Ron Thornton

Back we go to Pocono, where Martin Truex Jr. won in the spring, where all of the Hendrick drivers shared in winning the previous five. A Busch has won there, twice. His name is Kurt.

All we have heard all summer long is how great Kyle is at winning, how wonderful Kyle has been in making a comeback. Kyle, Kyle, Kyle. It is enough to make one channel their inner Jan Brady.

I have walked the Little Bighorn Battlefield more than once, seen Devil’s Tower and visited Mount Rushmore. I have watched the Red Sox play in Seattle, and I believe the scenery in Wyoming is second to none. I’ve been there, but I do not live there.

Welcome to the Busch Chronicles. Brother Kurt missed the opening three races of the season, won a couple and quickly qualified for a Chase place by being well within the Top 30 in points on the season. Brother Kyle missed the opening 11 events of the season after suffering a broken leg in the XFINITY race at Daytona.

You’ve got your Monster Mile in Dover and you’ve got your Hot Mile in Phoenix, but they are seeking to work a little magic on the mile in Loudon, New Hampshire. Kyle the Magnificent hopes he can continue pulling out of his hat the kind of results that have seen him win two of the last three events.

Seven races, two wins. Instead of sitting fifth in the standings, tucked in behind fellow two-race winners Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his brother, the Kentucky winner is left sitting 35th in the standings. Interestingly enough, he also sits just 87 points out of 30th and a place in the Chase, with eight events to go.

The thrills and the moments of dread of Daytona are behind us. Kentucky is next on the agenda, yet something tells me it arrives with not quite the same sense of anticipation. It still is racing, there is still a measure of danger attached to it, but it is not the same thing. Some think that is a good thing.

“That scared the hell out of me.” “That scared the hell out of me.” With those post-race words, race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. summarized exactly how every fan felt as they watched the end of the Sunday night/Monday morning race at Daytona. With those post-race words, race winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. summarized exactly how every fan felt as they watched the end of the Sunday night/Monday morning race at Daytona.

As the action returns to Daytona, Florida this weekend, I must admit something. I love the look of the Confederate battle flag. I love the stories of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. I loved the Dukes of Hazzard, good ole boys, and good ole girls even better.

Win and you are in, or so the saying goes. Well, not if it is only your fifth race, 16 events into the season. However, running together a string of 10 straight Top Fifteens or better is easier than taking one of these contests, and Kyle Busch checked that off his “to do” list at Sonoma Sunday.