Kyle Busch’s incredible season finally gets its proper recognition Saturday when he’s crowned the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch needs only to start the Ford 300 to claim the title. “I feel like any championship in NASCAR is something to be proud of,” Busch said.
He’s led the series standings for the last 28 weeks, 29 overall. His eight wins lead the series. He’s amassed a series-record 2,625 laps led. He added to his series mark for the most perfect Driver Ratings (150.0) by collecting four this year, bringing his career total to eight. He’s secured the first series driver title for Joe Gibbs Racing and for the first time in two years, has unified the driver and owner championship. This is JGR’s second consecutive owner title.
Kyle Busch is either loved or hated by race fans. Jenna Fryer, Yahoo Sports, put it best when she said “There’s no middle ground with the confident – some even say cocky – Busch, who rubs people the wrong way when he’s both winning and losing. Either way, he’s exciting, passionate and races hard, forcing everyone around him to raise their game.”
"Through my whole racing career, once I started, it was all about winning. That's the way I was brought up," Busch added. "It was all about going out there and getting the checkered flag and bringing home the trophy and kissing the pretty girl. That's pretty much how Kurt [Busch] and I were both raised, and when we finished second or third in our local short track days, we went home mad. We weren't happy that we were there because we weren't there to finish second or third."
One thing you can never take away from Kyle Busch is the fact that he has an immense amount of talent. I admit that his behavior and the fans response make it interesting at times. I guess it's kind of like pro wrestling. The existence of villains keeps things lively.
He is exactly what NASCAR needs, someone who keeps the fans coming back for more, good or bad.
Watch out for this guy next year, although he won’t be running full time in the Nationwide Series, he will put on one hell of a show in Cup.
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