Johnson's future rival isn't even in the Chase ... this year

            HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A lot has changed for Kyle Busch, and a lot is the same.

            He still wins a lot, though not as much this year in the Sprint Cup Series. In 2008, he dominated the regular season and collapsed in the Chase. This year he declined during the Chase again, but few noticed since he wasn’t in it. He was in the Chase races, not the Chase itself.

            The younger Busch, who took a back seat to older brother Kurt for the first time since, well, they both started competing in Cup together, nonetheless took more checkered flags than anyone else again this year. He made a mockery of the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series this year, and one of the main reasons Busch didn’t win the championship in both is that he didn’t compete in every Truck race.

            In spite of everything else that happened this year – Mark Martin’s astonishing resurgence, Tony Stewart’s prosperity as a driver-owner, etc. – Busch is still the biggest obstacle in Jimmie Johnson’s path as Johnson continues to track Cup championships, forever and ever, amen.

            Kyle Busch is still a diamond in the rough, which is exactly what 24-year-olds are supposed to be. Even Jeff Gordon needed a couple coats of polish when he was Busch’s age.

            Hundreds of thousands of fans – perhaps millions, come to think of it – dislike him, but fans are often slow to embrace young racers, particularly the ones who win on a regular basis.

            When the Busch brothers were growing up, the central theme of their raising was the notion “failure is not an option,” and that’s one of the reasons both have achieved so much. For Kyle, failure means any position except first. Hundreds of thousands (maybe millions?) like this about him, too.

            Asked about his habit of growing sullen when things don’t go his way, Busch offered a quote from Dr. Lawrence J. Peter (1919-90), an educator and management theorist: “Speak when you are angry, and you’ll make the best speech you’ll ever regret.”

            It isn’t bad advice. If Kyle could climb out of his race car angry and speak as if he weren’t, he would. But he can’t. It’s not his nature.

            Dr. Peter was also known for The Peter Principle: “In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.”

            In other words, not everything he said applies to Kyle Busch.

You may contact Monte Dutton at mdutton@gastongazette.com.