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Two good to be true: Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch have broken away from the Busch Series pack and are in a rare two-way battle for the championship.(NASCAR)
With nine races to go, the chase for the Busch Series title is a duel.
In this corner, in the Chance 2 Motorsports No. 8 Chevy, from Mayetta, N.J., is 24-year-old points leader Martin Truex Jr. In this corner, in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevy, from Las Vegas, is 19-year-old rookie Kyle Busch, who trails Truex by 95 points. Third-place Jason Leffler and the rest of the field? Start counting time zones. No made-for-television adjustments here. No bringing the top two back to the field. These guys are the field.
There hasn't been this kind of two-driver battle in the series since 1998, when Dale Earnhardt Jr., now one of Truex's owners, and Matt Kenseth had bust-out seasons together. Junior ended up surviving by 48 points.
With the points race spotlight again narrowing its focus, don't expect Truex and Busch to lose their cool. Competitive, yes. Combative, why?
"How can this not be a blast?" said Busch, who had a subpar July, then tightened the race to 97 points with back-to-back wins at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Michigan. He also has won the spring races at Richmond and Charlotte and at Kentucky. "I'm with a great team, with a chance to live my dream and a chance to win a championship," Busch says. "We're also competing with some good people with Martin's team. We respect each other. It's a good situation."
Truex, who comes from the Busch North Series and watched his father race on short tracks, says he and Busch don't talk about their battle much. "We're both just having fun, doing what a lot of people wish they could be doing," he says. "I know I appreciate the opportunity, and I'm working hard to get better.
"When these chances come your way, you want to take full advantage. I also know how much luck goes into a championship season. There was a year in Busch North (2002) where we won six poles, should have won eight, 10 races and ... nothing.