Published: July 26, 2008 11:44 pm            

From the Press Box: Kyle Busch ... are you experienced?

Speedway — Do you get the feeling Kyle Busch has been in your face all summer?

When you tune in a NASCAR race, there’s Kyle Busch, usually in Victory Lane, always wearing a smug grin molded by early success that hasn’t yet been eroded by the maturity of years.

Kyle Busch-related punditry is a cottage industry. Busch’s exploits — on and off the track — are chronicled to the point that Speed Network could probably spin off its own Kyle Busch network.

I see the No. 18 and a checkered flag flashes in the free association test in my mind. Many NASCAR fans just see red. If you turn down your TV volume, you could probably still hear the boos of a NASCAR nation that can’t abide smelling the sweet smell of Busch’s success.

There’s no denying that its been a Kyle Busch summer. The 23-year-old has a whopping 262-point lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, with seven wins along the way.

The attention afforded Busch, justified though it is, means nothing if history is a teacher at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. No matter the race, no matter the car, no matter the talent, the track rarely repays youthful exuberance alone with race victories.

And despite his 2008 success, despite his talent, it’s hard not to get the feeling that Busch still needs to earn his rep at Indianapolis.

OK, that admittedly comes off as ridiculous given that he’s won seven times, but he hasn’t won one of NASCAR’s signature races yet, the next logical step in his progression. His biggest wins this year came at Darlington and Daytona, but in the 400, not the 500. What he’s already done this season is amazing, but it seems as if he needs something extra to cement it.

On that front, Busch flies in the race of Indianapolis tradition. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway likes a little gray with its checkered flag. That metaphor pushes it a tad, but experience always pays off at Indy, no matter what race it is.

This has been especially true in the Brickyard 400 and it was evident in Saturday qualifying. The top 10 spots in the field are occupied by drivers who have an average 10.3 years of experience in NASCAR Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup. There are two former winners (Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon) in the top 10.

The Speedway is the place grizzled veterans like Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott could kick back and get comfortable ... all former winners who had at least 15 years of NASCAR experience under their belts when they won at Indy. Only two non-championship winning drivers have ever won the Brickyard — Rudd and Kevin Harvick.

Why is Indianapolis so tough on inexperienced drivers? It’s simplicity hides its complexity.

“It’s a track that’s extremely inviting and makes you want to drive into the corners steep. But you get penalized if you don’t hit the corner right, the straightaways are so long, that if you miss the center of the turn or get in too hard, you can’t get off the corner,” Johnson said. “I know my marks, I know my reference points. It’s tough as a rookie. Tough as a guy that doesn’t have a lot of experience in these cars to come and run well here. Probably one of the more difficult tracks to run at.”

So is Kyle Busch experienced?

Though he is young, Busch is no rookie. He has three Brickyard races under his belt. Befitting the Indianapolis experience factor, he’s finished better in each of his races, from 10th in 2005 to fourth in 2007.

He fits the historic profile of championship-winning drivers who won the Brickyard during their championship seasons. Gordon, Johnson, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart all won at Indy during their championship seasons.

He starts 19th, but in recent years, starting position hasn’t been a good indicator of where a race winner will finish. Three of the last four Brickyard winners started outside the top 10. The Toyota’s don’t seem to have the pace at Indy, but Busch has conquered that in other races this season. Busch was better in Saturday’s post-qualifying practice sessions, turning the 10th fastest lap in the first session.

Indianapolis, one of the hardest NASCAR tracks to make an on-track pass, also awards patience. As much as Busch’s brashness would seem to suggest he’s impatient on the track, he can be deft when it comes to race management. Some of his race victories, notably his last one at Chicagoland Speedway on July 12, came when he put himself in a position to pounce on Jimmie Johnson during a late restart.

A win at Indianapolis would be the biggest win of his career to date. Is Busch experienced? Every time I want to say no, that he’s not ready to win at Indianapolis yet, I get the feeling he’s paid his dues enough to take a race-winning bow after today’s race.

Sometimes hype is justified. Kyle Busch might just be in our face more than ever after the day is done.



Todd Golden is sports editor of the Tribune-Star. He can be reached at (800) 783-8742, ext. 4 or todd.golden@tribstar.com

        

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