Analysis: Kyle Busch keeps making long weekend stories short
You know, every week I try and look at what happened from the previous race weekend, take a look at the upcoming weekend or weigh in on any storyline that might be a hot topic in NASCAR.
When you look at what's happened the last two weeks, the story for this week is really pretty short -- "Kyle Busch wins again."
Seriously, what can be said this week that wasn't said last week? Right now the sport of NASCAR is all about Kyle Busch. It's the Kyle Busch story.
Since his comeback last May from his broken leg and broken foot, this storyline has been nothing but phenomenal. Don't get me wrong, his comeback is not a short story by any means but it certainly is when you start looking at who is doing all the winning.
The young man is our defending 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. Two weeks ago we were in Martinsville. Kyle won the NASCAR Camping World Truck race on Saturday and then turned right around to win his first-ever Cup race on Sunday at Martinsville.
Fast forward to last week. Kyle wins the NASCAR XFINITY race on Friday evening in Texas. Then after rain delays and a big pileup of cars, he wins Saturday night in the Cup race there.
That marks Kyle's ninth sweep of a race weekend. He is now our points leader. He has two wins, six top-five and six top-10 finishes in seven starts this year. It's really unbelievable. He's just all but invincible right now. He didn't have the best car Saturday night. He only led 34 laps but that was there at the end after the big wreck.
I know I've mentioned it many times before, but there's a maturity factor to Kyle that's taken him to a whole other level where before he just out-ran folks most of the time by God-given ability.
He and crew chief Adam Stevens have unbelievable chemistry. Kyle has matured enough that he's learned patience. He allows Adam and the team to make adjustments on the car to make it better for Kyle.
Kyle is real smooth and consistent. For those of you who listen in on the in-car radio transmissions, his snarky, sarcastic comments are not really there anymore. He gives great input and feedback on what the car feels like or is doing, which again, allows Adam and the team make improvements to give him a chance to win.
I encourage you when you are watching our FOX NASCAR broadcasts and we go to the in-car shots of the No. 18 car, watch Kyle's hands on the wheel. As I like to say, the young man "holds a pretty wheel."
There's a lot of information you can pick up on just from that shot. You rarely see Kyle fighting with the car. He's as smooth as anyone I've ever seen. He gently steers that car around the race track. He doesn't snap it to the left or the right. There actually is very little movement in the wheel at all.
Being smooth like that pays huge dividends particularly at a place like Texas where the older surface was eating up tires with lap times dropping off two or three seconds in a run. The less movement you put in the wheel equates to saving your tires and making your speeds last longer than the others.
There are just a lot of reasons why Kyle is as good as he is. We all know he is determined and driven. He's driven to win and he drives to win. Kyle expects to win. Second place means nothing to him. His confidence is high. Momentum is flowing the No. 18 car's way, so right now Kyle and his team are unstoppable. If it couldn't get any worse for the other competitors, since we're going to Bristol this weekend and that's a track Kyle loves.
The other thing you have to admire about Kyle is his conditioning. Obviously we all saw what he had to suffer through following that devastating wreck in February 2015, to be able, not only to simply get back in the car in May of last year but to win races and win the championship.
It's clear that type of conditioning has also paid dividends and carried over to 2016. There are no better examples than the last two weekends.
Two weeks ago Kyle ran 750 laps at Martinsville. It was 250 on Saturday in the truck race and then 500 on Sunday in the Cup race.
Last Friday night he ran 300 miles in the XFINTY race and then turns right around to run 500 miles on Saturday night in the Cup car. All those laps, all those miles and four wins in four races. That's nothing but phenomenal in my book.
I hated seeing Mother Nature get involved Saturday night and make for a late start of the race but it was what it was.
I had my eye on Martin Truex Jr. to get his first win of the season. He was the fastest car in both practice sessions. He started third and led 141 of 334 laps. Every week I pick out and focus on a driver I think is going to be a major factor in the race. That doesn't mean he or she is my favorite driver, but it's the one I am keeping my eye on that particular weekend.
I think probably he and crew chief Cole Pearn have looked back at what happened Saturday night and agreed they probably cost themselves that race by not pitting when they should have.
Those are just things that happen in racing. Hopefully you learn from them and try not to make the same mistake next time. Let's face it, NASCAR isn't an exact science. You go with your best instincts. Sometimes it pays off and then other times it doesn't. Martin had the car to beat all night long but came home in sixth spot.
Even though they didn't get the win, it was a great night for Hendrick Motorsports. They had all four cars finish in the Top 10 Saturday night. Dale Jr. fought his car all night long but still had a great second-place finish.
Jimmie Johnson was going for his fourth win in a row at Texas Motor Speedway but came up a little short finishing fourth. Rookie teammate Chase Elliott finished right behind him in fifth.
The fourth member of the team, Kasey Kahne got a much needed top 10 coming home eighth. What's interesting to note is this is the first time since the Texas race last year that all four Hendrick cars had finished in the top 10.
As mentioned, Kyle won, but his teammate Carl Edwards led 124 laps and came home seventh. Their other teammate Matt Kenseth led 20 laps and just missed a top-10 finish coming home 11th. Stewart-Haas Racing had two of their four cars in the top 10. Kurt Busch finished ninth and Kevin Harvick was tenth.
I actually thought Joey Logano in the No. 22 car was going to be more of a player Saturday night than he was. Even though he started on the outside of the front row he didn't lead a lap all night, but after it was all said and done, he still brought his Ford home in third spot.
Some other guys were having great runs like Austin Dillion, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. but they all got wiped out in the big wreck which was unfortunate. They still were able to salvage the night and have decent finishes. Bayne and Stenhouse came home 15th and 16th, respectively, while Dillion brought the No. 3 car home in 19th.
So now we are back to short track racing at my all-time favorite race track -- Bristol Motor Speedway. It's the last great coliseum which is unveiling Colossus, which is the ultimate in big screen TV. It's going to be hanging out over the middle of the infield now. The weather looks picture-perfect so that's going to make for a phenomenal weekend at a phenomenal track.
I just wonder if Kyle Busch is going to do what Kyle Busch does -- win?
