Theres still a long way to go in the NASCAR Busch Series season, so Kyle Busch (No. 5 Lowes Chevrolet) doesnt want to hear any talk about the championship just yet. Busch won the first race of his young NASCAR Busch Series career May 14 at Richmond International Raceway by holding off noted hard-charger and 2002 series champion Greg Biffle (No. 60 Charter Communications Ford). It was a night in which everything went perfectly for the 19-year-old Las Vegas native, and it was the kind of night that wins championships in the long run. So, yes, its great to be atop the point standings right now. But theres a lot of time left to go in the season. Given the fact that theres been a different leader in the title chase after each of the last three races, maybe Busch is right in trying not to get his hopes up just yet. Its definitely exciting, and leading the points is where we want to be, but its way too early to get too excited about it, Busch says. We just want to stay focused on getting top fives and top 10s, and the points situation will take care of itself. You see it happen way too often, where a team gets the points lead and then lets their guard down. They dont stay on top for long.
Driving the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports entry definitely has its advantages. Brian Vickers won last years NASCAR Busch Series drivers championship with the team which has stayed largely intact including crew chief Lance McGrew.
Busch is also the leader in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. Busch has a sizable 73-point lead over fellow first-year contender Paul Menard (No. 33 Menards Chevrolet) after his Richmond win. A NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year has never won the series crown in his first year on the circuit.
Im lucky to be with a team that has been in this situation before, and they know how to handle themselves, Busch continues. You just keep working and digging to get the best finishes you can every week, and dont concern yourself with the points so much. You can worry about the point standings when you get to Homestead.
Everybodys tremendously happy, he said. Theyre excited, not only for me, but for the team as well. We got that first win out of the way, and they won with a rookie, so theyre happy about that. Theyre just ready to keep moving on, and thats what its all about. Theres a lot of racing to do this season, and we want to get after it.
NEWS & NOTES, PART II
Hamiltons team claims Richmond McDonalds POWERade title Bobby Hamiltons (No. 25 U.S. Marines Ford) Team Rensi Motorsports crew won the McDonalds POWERade Drive-Thru Pit Crew of the Race Award for the May 14 Funai 250 at Richmond International Raceway. David Greens No. 37 Timber Wolf-sponsored Brewco Motorsports team leads the season standings, with Hamilton and Team Rensi in second. Jason Leffler (No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet) and his Haas CNC Racing team are third, followed by Ron Hornaday (No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet) and Richard Childress Racing in fourth and Jason Keller (No. 22 Miller High Life Ford) and ppc Racing in fifth.
Chevrolet builds on lead in manufacturers standings Chevrolet has built a fairly comfortable lead in the Bill France Performance Cup standings for manufacturers in the NASCAR Busch Series. Chevrolet has seven wins and 85 points following the May 14 win by Kyle Busch at Richmond International Raceway, to 65 points and three wins for Ford. Dodge is in third place with 47 points and one win, with Pontiac in fourth, with 45 points and no wins so far this year. The standings are determined by a scoring system in which the highest-finishing manufacturer receives nine points, the second-highest gets six, third-highest receives four and fourth-highest receives three.