It Could’ve Been Better For Kyle Busch But He Offers No Excuses O

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It Could’ve Been Better For Kyle Busch But He Offers No Excuses O

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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle, will not be on the stage tonight when NASCAR stages its annual ceremony to honor 2011 Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart.

Only the drivers who finished among the top 10 in the final point standings will be on hand to receive recognition – and the monetary awards that come with it.

Kyle wound up 12th in points; his older brother 11th.

It seems a shame the two will not be at the festivities conducted at the Wynn Hotel on Vegas’ celebrated Strip. After all, the town called ‘Sin City’ is their home.

Now, it would come as no surprise if both of them decided to ignore the event, given they are intense competitors and seemingly wouldn’t care much to see glory heaped on others.

But as far as Kyle is concerned, that won’t be so.

“Yeah, I’m going to watch,” the younger Busch said. “To have Champions Week on home turf is nice.

It seems there’s a lot positive about it.

“Having it in Vegas, it seems there is a lot more areas for drivers to play, if you will, and spend some good times, whether they make money or lose money.

“We like it here, not just Kurt and I, but I think most of the guys think it’s a good place for it.”

It was widely anticipated that Kyle would indeed be a part of the celebration and, perhaps, even the driver honored as the 2011 champion.

He was No. 1 in the point standings when the 10-race Chase began after the 26th race of the year at Richmond. He had already won four races, strengthening his reputation as the driver whose ability to win on NASCAR’s top three national tours – which includes Nationwide and Camping World Trucks – is unparalleled.

But what has plagued him and his Joe Gibbs Racing team in the past reared its ugly head again. Busch’s performances in the last 10 races of the season were, by his standards, sub-par.

“All in all, there were certainly some highs and lows during the year,” Busch said. “And not having the right final 10 races hit us again.

“It seems like we just can’t figure out the Chase thing. But, it was what it was, and we’ll move on to 2012.”

“It was what it was” included an incident that effectively removed all hopes the younger Busch had of winning a title – and, for that matter, finishing among the top 10.

At Texas Motor Speedway, site of the eighth of 10 Chase races, Busch planned to run in three events – in truck, Nationwide and Cup.

In the truck race an angered Busch deliberately wrecked Ron Hornaday. The response from NASCAR was harsh.

He was not permitted to drive in either remaining event in Nationwide or Cup.

Naturally, his absence in the Cup event cost him an unrecoverable amount of valuable points and, obviously, removed him from championship contention. He fell to the rear of the point standings.

Busch did apologize for his actions at Texas. Beyond that, logic dictates that one of his regrets was they ultimately took him off the stage in Vegas when it could have been otherwise.

But when asked if he had a singular regret; any one thing he wish had happened or he had done differently, Busch was candid, direct and honest with his answer:

“Nope, nope, nope.”

Maybe he won’t be part of the ultimate celebration, but Busch got to enjoy time in Champions Week as one of the honorees at the annual National Motorsports Press Association’s Myers Brothers Award luncheon, which incorporates the presentation of all the season’s contingency awards, given to the drivers who have earned them.

One of the awards is the Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap Award, given to the driver who, over the season, most often established the fastest lap in each race.

The younger Busch was the winner and got his share of the more than $1 million in contingency loot.

“Yeah, the Goodyear Gatorback Award was pretty cool,” he said. “I didn’t know that we had won anything so I was kinda surprised when I had to go up there and accept it.

“I was trying to think of something to say. But in the end, to come out here and be a part of NASCAR’s Champions Week is fun. We’ve had a great time.”

Busch might have an even greater time when Champions Week rolls around at the end of the 2012 season.

There are more than a few who feel that it’s likely to happen if, somehow, he manages to keep his temper in check.

But what is certainly needed is for he and his team to keep the high level of performance they have clearly displayed over the first 26 races of each season intact over the final 10.

Busch apparently agreed when asked to grade his team for 2011.

“It’s hard to grade on your own,” he said, “because we always grade low because we feel, no matter how we did, that we did not meet our expectations

“But I’d say our No. 18 team, with all the accomplishments we’ve had this year, certainly through the first 26 races, we were an ‘A’ or an ‘A-plus.’

“Over the last 10 races, we were a ‘D.’

“You just have to keep working at it. You have to get better as a team and make the circumstances better.”