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CUP: ‘Shrub’ Could be Sunday Spoiler
Written by:
Tom Jensen
03/28/2008 - 08:30 AM
Martinsville, Va.
Kyle Busch's M&M's Toyota Camry was fastest in the first session of practice for the Daytona 500. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos
If anyone can break the stranglehold that Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have on the venerable Martinsville Speedway, it just might be NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch, who had top fives in both races there last year.
Busch, who was leading the Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago when ran into a he mechanical issue, will be looking for his first Martinsville victory Sunday in the Goody’s Cool Orange 500. He said he’s up to the task and ready to challenge his former Hendrick Motorsports teammates, who have won eight of the last 10 races here.
“I typically run well at the short tracks for whatever reason -- I don’t know what that is,” said Busch. “At the beginning of my career I always sucked at these short tracks, but now I’ve gotten better at them and just gotten used to what they are. To me, I look forward to them. I’m not sure if I sort of won the short-track points last year or not, but I know that I was up there and had some great finishes at them so hopefully that will only continue this year.”
The first step in winning for Busch would be a good qualifying spot, something he hasn’t had in the past. “There are just places that you struggle at when you first get there as a new guy getting to that race track, but then once you start learning things about it then you start picking up on it and I tend to be able to qualify pretty well normally at those,” said Busch, who has qualified in the top 10 just once in six prior Sprint Cup starts here. “This is one of those places and probably the only place that has eluded me in doing that. I’ve got some work in my Cup stuff - on the truck side I’ve qualified third
Even if he doesn’t start up front, Busch knows he can get there, if he takes his time. “The biggest thing is just during the race you have to be patient,” he said. “There are 500 laps here, there’s so much that can go on and the first year I was just so impatient about trying to get to the front. … Learning the patience of this place and learning how to run around in a line or if you can make some passes - try to make them clean and not run over anybody. It’s just about trying to keep your equipment clean and make your way to the front nice.”
As for his personality, Busch said he’s the same old “Shrub” he’s always been. “People either love me or hate me,” he said. “So love me or hate me, I don’t care. My personality is what it is. … People want us to show our emotion and ourselves and go out there and do whatever we do outside the race car and then they criticize us for it so you can’t ever win. It’s an uphill battle and whatever people have to say they will say. For me, whatever I can do to go out there and win a race and put it back at them - that's what I’m going to do.”
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 numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association.
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