Nationwide Series Now Busch’s Series

April 24, 2008

By Brian Watkins

Brian Watkins

While this season is still getting into full swing, Kyle Busch is wasting no time in making his place amongst the bright stars of NASCAR. With three in a row NNS wins, the most recent on a road course of all things, Busch seems to be on track to have a record breaking season in all three series.

It’s certainly not what we expected from Kyle this season- at least not on this level. Having not only changed manufacturers but also teams, one would almost have expected this to have been a “rebuilding year” for the Las Vegas native. But after only 4 seasons racing in NASCAR’s top series, Kyle Busch seems to be excelling at every turn.

While he maintains that his focus is still on Cup, one can’t help but notice that at his current pace, he could easily be in competition for the Nationwide series championship as well as the Sprint Cup championship. Not a bad place to be in really.

While his success in Camry’s has been at the forefront this season, his abilities behind the wheel in the Craftsman Truck Series are not lacking either. While his aggressive driving style cost him (and even more so Johnny Benson) during the Kroger 250 at Martinsville, he has shown a talent for racing that goes far beyond the goal of many drivers his age of simply staying in the top 35.

One nice thing about not being “real” media is that I can not only be a fan of a driver, but I can also write about being a fan. I don’t have to be impartial and I don’t have to be balanced. I do however try to be as impartial as I can. I make no promises though.

Speaking of being a fan, this season will see a large turn-over in the “older” NASCAR fan base when Dale Jarrett turns his final laps on May 17th. While Dale has legions of fans, few of them are from the younger, “newer” set of NASCAR enthusiasts. The folks who never got to see Jarrett run consistently in the front of the pack, winning races and taking names, are less likely to be fans. But those that were around to see his victory’s and watched him hoist the championship trophy are more likely to have shopped at the 88 truck long before Junior took it over. To those fans, it is the end of an era in NASCAR. The torch has all but been passed to the newer crop of drivers and gunners like Jeff Gordon are now the veterans.

Coming into this season as a Jarrett fan, his retirement has left a hole for me to fill. Picking a new driver can sometimes be a burden. Do you bump you 2nd favorite driver to the #1 spot, or do you look for someone all together different? This season the choice has been an easy one- Kyle Busch, who’d been shunned from my list in previous (seasons mainly due to the fact that he’s related to Kurt) has moved to the top of my list. He has a great deal of talent, a tank full of potential, and just enough controversy surrounding him to keep discussions interesting. I mean really, what fun is it to be a fan of someone that everyone likes? I guess that’s a question for the Junior Nation.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web Insiderracingnews.com