Lapping the field: the dominance of Martin Truex and Kyle Busch raises concerns about the balance of the series' competition.(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)

There were a couple of haves who really had it and a lot of have-nots who didn't. In the end, the 2004 Busch Series gave us something to celebrate and something to ponder.

Martin Truex, 24, driving for Chance 2 Racing, which is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., ran away from 19-year-old rookie Kyle Busch in the best pure 1-2 rivalry in this series since the days of Little E and Matt Kenseth.

Truex, in the No. 8 Chevrolet, won six races and seven poles and clinched the title at Darlington in the penultimate race. He finished 230 points ahead of Busch, driving the No. 5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. Truex was miles ahead of Busch, the rookie of the year, but the two were time zones ahead of the rest of the field.

"Sure, they had great equipment and backing from big teams, but the deal is they went out and whipped us all every week," says Roush Racing's Kenny Wallace. "Those guys can really drive, and there's no arguing about that."

The final points standings beneath the two drivers shows their dominance. Greg Biffle, who became the first driver to compete in every Busch and Cup race for Roush, won five races and finished third, but he was 605 points behind Truex. Former Cup veterans Ron Hornaday (Richard Childress Racing) and Mike Bliss (Joe Gibbs) each won a race and finished fourth and fifth in the standings--but both were more than 900 points behind Truex and seeking jobs by season's end.

Even further back were two Busch mainstays, Jason Keller (ppc Racing) and David Green (Brewco). Both lost sponsors this year; Keller was told he was free to look for a new ride. In eighth was Ashton Lewis, whose family-owned team was shuttered at the end of the season; he'll drive a Team Rensi car in 2005.

"I look to my left and see nothing but haulers from Cup-supported teams," Green says. "That makes me feel good in a way, but it also makes you wonder what you have to do to compete. They have the knowledge from the Cup side of the operation and the resources to put things they learn onto the cars in a couple of weeks, where it takes us a couple of months."