Kyle Busch Is Hot, But ...

[DebWilliams-GFN]

By Deb Williams

Thirteen down and 13 races to go before the field for this year's Chase for the Championship is determined.

One might immediately say, “It's Kyle Busch's year.” And that's true, to a degree. After all, he's leading Jeff Burton in NASCAR's Sprint Cup standings by 142 points, and he's the series top lap leader, having set the pace on 39 occasions for 786 laps. That's 17.6 percent of the 4,464 laps completed this year. He's also won the most races this season – four – and his average running position is 7.849, the only driver in single digits. Busch's closest competitor in two of those statistics is Carl Edwards with three victories and an average running position of 10.877. However, Edwards is fourth in the standings, 337 points behind Busch, and he's sixth in laps led with 370.

Busch also is the fastest driver on restarts, which ranks each competitor on the speed of his first two laps under green flag conditions, with an 8.462. He's completed the most laps in the top 15 – 3,654 – and led the most miles, 1,184.43. Busch also is receiving the most publicity, not only for his accomplishments in Cup, but in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series as well where he has won four and two races, respectively. This weekend, he's drawing even more attention as he becomes the first driver ever to compete in NASCAR's top three series at three different tracks on the same weekend. On Friday night, he finished second in the trucks at Texas. On Saturday, it's the Nationwide Series in Nashville, Tenn., and Pocono, Pa., on Sunday in the Cup division.

It's normal for one competitor to emerge each year as the season's “hot” driver, and this year it's the 23-year-old Busch. It's also normal for one team to emerge as the organization everyone has to beat if they expect to place one of their drivers in victory lane. Last year, it was Hendrick Motorsports. This year, it's Joe Gibbs Racing.

In the first 13 Cup races this season, JGR's three drivers have led 1,805 laps and won five events. All three are also in the top 12 in the standings. While Busch is leading, Denny Hamlin is ninth and Tony Stewart 11th.

No doubt, at this stage in the season, Busch is definitely the favorite for the series title. However, when one takes a closer look, perhaps one should expect the unexpected when the title chase begins. That's because all three Richard Childress Racing teams are in the top 12 and three of Hendrick Motorsports' four teams also possess those coveted positions. Roush Fenway Racing has two teams in the top five, while the 12th position is rotating fairly regularly.

Currently, Kasey Kahne possesses it, however, David Ragan trails Kahne by a mere eight points, and Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman is 14th, 29 points behind Kahne.

When it comes to the fastest driver early in a run, that honor goes to Dale Earnhardt Jr. This category ranks each driver during the first 25 percent of laps run since a pit stop. Busch is second and Edwards third. Rounding out the top five, respectively, are Jeff Gordon and Hamlin.

However, when it comes to the fastest drivers late in a run – the way each driver performs in the last 25 percent of laps run since a pit stop – Hamlin is first. Busch is again second and Edwards third. Earnhardt Jr. is ranked fourth and Clint Bowyer fifth.

Edwards has produced the most fastest laps run this year – 461 for 12.2 percent. Second – Busch with 351 for 9.3 percent. Rounding out the top five, respectively, are Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin and Greg Biffle.

When it comes to the percentage of laps run on the lead lap, Burton emerges in the top position with 97 percent – 4,330 of 4,464. Edwards is second with 94.60 percent and Busch owns third with 88.91 percent. Rounding out the top five, respectively, are Biffle and Jimmie Johnson.

But if you're wondering who maneuvers through traffic the quickest, well, that honor goes to Stewart. In this category, each driver is ranked by his speed when another car is within one car length. Matt Kenseth is second and Busch third. Rounding out the top five, respectively, are Edwards and Hamlin.

So don't give the season to Busch just yet. There's still a long way to go.