Kyle Busch’s nimble moves keep everyone guessing

BRISTOL, Tenn.

You see it, yet it’s hard to believe. There’s Kyle Busch’s car sliding far sideways before he catches it and keeps going. Every time. There’s Busch driving down the steep banking onto the flat apron in a corner. He’s four-wide and moving forward. There’s Busch off to one of the best starts in NASCAR history.

The 22-year-old brother of Kurt performs magic with his car, leaving fans guessing how he did that and drivers figuring out how to catch him.

Kurt Busch told anyone who would listen a few years ago that his younger brother was worth watching.

It’s hard to take your eyes off Kyle Busch these days as he blurs the line between daring and dangerous in a comfort zone few find.

Fans who once booed him now approve of his show. They serenaded him with cheers after his Sprint Cup win last weekend at Atlanta. That victory kept him atop the Cup points standings. He also leads the truck standings and was third in Nationwide points before Saturday’s race.

Numbers only measure part of his talent. He had won three of 11 races this season in Cup, Nationwide and truck entering this weekend. He nearly swept all three series races at Atlanta before he settled with becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to win a truck and Cup race in the same weekend.

Other drivers marvel at his ability. They describe him as a wheelman – among the top compliments a racer can get . They call him “amazing” and “talented,” and joke that he hasn’t hit enough walls yet.

To Busch, his driving style is just natural. It’s no big deal.

“When you go out and run as much as I do and do some of the moves that I guess I made, you’re always going to have people telling you that you need to back it down a notch,” said Busch, the defending winner of today’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Backing down, Busch notes, might not lead to the success he’s seen this year. He’s led nearly one-third of the 1,042 laps run in the Cup series this season. No other Cup driver can match his three top-five finishes this year.

Even so, the image of a sliding Busch is striking. Like any magician, there is a secret that makes those moves work. Busch benefits from the new car and the harder tire compound Goodyear uses.

The new cars, aided by the rear wing and endplates, make it easier for drivers to catch sliding cars. Drivers say that helps provide a cushion of air that slows the car’s slide, giving them a bit more time to catch the car. The harder tires handle that sliding without shredding , which benefits drivers such as Busch who like a loose race car with the rear end swinging like a gate.

Stacy Compton said racing behind Busch in last weekend’s truck race in Atlanta showed him what he needed to do to his truck.

“I’m thinking that I’ve got to get my truck that free,” Compton said. “I might wad it up when I try to get it that free but you know that you’ve got to run that free to be that fast. A lot of guys are seeing that, realizing that and heading in that direction.”

Tony Stewart, Busch’s teammate in the Cup series, says Busch’s dramatic moves can be traced back to the truck series.

“The amount of time he spent the last couple of years running (trucks) also probably have helped him adapt a little quicker to this newer car than some of the rest of us who were used to the cars from last year that were stuck to the ground a lot better,” Stewart said.

Busch’s act provides chills, but Jeff Gordon wonders if it will elicit the thrills that come with a series title.

“One of the true tests for Kyle is, 'Does he have what it takes in the heat of the moment throughout the whole season to be able to stay consistent?’” said Gordon, a former teammate at Hendrick Motorsports.

“Has his maturity level and his experience now reached the point for him to be able to do it on a consistent basis? Only time will tell.

“Talentwise, he’s through the roof,” Gordon said. “That’s not the issue. It’s how solid is that team and how solid is Kyle in the long run. None of us can answer that question right now. But I think they’re going to be really tough.”