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Shelby American Odds to Win: There is nothing Busch about this kid

Bookmark and Share by Charles Jay

No one in NASCAR has ever compiled as many wins in the three top series within the organization as Kyle Busch, who won 21 races in 2008 spread over the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Trick Series. He was the 2009 Nationwide Series champion, and a 16-time winner on the Sprint Cup circuit.

Certainly he has climbed way out from under the shadow of his brother Kurt Busch, winner of the 2004 Nextel Cup (precursor to the Sprint Cup).

Odds To Win Shelby American
February 28 -- Las Vegas
(Top ten favorites and ties)

  • Jimmie Johnson +400
  • Mark Martin +600
  • KYLE BUSCH +700
  • Denny Hamlin +1000
  • Jeff Gordon +1000
  • Tony Stewart +1000
  • Juan Pablo Montoya +1200
  • Carl Edwards +1500
  • Clint Bowyer +1500
  • Greg Biffle +1500
  • Jeff Burton +1500
  • Kevin Harvick +1500
  • Kurt Busch +1500

On Sunday he will be trying to become a repeat winner in the Sprint Cup race that is held in his hometown - the Shelby American - which goes off Sunday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

If there is anyone who is experienced at this facility, it would be Kyle Busch, who has raced hundreds of times there, including the "Bullring," the smaller track that was constructed inside the superspeedway oval.

Busch began racing full-time in NASCAR in 2005 at the age of 19 and with two victories and nine finishes in the top five, he won the rookie of the year award. In 2007 he finished 5th in the Sprint Cup standings, and the next season he won eight races. He is already a well-established star at the age of 24.

Last year he captured what may have been his most satisfying career victory when he outdueled Clint Bowyer to win the Shelby 427, which has been renamed the Shelby American this year, at his home track. Busch called it "awesome, just the feeling of a lifetime. I told everyone that it would be just like another race, but it really meant a lot more than that when I got to victory lane." He had an uphill climb, because his team had to make an engine change, and had to start at the back of the pack because of the rules.

He has a good history in Cup races at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with three finishes in the top five. This year, he is 13th in the Sprint Cup standings after two races, both of which resulted in 14th-place finishes.

Busch is also a racing entrepreneur now. In December, he announced that he will be fielding a team in the Camping World Truck Series this year under the banner of Kyle Busch Motorsports. He's won 16 career races in that series.

Odds To Win Sam's Town 300
February 27 -- Las Vegas

  • KYLE BUSCH +175
  • Denny Hamlin +300
  • Carl Edwards +500
  • Kevin Harvick +500
  • Brian Vickers +800
  • Greg Biffle +800
  • Brad Keselowski +1000
  • Paul Menard +1500
  • Justin Allgaier +1500
  • Colin Braun +1800
  • Jason Leffler +1800
  • Field (Any Other Driver) +700

Kyle Busch was utterly dominant on the Nationwide Series circuit last year, winning the Stater Brothers 300 in his second start of the season and never looking back after a win in Phoenix in April. Busch had seven wins last season en route to an easy title. Ironically, his most disappointing moment on the Nationwide circuit was in the Sam's Town 300, when he was the first driver to crash out of the action, leaving after 22 laps and placing 39th.

Actually, Busch has never won a nationwide race at LVMS, and in fact he has finished in the top ten only once in six starts (a runner-up spot in 2007). He may be in good shape to finally take home the checkered flag this year, as he is coming off a repeat victory in the Stater Brothers 300, where he beat out Greg Biffle (+800 to win).

Biffle, who finished second in 2008 and has finished in the top five in four of the last five years, would be considered a major contender in this race, along with Carl Edwards (+500), who has finished 7th, 5th, 6th, 14th and 2nd the last five times, and Kevin Harvick (+500), who won the Sam's Town 300 in 2004, has two second-place finishes, a third and a fourth since 2003. In fact, considering the history, Busch may not carry any value at all at +175.

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