Is Kyle Busch's Season a "Royal" Butt Kicking?

It was in 1975 that The King, Richard Petty, set the modern era record for wins in a season at 13.

 

It wasn’t until 1998 that his record was even matched, as Jeff Gordon won 13 races that year.

 

After that, it was almost a decade before another driver even broke into the double-digit column for wins in a season, when Jimmie Johnson recorded ten, last year.

 

This year, we may be in store for another driver recording double-digit wins, as Kyle Busch currently sits on seven, with three coming in the last four races.

 

Certainly he is within striking distance of ten or more wins.

 

But, is it possible that he could equal, or even surpass, that mark set by, The King.

 

How realistic is a 14-win season for the driver called, Wild Thing, Rowdy Busch, and Shrub?

 

With all things said, he should be able to make run at the seemingly unbeatable mark.

 

The Joe Gibbs Racing organization is performing the best this year.

 

The No. 18 is consistently one of the best cars at every race. Kyle Busch may be the most talented driver in the series right now.

 

Plus, with his tally at seven, and with 17 races remaining, he seems to have the necessary time to at least match that record.

 

It won’t be as easy as it seems.

 

When Gordon recorded his 13 wins in ’98, he had to have a streak of four in a row during the summer and then win three of the final four races to simply tie Petty.

 

Like Busch this year, Gordon was driving the best car and was dominating that year’s championship.

 

In addition, his closest rival that year, Mark Martin, recorded a career high six wins, making Gordon constantly compete for wins through the summer rather than relax and coast until the end.

 

Drivers will all too often get hot, but then fizzle out as the season progresses.

 

Or, drivers who may struggle early on will get hot and win several races in the latter half of the season.

 

For example, in 2005, Greg Biffle won five of the first 15 races.

 

However, his season tapered off, and his next win came in the final race, leaving his tally that year at six.

 

Although more than respectable, that number didn’t even cover half of the wins needed to match Petty.

 

At the same time, Tony Stewart, who had struggled early on that season, won five races in a seven-race stretch during that summer.

 

Like Biffle, his win tally tapered off, and he didn’t have another win that year.

 

Additionally, Kyle Busch has gone through this season with the proverbial target on his back. He has been this year’s rabbit: the first half of this season has seen Rowdy run and hide from the field, with the occasional sighting of him being his back bumper.

 

How long will it take before somebody hits that target he has?

 

Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have been quietly improving.

 

Dale Jr. may not have the wins, but he’s equally as consistent as Busch.

 

Carl Edwards had a hot streak of his own earlier this year, winning three of the first seven races in 2008.

 

How long before he regains that form?

 

Kyle Busch may be the rabbit in the Sprint Cup Series’ “regular season,” but he’ll have everyone on top of him after the Richmond race.

 

Could Kyle Busch win ten or more races this year?

 

It’s certainly possible, and I’ll say probable given that he only needs three more wins to reach ten.

 

Will he break The King’s record of thirteen?

 

I say, no!

 

He’ll have too much other pressure to deal with other than trying to break a record, which I see as unbreakable.

Then again, I didn’t see him winning two restrictor plate races and a road race so far.