Friday, May 20, 2005 | 10:33 a.m.
Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
One of the first questions Kyle Busch, the cherub-cheeked Las Vegas youngster who on weekends drives the No. 5 NASCAR Kellogg's Chevy like a bat out of hell, was asked during a teleconference with a small group of West Coast reporters was the obvious one.
Eleven races into his first full-time season in stock car racing's marquee division, semi-inquiring minds wanted to know what has been the most challenging part of becoming one of the good ol' young boys currently carving up the asphalt.
Passing on the high side at Darlington?
Running in a 25-car, 195-mph freight train at Talladega?
Staying on Tony Stewart's good side?
Nope. None of those.
Busch, 20, said the most difficult thing about driving a Nextel Cup car full-time is finding time for lunch on race weekend. And he wasn't joking.
"On track stuff has been real easy," said The Shrub, the younger brother of reigning Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch. "But we've had a few Busch (Series) starts, which has gotten kind of confusing when you're not able to get lunch here and there. Especially at Richmond (site of last week's race, where he finished fourth). You practice from 10-12 in the Busch car and then from 12:10-2 in the Cup car so you've only got 10 minutes there."
So much for the supposed difficult transition from the Busch Series to Nextel Cup.
Most guys his age would be overwhelmed by the prospect of trading paint with the likes of grizzled NASCAR veterans such as Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin and Ricky Rudd. That Busch is more concerned about finding a sandwich at the track speaks volumes about just how unaffected he is by his surroundings and the fast crowd with which he is running.
On the track, he's 22nd in points heading into this weekend's NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge at Charlotte and leading the rookie-of-the-year points. Only he's not exactly satisfied with that.
"Not necessarily," Busch said. "I think we are a little behind where we wanted to be, actually. We've had some real decent cars and we've had some good runs. We just haven't had the finishes that we wanted. I think it's all (attributable) to getting started and getting everything going and trying to get some bad luck off our side. But everything else, and the way the season is going so far ... I guess it hasn't been too bad for a rookie."
Sometimes, it has been pretty darn good. Like during his return home to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, where he finished second, one spot ahead of his big brother.
There was a stint during the race where the Busches turned the track into one long hedgerow as they ran nose-to-tail and side-by-side, although after the race, Kyle acted as if he didn't know that was his big brother running up his tailpipe.
"I'm trying to think of a time where we ran side-by-side together. I don't know if he passing me ... he was probably passing me," Kyle said during the postrace news conference.
Comments such as those make you wonder if racing against his sibling is a bigger deal to the media than it is to the brothers.
"I think so," Kyle Busch said. "If Kurt and I are racing against each other for the win, then obviously that's a big deal for both of us. Just to be out there on the same level as Kurt now is definitely a dream come true, not only for myself, but of course for mom and dad (Gaye and Tom) as well.
"Every week we get on the racetrack and try to find each other. Kurt, he'll reach out the window and give me the thumbs-up sometimes when I'm doing really well. He did that this past weekend."
The brothers are forced to keep their distance before and after the race because they are not teammates. Kurt drives for car owner Jack Roush, Kyle for Rick Hendrick. Both are fortunate in that they have aligned themselves with two of NASCAR's biggest teams and have been able to tap into famous and talented teammates for advice and information.
For Kurt, it was Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. Kyle has been bending the ears of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Terry Labonte inside the Hendrick stable.
"I've learned a lot," Kyle Busch said. "It's been great to learn from both Jeff and Jimmie and Brian (Vickers) and Terry as well. For Hendrick Motorsports, everyone works so closely together and all of the information is shared between the teams. The shop doors are always open.
"I am trying to put it all to use on the racetrack. I am trying to be one big sponge and take it all in."
And if you were anywhere near press row at last year's World of Outlaws race at LVMS, you know that Busch is not just making that stuff up for a sound bite. I recall looking into the hospitality booth just to the right of the press box where Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader were holding court. Tom Busch, Kyle and Kurt's dad, was standing in the back of the box but the cubicle was so jammed with freeloaders -- er, race fans -- that Kyle Busch was forced to sit on the floor between Stewart and Schrader.
I remember Kyle sitting there, his arms wrapped around his knees, listening to the two veterans rhapsodize as if they were his grandfathers reading him a bedtime story.
The glass partition between the booths was just thick enough that you couldn't make out what Stewart and Schrader were saying. But based on Kyle Busch's steady gaze upon the two racers, one can assume it wasn't about the best place to have lunch in Richmond.
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