As children we are taught two things: to share your toys and never to tell secrets.
As race car drivers, you are taught to share information with your teammates and never to tell your secrets of success. The one word that is repeated is: teamwork.
Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. Always work with your teammate.
When one succeeds, they all say they're happy for them and glad for the organization. Although you know that they're standing there wondering why it was someone else and not them.
In 2008, the performance from certain teams, however, is making it hard to believe that teamwork is taking place.
Three perfect examples are Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.
Through the first 26 races, Kyle Busch was the man to beat. He piled up eight wins, 17 top fives, 21 top tens and led 1,673 laps which prompted fans and media alike to crown him the 2008 Sprint Cup Champion. They were also looking where his place would be in history and making comparisons to Dale Earnhardt.
He won on superspeedways, short tracks and road courses, as Joe Gibbs Racing became the team to beat. Except, it wasn’t Joe Gibbs Racing, it was Kyle Busch.
His JGR teammates, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart, were nowhere near as dominant as Busch was. Hamlin won his first and only race of the year at Martinsville in his home state, the eighth event. After that, he never saw victory lane again and slid through the standings.
At Michigan, he said that his team didn’t deserve to be in the Chase with the way they were performing.
Tony Stewart, on the other hand, had his own drama going on. He led laps and dominated races, such as Bristol and Charlotte and was in contention for the win until late when problems arose. Problems such as Kevin Harvick and a blown tire.
Then he announced that he would be leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at season's end to form his own team. It was another ending of an era between driver and team.
Stewart made the Chase but was still winless...until Talladega rolled around and NASCAR declared Stewart the winner after Regan Smith passed him under the yellow line.
No matter the way or race, Stewart had broken his winless streak. But it didn’t help salvage his rocky season.
Kyle Busch was running away from the field and his teammates were just hoping to stay within his dust.
But as the Chase approached, Busch received some company in the form of Carl Edwards who was carrying the banner for his organization, Roush Fenway Racing.
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