Nascar- Gibbs Related

Kyle Busch is defying logic

By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports May 1, 1:22 pm EDT

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Kyle Busch celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Aaron's 499 Dream Weekend race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama April 27, 2008. REUTERS/Robert LeSieur
Kyle Busch celebrates in victo…
Reuters - Apr 27, 10:01 pm EDT

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Kyle Busch isn’t just flying high in the midst of a spectacular season, he’s also flying in the face of racing logic.

For how many drivers can you think of who were released by their former team – and in this case, NASCAR’s premier organization in Hendrick Motorsports – only to immediately do markedly better in their new environment than their old one?

Let’s go back the last five years for a few examples of drivers who left their teams – voluntarily or otherwise – and see what happened to them since:

• Brian Vickers got the same “Thanks, it’s been nice knowing you” routine from the same Hendrick Motorsports organization that torpedoed Busch one year later. Today, Vickers is still way behind performance-wise with Red Bull Racing than he was at HMS.

• Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray asked to be released from their respective contracts, only to fail to come anywhere close to the achievements with their new teams that they had with their previous teams.

After a struggle in 2006, Busch made the Chase last season, but has been inconsistent in 2008, while McMurray continues to be lost in translation for the third straight year with Roush Fenway Racing.

• Robby Gordon left Richard Childress Racing, claiming he always wanted to own his own full-time Cup team – although it’s more likely Gordon jumped ship before he was pushed from the best Cup ride he’s ever had. He’s had eight top 10s in three-plus seasons since.
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• Michael Waltrip left DEI when he was told his contract was not going to be renewed, although Waltrip’s side of the story is he voluntarily agreed to leave so that he could start his own multi-car team. In his second season as an owner, Waltrip is way behind where he was at DEI.

This isn’t to say everyone leaves where they came from only to fall flat on their face. Dale Earnhardt Jr. left DEI and is thriving at Hendrick Motorsports.

But that’s exactly my point. Hendrick isn’t a place you leave to find more success. It’s a destination.

But not to the younger Busch brother.

In the short time since leaving Hendrick for Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch’s career has taken off. He’s second in the Sprint Cup Series, third in the Nationwide Series and sixth in the Craftsman Truck Series. He’s beating racing’s most experienced and successful veterans and he’s making it look easy.

What’s up with that?

It would be easy to surmise that Busch is on a tear because he wants to stick it to Rick Hendrick for casting him aside in favor of Earnhardt Jr. After all, Hendrick had Busch in his stable for nearly four years, seemingly grooming him to some day replace Jeff Gordon.

But there’s got to be more to it than that. And I think there is.

Joe Gibbs has proven he’s pretty good at handling young talent, especially the fiery kind. He’s nurtured Denny Hamlin into a championship contender. He did the same thing a decade ago with a then brash, young Tony Stewart. And now, it seems, he’s doing the same thing with Kyle Busch.

You also have to wonder how Busch fit in at Hendrick. In a place where Gordon and Jimmie Johnson could do no wrong, did Busch feel comfortable enough to be himself? And if not, how did this impact his willingness to be himself on the track?

Maybe only now, having stepped out from underneath the buttoned-up umbrella at Hendrick, has his true personality – both off and on the track – emerged.

“I left there on some pretty good terms,” a matured Busch said after Sunday’s Sprint Cup win at Talladega. “There’s no hard feelings there or no shoving it in their face saying I’m better than you or anything like that. It’s just go out there and do the best I can possibly do for myself and for these guys with Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I’m fortunate to be hooked up with this bunch, with Joe (Gibbs) and J.D. (Gibbs) and Steve Addington leading the calls on the box,” he continued. “It’s special to have the results so far this year.”

Still, it’s not supposed to work this way. You’re not supposed to leave Hendrick and immediately plant yourself at the top of the points standings. You’re not supposed to leave there and win more races. You’re not supposed to leave the sport’s most successful operation and consider it a good career move.

But leaving Hendrick for JGR has been all of those things for Busch. In hindsight, the only way this seemingly could have gone any better for Rowdy is if he had made the move sooner.