Busch And Edwards Emerging As Championship Favorites

Author: Jeremy Dunn

Published: Wednesday Mar 12 2008 2:03pm

Just because Hendrick Motorsports has dominated NASCAR over the last two years does not necessarily mean that it is the ideal organization for every driver. Kyle Busch is validating that line of reasoning in 2008. Following three solid seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Busch has enjoyed a superb start to his tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota.

While at Hendrick Motorsports, Busch performed well, as he qualified for the Chase for the Championship in 2006 and 2007, and won four races in three years. Nevertheless, his two high-profile teammates often outshined him as they were winning more races and contending for championships. Moreover, Busch was prone to controversy, as he butted heads with several drivers, including his brother Kurt Busch. This may have been his way of stealing some of the spotlight that Gordon and Johnson were hogging.

At Joe Gibbs Racing, Tony Stewart is the only high-profile driver. Busch joins the two-time Sprint Cup champion and fellow rising star Denny Hamlin, who, like Busch, is rapidly becoming one of NASCAR’s top drivers.

Now that Busch is out of the shadows of Johnson and Gordon, he appears more relaxed and unruffled. He seems to have more in common with Stewart and Hamlin. Busch is the Sprint Cup championship leader, and he is quickly materializing as the nascar odds-on favorite. He may not be the most popular driver in the garage, but his skills have earned him high praise from several rivals. Can anybody stop him? Perhaps Carl Edwards can.

Edwards has scored two victories in four races. He could have arguably won his third consecutive race at Atlanta if he did not encounter an engine failure with roughly fifty laps remaining in the race.

Yes, the 2008 Sprint Cup campaign is very young; however, we all knew by this time last year who the drivers to beat were. Obviously, they were Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. This season, it is Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Edwards had legality issues with his car at Las Vegas; therefore, he suffered a massive points deduction, which allowed Busch to take over the Sprint Cup championship lead prior to the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta. Busch cruised to his first victory of the season after leading 173 laps. The victory extended his championship points lead to 73 points over Greg Biffle.

Edwards suffered an engine failure, which resulted in a 42nd place finish. Furthermore, he plummeted to 17th in the championship standings, 232 points behind Busch. However, with the way that team has performed, they will be back in the top ten by the end of March.

One way to track a driver’s performance is to not only look at their wins, top fives, and top tens, but also consider how many laps they have led. Kyle Busch has led an astounding 329 laps in four races, which is an average of 82.3 laps per race. Edwards has led 183 laps thus far in four races. No other driver has reached the 100-lap led mark in 2008, which just goes to show that these two drivers have the fastest and most dominant cars.

With two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson struggling to keep up with the mid-pack, and Jeff Gordon’s early season inconsistencies; it looks as if the field is going to have to chase Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards in 2008.

Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. have also shown considerable strength early in the season.

Currently, Kyle Busch’s championship nascar odds are 7-1 compared to Carl Edwards’ championship nascar odds of 6-1. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are currently 5-1 favorites to win the 2008 Sprint Cup title. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are currently 6-1 favorites to win the Sprint Cup championship.