Somebody has to win it: despite a less-than-stellar season, Coy Gibbs is likely to walk away with Busch Series rookie honors. After that, he might walk away.(NASCAR)

Most stock car drivers would be thrilled to win a rookie of the year title in any division.

That's not the case with Coy Gibbs, 30, the odds-on favorite for that honor in the Busch Series. Barring a catastrophe in the final five races, Gibbs will be the series' top rookie, but the honor will be hollow. Gibbs will win the title by default, thanks to the enormous resources behind him. What's more, the title could be the final chapter in his driving career.

Gibbs was the only racer to enter his freshman year with solid backing and the support of one of NASCAR's pre-eminent organizations: Joe Gibbs Racing. Yes, Joe Gibbs--the three-time Super Bowl champion coach and two-time Winston Cup champion owner--is Coy's father, but the rookie had to earn his ride. Now, it's a question of whether he wants to continue beating himself up emotionally and physically.

"I've spent the whole year here and haven't figured out much," says Gibbs, who's 15th in points and has two top 10 finishes. "It's not really clicking when it comes to figuring out Busch cars, and I'm probably not going to, which is really frustrating."

A half-dozen rookies began the Busch season, some with a lot more seat time than Gibbs. But for various reasons, none has landed in a stable situation and raced a full schedule. Gibbs' closest rookie competitor is Joey Clanton, the 2002 American Speed Association champ. Clanton has started only 18 of the first 29 races and was replaced in the last two races by rookie Chase Montgomery, who has run 10 races.

Most NASCAR drivers grew up racing go-carts and stock cars. Gibbs, understandably, played football. He started at linebacker at Stanford for four years. Knowing his bum knees and size (he was 6-0, 225 as a senior) wouldn't get him to the NFL, Gibbs turned his sights to racing. He built his own late-model car and in 1999 joined NASCAR's All-Pro series, finishing ninth in points and winning rookie honors. He ran 12 Craftsman Truck Series races in 2000, then ran the full schedule in 2001 and 2002, finishing 10th in points both years. Gibbs tested the Busch Series waters with five races last year; his best finish was 14th.

However, that experience hasn't helped him achieve the results he, his father and crew chief Doug Hewitt expected.