophy for being the most popular or the nicest guy. If there were, Mark martin would have a house full.
Nascarcruzin wrote: I have been wanting to ask this question... Would an owner benefit more from a popular driver than a winning driver? I see that the winnings for Kyle were almost $100,000 more than Jr at Richmond.
Rebecca
$100,000 in all reality is chump change in NASCAR.
I think Hendrick or any of them would love to have drivers like Carl Edwards on their teams...best of all worlds... gets along with everyone, very skilled, AND a media darling as well....very commercial and sellable.
Kyle has won what? 7 races. True, $100,000 is change but when you add it all together and possibly a championship... What percentage does the owner make from a hat or a t-shirt? Just wondering.
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