THE KYLE BUSCH ERA BEGINS IN NASCAR.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo
 
Detroit. Several years ago I wrote a column suggesting that Kyle Busch was the most talented driver in the NASCAR garage area. This was at the height of the Jimmie Johnson title run and a few of you out there questioned my sanity because of it. But I stood by my assessment, and several knowledgeable people in the NASCAR garage area reached out to me and agreed. I even suggested that Kyle Busch in an F1 car would be a spectacular sight to see and an idea worth exploring, but his arena is in NASCAR, and he's about to blow the lid off of the sport in dominant fashion.
 
Lest you dismiss Busch's current run (see "The Line" -WG) as one of those NASCAR "streaks" that seem to crop up now and then, it's important to understand that we're seeing a very different Kyle Busch. This isn't the mercurial Busch of a few years ago, the guy who could go out and dominate any Xfinity (or Nationwide) race on any track, at any time, and then somehow fall flat in the Sprint Cup race at the same track. That guy was impetuous and impatient, and too often his missteps were of his own making.
 
No, this is more like the "Man in Full" Kyle Busch, the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and a much more mature individual, both on and off the track. Not only is Busch still bristling with more pure talent than any other driver in the garage area, he is now coupling that ability and talent with a perspective that has been hard won through some life-altering lessons, including the recovery and rehab from his massive crash and injuries suffered early last season at Daytona. A major incident that could have easily ended his career.
 
Busch grew from that and began to understand the importance of taking the long view, and what it really takes to compete and win on a regular basis at stock car racing's highest level. He has now learned to harness his prodigious talent and is using that new-found perspective to devastating effect, employing impressive race craft and putting forth an unwavering commitment to be the best that he can be.
 
Kyle Busch operating at a high level and on all cylinders could prove to be an ominous development for the rest of the drivers in the NASCAR garage.

I truly believe we're about to enter the Kyle Busch Era in NASCAR.
 
And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.

(Photo by John Harrelson/LAT Photo USA ©2016, courtesy of Toyota Racing)
Kyle Busch celebrates after his latest win Saturday night in Texas. See more in "The Line."


 

Editor's Note: “The Decision” is the first of five video shorts from the Ford Motor Company about the development of the Ford GT. It features Bill Ford Jr., Raj Nair, Dave Pericak and Edsel B. Ford II, who attended the 1966 race with his father, Henry Ford II. The shorts will culminate in one long-form documentary that will follow the development of both the Street Car and Race Car version of the Ford GT from the decision to build the cars to the return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (The Autoextremist makes a cameo appearance as well.) Watch it here. -WG

Editor's Note: Many of you have seen Peter's references over the years to the Hydrogen Electric Racing Federation (HERF), which he launched in 2007. For those of you who weren't following AE at the time, you can read two of HERF's press releases here and here. And for even more details (including a link to Peter's announcement speech), check out the HERF entry on Wikipedia here. -WG

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Photo by Dave Friedman, courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Indianapolis, Indiana, 1965. The great Jim Clark talking with Lotus designer Colin Chapman during practice for that year's Indianapolis 500. Clark would score a dominant win in the race in his No. 82 Lotus-Ford 38, leading 189 of the 200 laps. Parnelli Jones (No. 98 J.C. Agajanian Hurst Lotus-Ford) finished second and Mario Andretti (No. 12 Al Dean/Dean Van Lines Hawk-Ford) was third. Watch a video of that race here.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD