Kyle Busch brings back glory

[Raven]

Team restores luster with 7 wins so far
JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Friday, Jul. 18, 2008
Kyle Busch has won so much and so often this season, it has become like second nature.

Not so for his No.18 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

While Busch soaks up each victory on his potential march toward his first Sprint Cup Series championship, with him rides the pride of championship-caliber team that had lost its luster during recent years.

When Busch earned his first victory with Gibbs on March9 at Atlanta, it snapped a 147-race winless streak for the No.18. “The win reminded me of watching the 18 car up front where it used to be and where it belongs,” Busch said.

Over the radio as Busch crossed the finish line, longtime JGR employee Jimmy Makar chimed in: “Kyle Busch, thank you for bringing the 18 back.”

It has been a long journey.

The No.18 was the first Cup team JGR fielded when it broke into the sport in 1992 with Dale Jarrett as the driver. The team had great success with Jarrett, and then Bobby Labonte.

Labonte won the series title in 2000, a first for the Gibbs organization. Shortly thereafter, the arrival and success of Tony Stewart in the team's No.20 began to overshadow Labonte and the No.18 team.

Labonte went two seasons without a win before leaving after the 2005 season, turning the wheel over to J.J. Yeley. Yeley, however, struggled to find consistency and left at the end of last season, making way for Busch.

The arrival of the young, talented driver immediately brought a spark of enthusiasm to the No.18 team again, but no one – team president J.D. Gibbs, crew chief Steve Addington or Busch himself – could have foreseen what has transpired since.

“I felt really strong about our race team, you know, the 18 car, and really strong about the organization as a whole just from top to bottom,” Addington said. “I felt like we could go contend for wins week in and week out, getting Kyle over here.”

After 19 races this season, Busch has a series-leading seven wins. He is firmly entrenched as the series points leader, and with the help of bonuses awarded for each victory, he should begin the Chase for the Sprint Cup with a big advantage over his rivals.

The No.18, which had been lost in the success of JGR drivers Stewart and Denny Hamlin, again is leading the way for three-car organization.

“Winning seven races already – that's just crazy. It's awesome,” Addington said. “It's a dream season for everybody on this 18 car.”

The significance of the turnaround of the team has not been lost on Busch, even if he doesn't have a long history with the organization.

“All I see are smiles, man,” Busch said when asked of the atmosphere around the team.“They are just so ecstatic. That's great to see and that's a great feeling for me to have guys that can get as worked up as I can about racing.

“That's the best part and there's so many great (people) at Joe Gibbs Racing that work there, and work so hard every week. … It means so much to those guys, not just to me, but to those guys and their families to know that their hard work is finally paying off.”

JIM UTTER