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Kyle Busch's finish in the Daytona 500 isn't an indicator of his title prospectsE
BY JIM UTTER
McClatchy Newspapers
Regardless of the outcome, Kyle Busch
says his performance in the seasonopening
Daytona 500 was never going
to be a good indicator of whether his
team was back on track after a disappointing
finish to 2008.
Based on finishing position alone, that's
probably a good thing.
Busch heads into Sunday's Auto Club 500
fresh off a 41st-place finish in the 500, but that
was not indicative of how he was running in the
race. Until he became an unwitting victim of
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s on-track battle with Brian
Vickers - which collected nine cars - Busch
had led a race-high 88 laps.
In Busch's eyes, not even a victory would
foreshadow the rest of the season.
"Not really. Not here in Daytona," Busch
explained. "You know, the statement's more so
when we get to California, Vegas, Atlanta, that
we'll be a force to be reckoned with.
"(At) Daytona, we knew we'd run strong. We
felt confident about that. Our restrictor-plate
package is good. Toyota has done a wonderful
job for us. Mark (Cronquist) in the engine shop
has done a flawless job."
Speedweeks continue to show Busch is a
contender in any series he enters.
He was battling for the lead on the last lap in
the series openers for both the Truck and
Nationwide series, coming up short in attempts
for last-lap passes of the leaders. He still finished
second and fourth, respectively.
Busch won one of the two Gatorade
Duel races last Thursday and then ran
very
well in the 500 until his accident.
But
it was on NASCAR's
more routine
tracks - the short
tracks, 1.5-
and 2-mile tracks
where he
ran up most of
his eight
victories last
season -
where his prospects for
2009 will become
more clear.
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JEFF SINER/MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Kyle Busch finished 41st in the 2009 Daytona 500 despite leading a race-high 88 laps.
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"I really don't foresee us winning eight races
this year. If we happen to contend for wins and
win some races, that's great," Busch said. "We'd
like to get about five wins or so, but the competition
has caught up so much.
"Carl (Edwards) and Jimmie (Johnson) are
so strong that right now you've got to look at
those guys as being the ones who are going to
win the most races."
For the first 26 races of 2008, Busch and his
Joe Gibbs Racing team could seemingly do no
wrong. He won an virtually every type of track
in his first season with the team and amassed a
large points lead that gave him the No. 1 seed
heading into the final 10-race Chase for the
Sprint Cup.
That's when back luck and car problems
started to take their toll.
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Busch didn't win in the
Chase and finished a disappointing 10th in the
standings.
Asked if there were concrete items that could
be fixed in preparation for this season's championship
run, Busch replied, "There are things
(the team) can learn to turn it around - not
have sway-bar arms come off, not have blown
engines the second race into the Chase, not have
carburetor issues the third race into the Chase.
"There's really nothing I could have done
any differently. If it was all my fault I could
work on it, I could fix something. But I have no
idea what went wrong (with the cars)."
In any case, a clearer picture of Busch's
prospects should emerge this weekend.
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THAT'S RACIN'S TOP PICKS
1. Matt Kenseth (car No. 17):
Typically for Kenseth, he may never
get the credit he's due for winning
Daytona 500. Preseason ranking: 8.
2. Kevin Harvick (car No. 29): A
Shootout victory and a runner-up finish
in 500 made for a very solid
Speedweeks. Preseason ranking: 3.
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3. Kyle Busch (car No. 18): Had
the best car in the Daytona 500, but a
wreck not of his making ruined that.
Preseason ranking: 4.
4. Tony Stewart (car No. 14):
Teammate Ryan Newman struggled,
but Stewart came out of the gate
strong. Preseason ranking: 11.
5. Jeff Gordon (car No. 24): If
the race had gone the distance, he
might've been a factor. But it didn't,
so he wasn't. Preseason ranking: 6.
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6. Carl Edwards (car No. 99):
This team squeaked through
Speedweeks. Now it's on to his kind
of race track. Preseason ranking: 2.
7. Jimmie Johnson (car No. 48):
Champ stayed almost completely off
the radar for the entire duration of
Speedweeks. Preseason ranking: 1.
8. Mark Martin (car No. 5): If the
rain had come a different time, the
500 cards might have finally fallen
his way. Preseason ranking: 13.
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9. Denny Hamlin (car No. 11): It
could have been interesting if the 500
had come down to his car vs. Kyle
Busch's. Preseason ranking: 10
10. Greg Biffle (car No. 16):
There might not be anybody who's
happier that Speedweeks ended than
these guys. Preseason ranking: 5.
For the rest of the top-40
rankings, go online and
visit www.thatsracin.com
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AUTO CLUB 500
Where: Auto Club Speedway of Southern California, a 2.5-mile slightly banked paved oval located in Fontana, Calif.
When: Sunday at 6 p.m. (all times ET). Qualifying is 6:40 p.m. Friday.
TV:FOX
Edwards
Radio:Motor Racing Network.
Last year's winner: Carl Edwards.
Worth mentioning:CSinger Gavin Rossdale
will perform a pre-race concert prior to Sunday's race in the FanZone during the Auto Club 500 weekend. Also, driver Clint Bowyer will hold "story time" with kids during the speedway's Kids Club event and Carl Edwards, last year's winner, will be inducted into the Walk of
Fame.
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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
Kyle Busch's Toyota was strong at Daytona before he got wrecked, but the driver remains confident that his team is back on track after struggling in the 2008 Chase. What do you think?
Editor's note: Due to a technical glitch, we were unable to retrieve the results of last week's poll question. We apologize for the error.
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WHO'S HOT
 Matt Kenseth:
The race may have been shortened, but the win was well-earned. Kevin Harvick:
Great start to what could be a special season.
Richard Petty Motorsports: Three cars in the top nine? Somebody roll out the carpet for the King.
WHO'S NOT
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Taking out your frustrations is one thing; catching up innocent bystanders is another.
Logano
Joey Logano: Rough start but there is still a long season to go.
Race start times: It's
simple: If the 500 had started around 1 p.m. like it has most of its history, all 500 miles would have been raced.
- Jim Utter
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SPRINT CUP POINTS LEADERS
The top-40 drivers as of Feb. 15:
Rank/Driver Points Rank/Driver Points |
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1. Matt Kenseth . 190
2. Kevin Harvick . 170
3. A.J. Allmendinger . 165
4. Clint Bowyer .160
5. Elliott Sadler . 160
6. David Ragan . 150
7. Tony Stewart . 147
8. Michael Waltrip . 146
9. Reed Sorenson . 138
10.Martin Truex Jr. 135
11. Kurt Busch. . 134
12.Jeff Gordon . 129
13.David Reutimann. . 127
14.Juan Montoya . 121
15.Mark Martin . 120
16.Casey Mears . 118
17.Marcos Ambrose . 112
18.Carl Edwards . 109
19.John Andretti . 106
20.Greg Biffle . 103
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21.Bobby Labonte . 102
22.Regan Smith . 100
23.Bill Elliott . 94
24.Terry Labonte . 91
25.Scott Riggs . 88
26.Dale Earnhardt Jr. 87
27.Denny Hamlin . 85
28.Jeff Burton . 79
29.Kasey Kahne . 76
30.Aric Almirola . 73
31.Jimmie Johnson . 70
32.Sam Hornish Jr. 67
33.David Stremme . 64
34.Robby Gordon. . 61
35.Scott Speed . 58
36.Ryan Newman . 55
37.Jamie McMurray . 52
38.Kyle Busch. . 50
39.Paul Menard . 49
40.Brian Vickers . 46
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NATIONWIDE SERIES POINTS LEADERS
The top-20 drivers as of Feb. 14:
Rank/Driver Points Rank/Driver Points |
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1. Tony Stewart . 190
2. Carl Edwards . 175
3. Clint Bowyer . 175
4. Kyle Busch . 165
5. Greg Biffle . 160
6. Brian Vickers . 155
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 146
8. Jason Keller . 143
9. David Ragan . 142
10.Matt Kenseth . 139
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12.David Reutimann . 127
13.Joe Nemechek . 124
14.Michael McDowell . 121
15.Kenny Wallace . 120
16.Brendan Gaughan . 118
17.D.J. Kennington . 112
18.Mark Green . 109
19.Mike Wallace . 106
20.Joey Logano . 103
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NEXT RACE: Saturday, Stater Bros. 300, Fontana, Calif. |
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TRUCK SERIES POINTS LEADERS
The top-10 drivers as of Feb. 13:
Rank/Driver Points Rank/Driver Points |
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1. Todd Bodine . 195
2. Kyle Busch . 175
3. Terry Cook . 165
4. J.R. Fitzpatrick . 165
5. Ron Hornaday . 160
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6. Mike Skinner . 151
7. Timothy Peters . 150
8. Matt Crafton .147
9. Colin Braun . 143
10.Tayler Malsam . 134
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NEXT RACE: Saturday, San Bernardino County 200, Fontana, Calif. |
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Exciting Shootout undercut by mind-numbing qualifying |
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There are no excuses for Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
He messed up Sunday. Actually, he
messed up several times. He missed
his pit stall. He stopped his
car on the outside line of his
pit box. He put himself and
his team in a deep, deep
hole, and he was doing whatever
he could try to dig himself
out of it.
And then he really
messed up.
On Lap 146, heading
down the backstretch,
Earnhardt was trying to put
himself in position to be the
first car a lap down. He made a move
to the inside and Brian Vickers, also
battling for that same position, saw
him coming. Vickers, doing the same
thing all drivers do in restrictor-plate
races, moved down the track to block.
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There's a double yellow line down
there, and nobody can go below that
to make a legal pass. Not even
Earnhardt.
Earnhardt's move
was thwarted. His
only real option was
to back out of his
throttle and either try
to push Vickers up
past the cars to their
outside or try to go
around Vickers on the
high side. But
Earnhardt took another
path. He went
below the double-yellow
and put himself in a position to
do something that caused a problem.
Which is what he did.
Here's the point: What Vickers did
was a racing maneuever. The fact that
his car was where it was had nothing
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JEFF SINER/MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s collision with Brian Vickers caused a huge wreck at the Daytona 500.
to do with him making an error in
decision or judgment.
The same cannot be said for
Earnhardt. He messed up. He made
the mistake. Nobody is saying he
tried to wreck half the cars with the
best chance to win the race. Doesn't
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matter. That's what happened.
And he's going to have to take the
heat for it.
His fans have already started making
excuses for him and that's fine.
That's what fans do. But this one is
on Dale Jr.
The question now is what he and
his team do about it. Daytona is over
and the results are in. Now it's time to
go to California and Las Vegas and
the races beyond that and funnel the
frustrations over what happened in the
500 into something productive.
People are going to argue about
what happened in Daytona until
there's another race for them to argue
about. If Earnhardt starts winning, the
error he made Sunday won't amount
to much in the long run.
But for now, it's THE topic. And
for now, this one's on him.
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