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CUP: Busch’s Big Break Came In So. Cal.
Written by: Tom Jensen   
08/29/2008 - 12:46 PM
Fontana, Calif.
 
The story of Kyle Busch's first victory will be on SPEED's Raceday, Sunday at 5pm. (John Harrelson/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos

Unless you’ve spent the last six months living in a cave, you know that the 2008 NASCAR season pretty much as been all Kyle Busch, all the time.

The 23-year-old Las Vegas native leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup points standings by a whopping 212 points and has the most victories (eight) and top fives (15) in the series. He also has obliterated the modern-era record for most wins in NASCAR’s top-three divisions in a single season, with 17 total victories in the Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series.

Until the evening of Sept. 4, 2005, though, Kyle Busch was regarded mostly as simply the younger brother of then-reigning NASCAR Cup champion Kurt Busch. But on that evening, Busch was able to capture his first Cup victory at Auto Club Speedway, site of this weekend’s Pepsi 500.

Driving a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, led 95 laps at the 2-mile track. He was leading when a debris caution flew on Lap 240, 10 laps before the scheduled end of the event. He held the lead through a two-tire pit stop and prevailed through a green-white-checkered shootout that extended the race to 254 laps. Thus, Busch was able to win his first Cup race in his 31st start

“My nerves were getting to me,” Busch said after the race. “When I made that last pit stop (under caution), everybody followed me in and I thought, ‘Cool, we’re going to be all right.’ That stop is what got us the win.”

The California victory made the talented Busch the youngest Sprint Cup race winner in NASCAR history. Two months later, a victory at Phoenix International Raceway would put Busch in elite company as one of only seven drivers to win multiple Cup races as a rookie. The victory at ACS also propelled Busch to Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors. And when you figure that Busch also earned his first career Cup pole here on Feb. 27, 2005, it’s no wonder he likes
Auto Club Speedway.

“I like California,” said Busch, who already has clinched the No. 1 seed in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. “It’s a fun track. You can run all over the place with it. You can run low, you can run high. And there are plenty of opportunities and areas to pass. So it’s a neat race track. It’s the place where I got my first Cup win, so that was definitely a lot of fun. Overall, I enjoy racing at California.”

For much more on the story of Kyle Busch’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory, tune into SPEED’s NASCAR RaceDay Sunday at 5 p.m., live from Auto Club Speedway.

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

Attention Race Fans! Play SPEED's 'CHASE For The FANTASY CUP' Pick a team of 5 championship drivers every week... Compete throughout the 10 CHASE race weeks. Cash prizes are awarded to teams with the most year-to-date and weekly points!
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