Is Kyle Busch the Best Driver in NASCAR?

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The Shrub, won his third straight Nationwide Series race Sunday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez outside Mexico City. In order to pull that off, Rowdy Busch had to pass Scott Pruett, one of America’s very best, veteran road racers.

And don’t tell yourself that Pruett has a habit of getting passed at the end of these things. He doesn’t. He usually wins. Sure, Juan Pablo Montoya bumped past Scott in this very same event, at a similar stage of the race last year. But Juan Pablo is an acknowledged, world class, road course master. There is no shame in being passed by JPM.

Scott Pruett is 48 and has had a long successful career in just about anything with wheels. Juan Pablo is an Indy 500 and Formula One Grand Prix winner. Kyle Busch, at something like 22, is already a 27 time winner in NASCAR’s top three series. That’s amazing!

This latest win was Kyle The Younger’s first ever on a road course too. AP has this quote….

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“It’s fun to be able to win on a road course because there’s only certain guys that tend to be able to do it,” Busch said. “My first year, first year and a half … I was terrible. I sort of picked up on it a little bit, somehow.”

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Yeah, I guess. So now Kurt’s little brother leads the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series and sits an ominous second in the Sprint Cup Race to the Chase. Is he the best of the NASCAR best?

He might be. Sure, equipment plays a big part in success on the track. But to get a chance to drive the best cars - for the best teams - you have to be one of the most talented drivers. Kyle is.

Many vaunted athletes have been put in what appeared to be the perfect circumstances in which to thrive. Plenty have choked. Tiger Woods didn’t. Kyle Busch hasn’t.

After finishing second at this year’s Masters, Woods will have to wait until next year to make another attempt at Pro Golf’s Grand Slam. I hope Rowdy will decide to run the whole schedule of NASCAR’s majors. Taking the NASCAR Grand Slam would leave no doubt in my mind who the best in NASCAR was.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.